My Last Duchess by Robert Browning

Verse video based on the classic poem by Robert Browning. With Jonathan Stern and Dana Peterson. From the myStanza.com collection. Poems also available as iPhone/iPod Touch app at iTunes.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• poems by Browning
• poems by Robert Browning
• video poems

[MusicIsMyLife39]

This is a poem I'm studying for my English class, it's beautiful. The story is so eerie, how to talks about her death so casually. Although I need some help...

I get the story behind it, but I honestly can't figure out a theme statement! Can anyone help?

[DV02459]

Well, I'd definitely include narcissism in your theme statement (and how it destroys the duke's humanity)...

[karinandrino]

@JPsSuperStairway He doesn't think she's cheating. It's even worse than that. He's such an egomaniac that he can't bear the fact that she smiles at everyone and not just him thereby insulting his honor.

[x5pyd3rx]

@hamsolo474 But in the poem he had a "non- chalant" attitude. about it. notice in the poem how he goes into the next peice of art like he was not talking about the murder of his wife at all. (however the acting is pretty bad)

[JPsSuperStairway]

@MusicIsMyLife39 oh ps, i have no idea what a theme statement is, but in my country, for our GCSEs we just had to analysis the language, imagery and irony of the monologue

[JPsSuperStairway]

@MusicIsMyLife39 The Dukes previous wife (the title is ambiguous) was always happy, smiling at everyone, treating servant like lord etc. The Duke assumes this is only because she is cheating, which is odd as he is angry that sunsets, and white mules make her happy. He orders her be killed, and then has a picture done. He hides it behind a curtain so she only smiles 4 him. This is all spoken to a messenger, whose masters daughter is going to marry the Duke. Its a warning basically.

[JPsSuperStairway]

i think the man has a good voice, but the video just has the wrong setting.

[hamsolo474]

this was a good video but i defiantly think that this duke couldn't quiet convey the sinster tone of brownings duke across. this man seemed more like he had a compulsion to fill the silence, and would continue to do so untill the guest spoke

[inoxxshika]

this is my favourite poem in th eprose, the video is great too, its scary the way he acts though towards her death [and his previous duchess' death]

im awaiting the english exam tomorrow- i'll be using my last duchess [last minute revidion time ^o^ hehe]

[husslecozimhere]

i cant understand this

[xxCHANIQUA93xx]

I am also studying this poem, the themes i covered in class were: resentment, passage of time, murder/death and outsider. i hope this helps.

[MusicIsMyLife39]

Right, good idea.

Thanks a lot ^.^