Just like the majority of Browning's other poems, 'My Last Duchess' is written as a dramatic monologue; it is from the point of view of a man who has paid someone to kill his 'Last Duchess' and after reading through the poem more, you begin to realize why.
From the title 'My Last Duchess', you straight away get the impression that the man is quite possessive of his Duchess, and from lines such as:
'That's my last Duchess painted on the wall,
Looking as if she were alive...'
we are told that the man treats her as a possession, to be shown off and not treated like a human being. Later in the poem, a curtain (which covers the painting) is mentioned, which has been drawn for the first time in a long time. This detail gives the idea that even in death, the man is trying to control who she sees, and who sees her. The fact that he has paid someone to kill her is not surprising given the level of control he likes to keep over her.
However what is surprising is that he seems to be showing a slight amount of regret about it. The fact that there is one continuous stanza seems as if it is a constant outpouring of emotion, that the man is looking at the painting, and can't hold back the emotions he feels towards her any longer. Moreover, throughout the poem he accuses her of flirting, yet never gives any proof. This may be because he regrets what he did, and is trying to persuade himself that he acted correctly.
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