My Last Duchess is a poem that tells the story in dramatic monologue of the possessive, controlling, power obsessed Duke of Ferrara, who is showing a servant of another rich family around his art-filled home, in order to arrange another marriage to a Nobleman's daughter. The Duke sinisterly reminisces upon how his previous wife did not meet his expectations, as she "liked whate'er she looked on" and so he "gave commands; then all smiles stopped together". The reader can therefore assume that Duchess was murdered by someone upon orders from the Duke.
The opening is significant of Browning's poem; the first line shows the possessive nature of the Duke by referring to his former wife as "my last Duchess." The 'my' displays the Duke as a neurotic and possessive character, which is developed through the Duchess being "painted on the wall"; she has been painted into the plaster of the building - an unhealthily proprietorial thing to do, so that she cannot ever be removed nor be released from the Duke's constant surveillance. "Looking as if she were alive" could be suggest that the Duchess is now dead though looks alive and well in the painting; however, it could also be interpreted as the Duke saw his former wife as annoyingly flirtatious, and consequently has a 'curtain' hung over it in order to control who she can "look" at in death, as he could not in life. Ironically, this backfires on the Duke; the Duchess in actuality controls him, as the desire and obsession to control who can look at her has driven the Duke to insanity.
The Duke is characterised through his obsession with beauty, rendered through the ample amount of art work in his home, and the physical appearance of the Duchess that he refers to, such as the "half-flush that dies along her throat", suggesting that she was blushing whilst being painted. This could, however, also be perceived as a confession to killing her, in reference to cutting her throat.
Although the murder of the Duchess is not confirmed in the poem, the Duke contributes to the claim through other case building hints, such as "looking as if she were alive", suggesting that she is now dead. He then "gave commands; then all smiles stopped together", which indicates that he ordered her death.
Browning's use of voice develops the character of the Duke further. The poem is a dramatic monologue which helps to present the Duke's natural talent in speech, which he contradicts; "even had you skill in speech-(which I have not)", displaying the Duke's unstable mentality; he has been driven to insanity by the obsession of controlling the Duchess, and so attempts to deceive the implied auditor - the servant - into believing that he is an innocent subject of betrayal. The rhyme of the poem is in hidden iambic pentameter; it , further developing the controlling nature of the Duke despite how polite and charming he attempts to sound to cover it up, helping Browning to mimic 'real speech'.
In the ending to My Last Duchess, the Duke accompanies the servant to meet the Noble and his daughter who he is due to marry, and passes yet more artwork, reinforcing the idea of the Duke's obsession with beauty. A bronze statue of 'Neptune... taming a seahorse' is spotlighted to demonstrate the Duke's obsession with power and wealth, reflecting his ideal preference for marriage - absolute control over his wife, and by mentioning that the statue was 'cast in bronze for me' could suggest that he is attempting to impress the servant by flaunting his wealth, also that he had such an intimidating figurine custom made for him reflects his power-hungry nature.
