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The Reader's Atlas · Compare · Velvet Menace

UlyssesMy Last Duchess

Put Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "Ulysses" and Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess" side by side, and the similarities are striking. Both poems are dramatic monologues written in blank verse, featuring a titled man of classical or Renaissance background who speaks at length about himself.

  • Poets

    Alfred, Lord Tennyson / Robert Browning

  • Years

    1842

  • Chapter

    Velvet Menace

§01 The thesis

Ulysses & My Last Duchess

A reader's case for putting these two side by side — what each carries, and what they argue when they sit on the same page.

What makes this pairing particularly engaging for readers is that both speakers are similarly unreliable; they end up revealing much more about themselves than they intend. Ulysses inadvertently expresses disdain for his own son, calling him a bore, and refers to his wife as "aged." Meanwhile, the Duke inadvertently discloses that he had a woman killed simply for smiling too much. Neither speaker realizes the implications of their admissions. This shared blind spot—the aristocratic monologue that turns into an unintentional confession—is why these two poems are often taught together more than most others in Victorian poetry. Both men articulate their thoughts in blank verse, yet they end up condemning themselves in the process.

§02 The dialectic axes

The two poems on four axes

Each axis isolates one specific vector — speaker, form, image, closing move — and reads the two poems against each other on that single dimension.

01Speaker

Poem A · Ulysses

Ulysses is a legendary Greek hero in his later years, reflecting on his reign while feeling that kingship is beneath him. His authority stems from a lifetime filled with cities, battles, and storms, and he uses his past as proof of why he should continue his journey. He comes across as both self-important and truly tired, and the poem captures this duality beautifully.

Poem B · My Last Duchess

The Duke of Ferrara is a nobleman from Renaissance Italy, engaged in a business-like negotiation for a new wife. He maintains a calm demeanor and never raises his voice. His power comes from the structure around him — he controls the room, the painting, and the conversation — and Browning keeps him firmly within that framework, preventing him from becoming sympathetic.
02Form

Poem A · Ulysses

Tennyson uses blank verse paragraphs that shift in who he's addressing: he starts by speaking to himself, then to Telemachus, and finally to the mariners. This change in audience reflects Ulysses's restlessness and creates a feeling of growing momentum in the poem, as if the ship is already setting sail.

Poem B · My Last Duchess

Browning employs rhyming iambic pentameter couplets, known as heroic couplets, that are so tightly enjambed they hide the rhyme on a first read. This creates a voice that feels natural yet is confined to a strict structure, reflecting the Duke's desire to seem relaxed while still exerting complete control.
03Central image

Poem A · Ulysses

The central image in "Ulysses" is the arch: "all experience is an arch wherethro' / Gleams that untravell'd world, whose margin fades / For ever and for ever when I move." The horizon constantly shifts away. While knowledge is limitless, time isn't, and this gap is what propels the entire poem.

Poem B · My Last Duchess

The central image in "My Last Duchess" is the painting hidden behind the curtain — a woman turned into an object that the Duke dictates access to. "None puts by / The curtain I have drawn for you, but I." In life, the Duchess was free-spirited; in the painting, she remains fixed and mute, just as he desired.
04Closing move

Poem A · Ulysses

Ulysses ends with a powerful call to action — "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield" — which has become one of the most quoted lines in Victorian poetry. This conclusion speaks not only to himself but also to his crew, creating a sense of shared purpose. It feels like a rallying cry, recognizing vulnerability while still urging perseverance.

Poem B · My Last Duchess

The Duke finishes by pointing the envoy towards a bronze sculpture of Neptune taming a sea-horse. The gesture seems almost casual, yet the symbolism is striking: a god conquering a wild creature, molded in metal, and belonging to the Duke. This serves as the poem's last reflection on his view of the world — and of women within it.

§03 Synthesis & departure

The shared ground and the divergence

Shared

Both poems are examples of the dramatic monologue form, which Victorian poets created to allow characters to reveal themselves through speech rather than narration. Tennyson's "Ulysses" and Browning's "My Last Duchess" were both published in 1842. They rely on unrhymed iambic pentameter, which lends a conversational authority to the voices—making the lines feel more like thoughts being expressed than formal speeches. Each speaker is a man of high status addressing an implied audience. Ulysses is speaking to his mariners and, by extension, to anyone willing to hear his argument for leaving. The Duke is addressing an envoy who cannot easily interrupt him. In both poems, what seems to be the main subject—a sea voyage or a painting—quickly becomes a means for the speaker's self-definition. Both men are focused on legacy and reputation: Ulysses aims to be remembered as someone who never ceased striving, while the Duke desires to have his "nine-hundred-years-old name" regarded as a special honor. Additionally, both poems use the image of a woman as a counterpoint—Ulysses's unnamed "aged wife" and the Duke's painted Duchess—to highlight the speaker’s relationship with what he is leaving behind or has already discarded.

Where they diverge

The most notable difference lies in the direction of energy. Ulysses looks outward—toward the sea, the stars, "a newer world." His monologue builds towards action. In contrast, the Duke looks inward, focused on possession. His poem concludes not with a departure but with a reference to another artwork: "Notice Neptune, though, / Taming a sea-horse." Even his final gesture emphasizes control and acquisition. Their relationships with language also differ significantly. Ulysses is genuinely rhetorical—he aims to persuade his crew, and the poem carries the rhythm of a speech that seeks a response. The Duke, however, explicitly rejects rhetoric: "Even had you skill / In speech--(which I have not)--to make your will / Quite clear to such an one." That disclaimer serves as a rhetorical maneuver, and a chilling one at that. Ulysses's self-deception revolves around mortality and restlessness; the Duke's concerns violence and ownership. One speaker is fleeing death; the other has already inflicted it. This contrasts a poem that ends with "not to yield" and one that concludes with a bronze sculpture made for a collector.

§04 A reader's order of operations

Which to read first

If you started with "Ulysses" and want to experience the dramatic monologue taken to a darker place, dive into "My Last Duchess." Browning completely removes the heroic framing—there's no sea voyage or noble quest, just a man in a room confessing to murder while believing he’s being charming. On the other hand, if you approached "Ulysses" after "My Last Duchess" and want to see the form used by a speaker who’s at least making an effort to be good, Tennyson's poem will feel like a window opening after a locked door.

§05 Reader's questions

On Ulysses vs My Last Duchess, frequently asked

Answer

Yes, they are among the most frequently studied pairings in Victorian poetry courses, as well as in A-level and AP Literature classes. Both poems are classic examples of the dramatic monologue, and the contrast between Tennyson's more sympathetic speaker and Browning's darker one provides valuable insights for students exploring how this form operates.

§06 More from this chapter

The speaker you shouldn't trust

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