Curated set · answers marked
In "My Last Duchess," who is the speaker of the poem, and to whom is he speaking?
AA jealous husband talking to a portrait painter
BThe Duke of Ferrara talking to an envoy arranging his next marriage✓
CA nobleman speaking directly to the ghost of his late wife
DA court jester chatting with the Duke of Ferrara The Duke of Ferrara is talking to an envoy sent by a Count whose daughter the Duke plans to marry. This dramatic monologue reveals the Duke's controlling personality and suggests his involvement in his first wife's death.
In Robert Browning's poem "My Last Duchess," who is the speaker talking to during his monologue?
AA portrait painter
BAn emissary sent to arrange a new marriage✓
CThe ghost of his late wife
DA close personal friend The Duke of Ferrara is addressing an envoy from a Count whose daughter he intends to marry next. This dramatic setting highlights the Duke's controlling personality and suggests his involvement in his first wife's death.
In Robert Browning's dramatic monologue "My Last Duchess," what does the Duke of Ferrara disclose about what happened to his late wife?
AShe ran away with another man
BShe died of a sudden illness
CHe had her killed (or gave commands that resulted in her death)✓
DShe was sent to a convent
Rationale
The Duke strongly suggests that he ordered his wife's death when he states, "I gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together." This unsettling admission highlights his controlling nature and jealousy — he couldn't stand her warm, indiscriminate friendliness toward others, which he saw as a slight against his "nine-hundred-years-old name."