Robert Brownings My Last Duchess Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Robert Brownings My Last Duchess - Essay Example In this manner she is finally entirely within his grasp. In life the Duchess had been free-spirited and blessed with a sunny disposition which had irked the Duke as he felt he could not suppress and possess her completely. In the finishing lines of the poem the Duke makes an allusion to Greek mythology which further illustrates his manic need for control and his inherent pride-"Notice Neptune, though/Taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity/Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me! The poem is written using iambic pentameter and rhymed couplets. This sets the tone for the poem, and the language thus used gives the reader an impression of power wielded by the narrator. Another poetic device called the enjambment is used so that the lines at times have an unfinished feel creating a hanging effect, and ultimately creating a mood of apprehension as the Duke makes his chilling revelations. He is a compelling narrator and the words he uses have a subtle yet forceful quality to them.