Essence of the Romantic and the Victorian ages in 'My Last Duchess'

<p>The age, in which a poet or a poetess is brought up, has great impacts on his or her sensibilities. In “My Last Duchess” the poet explored the horrific relationship of the Duke and the Duchess. The Duke narrated to an emissary the entire story of killing her. It seemed that the objective of visit of the emissary was, perhaps, to convey the proposal of marriage to the Duke. In the poem, the Duke and the Duchess became symbols to represent the Victorian and the Romantic ages respectively. It is evident that the scientific inventions and industrial revolutions changed the mindsets of the people. The general attitude of persons shifted from the tranquil state of Romanticism to reasonable and logical arguments of Victorianism. Browning captured the manner of complex human existence of this age through the poetic creation of dramatic monologue. The Duke was shattered enough to note the “spot of joy” on the Duchess’ face. The “spot” reminded him of the French Revolution and the American War of Independence. These revolutions challenged the institution of monarchy. So, the worried reactions by the Duke were natural reactions on his part. He was highly threatened with the reflections of spontaneous emotions on Duchess’ face. The Duke believed that his authority would be challenged by his wife. Her thought of liberty and freedom are a means of threat for the Duke. Consequently, he killed her to safeguard his authoritative position. It was explored that the feminist movement found a voice in reaction to such horrible crime against women. It was also observed that the form of interior monologue was the new dimension of creativity by T. S. Eliot to suit the Modern age.   </p>