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Analysis of the Speechless Feminine in “My Last Duchess”

Yulan Liu

Abstract


“My Last Duchess” is a dramatic monologue written in 1842 by the Victorian poet Robert Browning. In the monologue, the Duke is standing in front of a portrait of his passed wife, criticizing her to an envoy who has come to propose marriage. The actions and words of the Duke reveal him to be a controlling and possessive man while the female characters in the poem is controlled, objectifi ed and is deprived of the discourse. This paper will focus on analyzing the image of the speechless woman in the poem in order to explore the social situation of women in Victorian England.

Keywords


My Last Duchess; Robert Browning; Speechless feminine; Objectifi cation; Victorian England

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18686/ahe.v8i4.13289

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