Poetry Essay

English 102

25 April 2012

Poetry Essay

Thesis Statement: The portrait of the beautiful woman in the poem "My Last Duchess" by Rob-ert Browning, directly contributes to the theme that art can tell stories, reveal emotions, and help move the plot.

I. The setting of this poem, a dark attic of a mansion with several pieces of art, sets the stage for a mysterious situation.

A. In lines nine and ten the Duke says "But to myself they turned (since none puts by the curtain I have drawn for you, but I."

B.This immediately provokes the readers to be suspicious about the painting.

C.Questions are asked like "Why is he the only one that glazes upon the painting?" and "What is he making such an effort to show this man if so?"

II. The painting is symbolic because it is hidden and mysterious, just like the events that took place surrounding the duchess' death.

A. When the Duke is explaining his last duchess' passing, he never explains how she died. It is always hidden just like the picture of her in the attic.

B. The duke says in lines 44 and 45 "I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together."

1.This hints that he may have murdered her.

III. The mood of this poem is derived directly from the setting, that is eerie and daunting.

A.The attic is eerie just for the fact that he keeps a painting of his dead x-wife as a prize possession up there.

IV. The portrait also shows her angry and unkind side.

A. The mood becomes eerie as he starts explaining how she "had a heart ... too soon made glad, too easily impressed,"

B.He begins to tell how she was a flirt, but surprisingly with no remorse because she can not flirt with anyone but him if she is a painting hidden behind a curtain.

C.The reader knows the Duke has no feelings of remorse because he invites the man down stairs directly after hinting at the fact he killed her.

English 102-D24

8 April, 2012

Poetry Essay

Art is used as a portal to express beauty, emotions and creativity. There is art nearly eve-rywhere, and nearly everything can be made into art. Sometimes art is hard to interpret without explanation and sometimes art is a symbol for something greater than itself. However, art can also be used to represent emotions and events that are not so happy as well; instead eerie, dark and mysterious. The portrait of the beautiful woman in the poem "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning, directly contributes to the theme that art can tell stories, reveal emotions, and help move a plot.

The setting of this poem, a dark attic of a mansion with several pieces of art, sets the stage for a mysterious situation. The Duke does not even have to say anything for the reader to understand it is an odd situation. When the Duke reveals the portrait of his last duchess, it be-comes clear something is not right. In lines nine and ten the Duke says "But to myself