The Complete Guide to My Last Duchess
Fifty-six lines of perfect manners, one drawn curtain, one dead wife — the whole poem, told properly.
Introduction
- The most charming man you will ever be afraid of
The world behind the poem
- Browning — the poet who spoke through masks
- Ferrara, 1561 — the girl behind the portrait
Through the poem
- Through the poem I — the curtain and the blush (lines 1–21)
- Through the poem II — the charge sheet (lines 21–45)
- Through the poem III — the deal and the bronze (lines 46–56)
The speaker & the silenced
- The Duchess — reading the woman between the lines
- The envoy — the man who says nothing, and why he matters
The writer's craft
- The craft room — couplets, camouflage, euphemism, frame
Interpretations
- The debates — five readings that survive cross-examination
The examination
- The comparison workshop — partnering the Duke in Section B
- In the exam room — the final drill