リトリチャ Ep 6

Okay, it's been a while, but I've got another Literature post today :D

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Question:
Select your favourite poem. Why do like this poem?

Answer:
My favourite poem is The Last Duchess, written by Robert Browning. It is told from the persona’s point of view. He is speaking of his last duchess, who is most likely no longer in this world, since in the first two lines, he writes: ‘That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall, looking as if she were alive’.

I like this poem the best of all the ones I have read so far because it speaks of the deep love the persona has for his duchess. He had had her painted by a very famous artist, Frà Pandolf, whom, in turn, produced a very beautiful painting of her. This is shown in the third and fourth line of the poem, stating: ‘Frà Pandolf’s hands worked busily a day, and there she stands’.

Apart from that, the persona respects his duchess’ privacy even in death. This is because he does not publish Pandolf’s work in public, as if to safeguard his late duchess from the world. Although, this may also be seen as the persona being very selfish because he does not want anyone else to see his duchess except those he permits. He makes that fact clear in the ninth and tenth line, when he says: ‘since none puts by the curtain I have drawn for you, but I’.

The writer also has the artist, Pandolf, praise the beauty of the duchess, saying: ‘Paint must never hope to reproduce the faint half-flush that dies along her throat’. I also fancy the characteristics of the duchess, whom was honest in her speech and graceful in her mannerisms. This is proved in the twenty ninth, thirtieth and thirty first line: ‘She rode with round the terrace – all and each would draw from her alike the approving speech, or blush, at least’.

While these are all admirable traits of the persona, which warrant my affinity for this particular poem, I also like the persona’s contradicting personality, which suggests he began mistreating his duchess. The most prominent line which describes this is the forty second, forty third, forty fifth and forty sixth line: ‘Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt, whene’er I passed her; but who passed without much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together’. This could mean that he set about abusing her since he started wanting more attention from her. Due to this growing greed, he unknowingly pushed her further away.

It is also amazing how the writer used Neptune’s taming of a sea horse to summarize how the persona feels for his duchess and what “taming” her led to, eventually. This was portrayed in the final lines of My Last Duchess: ‘Notice Neptune, though, taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity, which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me!’

As a result, this poem definitely taught me a life lesson. Love comes in different forms, and while I definitely do not agree with some expressions, it tells me that nobody can predict how a person will react to love, except that it will only be acceptable in their eyes.

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Yeah~ It's more like a "proving" assignment rather than just explaining why I like this poem -.- Either way, kudos to Madame S for introducing this poem to my brother and I :D

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