Robert Browning's poem "My Last Duchess" conveys a Duke's feelings toward
             his deceased wife. The Duke addresses his feelings to her lifelike portrait
             on the wall, which contains enough of her essence and personality to invoke
             an emotional response in the speaker. Furthermore, the Duke's reaction to
             the painting reveals his feelings toward his wife as well as about his own
             personality. Her joyous countenance and demeanor invokes a degree of
             resentment in the speaker, who compares her to an exotic sea creature
             toward the end of the poem. This also proves that the Duke is a possessive
             and haughty man, who perceived his wife as more of a trophy or art object
             than as a human being. Through the medium of dramatic monologue, in which
             the poet's voice is hidden behind that of the narrator, Browning creates a
             psychological character study with his poem "My Last Duchess."
             The audience for the Duke's monologue is twofold: he speaks both to an
             envoy present within the dramatic setting of the poem, but he also speaks
             to a generalized audience, including the reader of the poem. To both
             audiences, the Duke wants to convey his fine tastes, especially in art and
             women. Doing so emboldens his ego and emphasizes his considerable wealth
             and social standing. He attitude and tone are condescending throughout the
             monologue, indicated both by the content and diction of the speech as well
             as his unwillingness to allow anyone else to speak. The rambling and
             reflective nature of the monologue is accomplished through Browning's
             diction and meter, including several parenthetical phrases, as in lines 9-
             10, 36, and "how shall I say'" in line 22. However, the Duke's demeanor is
             anything but casual and informal; he is hyperaware of his rank and brags
             about his "nine-hundred-years-old name," (33). As he shows off his
             collection of art, he demonstrates no love or affection for his deceased
             wife, even as he refl...