Understanding of the importance of literary techniques Essay - 1

Understanding of the importance of literary techniques - Essay Example Robert Browning is a master craftsman when it comes to the use of dramatic monologues in his poems. The Dramatic monologue is defined as â€Å"a literary, usually verse composition in which a speaker reveals his or her character, often in relation to a critical situation or event, in a monologue addressed to the reader or to a presumed listener† (Dramatic Monologue-Definition of Dramatic Monologue). Browning’s "My Last Duchess" possesses all these criteria of a dramatic monologue. The speaker in the poem is not the poet himself. In fact, Browning’s speaker in the poem represents a ‘psychological portrait of a powerful Renaissance aristocrat’ (Duke Ferrara) and the poem very well draws, in the minds of the readers, the image of a submissive presumed listener who pays heed to the Duke’s narration of the failings and imperfections of his late wife (My Last Duchess: Introduction). However, the reader can perceive from the dramatic monologue that t he so-called imperfections of the dutches are nothing but expressions of her virtues and her courtesy towards her servants. The very opening lines of the poem are quite suggestive. The lines, â€Å"Thats my last duchess painted on the wall, / Looking as if she were alive† clearly demonstrates the presence of an unseen audience or listener and the reader understands that the duchess is no longer alive. Similarly, towards the end of the poem, when the Duke states that â€Å"This grew; I gave commands;/Then all smiles stopped together† the reader grasps that it was he who ordered her murder. The actual character of the Duke is thus revealed through the dramatic monologue even when the listener remains absolutely silent. Thus, the poem’s elements of soliloquy (as there is only one speaker) and its dramatic, and lyrical qualities make it a perfect example for dramatic monologue and it is the effective use of dramatic monologue that offer new dimension to the theme an d treatment of