Browning versus Shakespeare Irony and Menace

“My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning versus Shakespeare’s Sonnet 94:
Ironic Menace versus Sincerity
“My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning takes the form of a dramatic monologue, in which a duke describes his first wife to an emissary arranging for the Duke’s second marriage. The Duke displays a portrait of his last wife proudly, noting how beautiful she is, but also jealously states that she was too liberal with her smiles and that he resents how freely she acted towards other people, as if she valued her husband’s noble name on the same level as a commoner. Gradually, the reader becomes aware of the fact that the Duke is a murderer, and is speaking of his wife as a kind of warning to the representative of the family of his future, next bride. The cool and civilized language of the Duke is an ironic contrast with his actual actions. The poem is clearly not Browning’s heartfelt outpouring of personal emotion along the lines of Shakespeare’s sonnets but rather is a calculated portrait of the psychology of a murderer.
Even the first line of the poem, “That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall, /Looking as if she were alive,” seems chilling (1-2). The Duke notes he is the only one permitted to draw back the curtain, as if he prefers having the image of a woman he can control rather than an actual, living woman. “ Sir, ’twas not/Her husband’s presence only, called that spot/ Of joy into the Duchess’ cheek,” he notes, underlining his possessiveness, as if only a husband has the right to inspire joy in a woman (12-14). The fact that the Duke makes no apologies for his possessiveness underlines the extent to which he claims the right of command as part of his nine hundred-year-old name and is accustomed to having orders obeyed.
Browning skillfully conveys the injustice of the Duke by noting the specific, perceived crimes of the woman in question, which include smiling at the compliments of the portraitist Fra Pandolf, cherries brought to her by a lower-class man, or riding her white mule. The exaggerated disgust he feels for these actions, in sharp contrast with their innocence clearly shows him to be at fault. His excessive pride is seen in the fact that he even refuses to complain to his wife, which he sees as stooping. In general, the contrast of the married characters suggests that the dead duchess was unpretentious and kind, while her husband begrudged her every thought and emotion that was not about himself.
“My Last Duchess,” although it is about a beautiful woman’s portrait, a marriage, and strong emotions, sets a tone of menace and ironic contrast between the true realities of the relationship versus how the Duke perceives reality. It is very different from actual romantic poems such as Shakespeare’s sonnets. For example, in Sonnet 94, “They that have power to hurt and will do none,” Shakespeare as the author of the work discusses the fact he is in a similar plight to the Duke in the sense that he fears he loves someone who may not love him as much as he loves that other person (1). In this case, the object of Shakespeare’s desire is that of a young man, not his wife, but the theme is similar. Rather than angrily listing perceived injustices, Shakespeare instead muses about the nature of desire. Shakespeare’s more balanced perspective causes the reader to trust the poem’s narrator. The use of metaphor creates a kinder and more nuanced tone for the poem. Shakespeare praises those who are “Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow:/They rightly do inherit heaven's graces” (4-5).
Like the Duke, in the second part of the sonnet, Shakespeare gives an indication that he fears he has been taken advantage of: “But if that flower with base infection meet, /The basest weed outbraves his dignity:” (11-12). Unlike Browning, Shakespeare prefers not to describe what makes him uncomfortable about his lover, as if it is too painful. He compares his lover to a flower but one which he suspects has been infected with infidelity and thus the lover is like a weed, as unfaithfulness cheapens the lover’s beauty. Unlike the Duke, who seems primarily concerned with his lover’s appearance, Shakespeare is instead concerned with his lover’s character. Shakespeare also does not outright accuse, much less condemn his lover for unfaithfulness, but rather simply raises the suspicion, unlike the Duke who openly condemns his wife to death for simply interacting with people and showing pleasure. The Duke also very openly lists his wife’s crimes but is very euphemistic about the fact that he had the woman killed, merely noting that her smiles stopped.
The irony of Browning’s poem comes from the contrast between what the reader knows to likely be true and what to value (the value of kindness shown by the former duchess) and the Duke’s murderous actions, based upon his distorted perceptions of the world. The irony of the Shakespearean sonnet is much more subtle, featuring a contrast between the beauty of the young man to whom the sonnet is addressed and the ugly actions Shakespeare suspects the young man committed. This creates a very different tone in both poems, one of which is menacing, the other of which is melancholy and romantic.
The question arises as to why the reader so quickly perceives it is not Browning himself talking, but rather that of someone else. The situation and cultural references are different from that of Browning’s Victorian England as first clue. But the exaggerated nature of the former duchess’ offenses are an equally significant indication; the reader notes that the Duke is an unreliable narrator and not to be trusted. This discrepancy further contributes to the atmosphere of menace and fear running through the work. A dramatic monologue in poetic form is very different than a lyric poem like a sonnet, in which the poet is presumed to be speaking his or her own personal truth. Even if a poetic persona is to some degree assumed in any poem, in the Browning poem, the persona’s difference from the author’s context is necessary to understand the poem’s meaning.
Works Cited
Browning, Robert. “My Last Duchess.” The Poetry Foundation. 10 Sept 2018.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43768/my-last-duchess
Shakespeare, William. “Sonnet 94.” The Poetry Foundation. 10 Sept 2018.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45100/sonnet-94-they-that-have-power-to-hurt- and-will-do-none