Essay on "Last Duchess"

Quoted Instructions for "Last Duchess" Assignment:

Please go through the following the instruction.The format of the essay should be like the sample given below.

Writing Essays

Sample Introduction Paragraph for 4-page Character Analysis Essay:

Robert Browning*****s poem, My Last Duchess, is set in Renaissance Italy and is a monologue spoken by the Duke of Ferraro, a widow, to a man who is acting as the agent for a marriage contract with another man*****s daughter. In speaking to the agent, the Duke explains how his *****last Duchess***** had lived a seemingly happy life with the Duke, and yet at the same time the Duke ironically reveals some residual resentment of his first wife. The more the Duke describes his feelings about his dead wife, the more he inadvertently exposes his barely repressed anger at her. Without ever stating that he actually killed his wife, or ordered her to be killed, he comes right up to the edge of admitting that he is responsible for her demise. In this essay I will argue that the Duke of Ferraro is unaware that he is inadvertently revealing he murdered his last Duchess. The irony of the poem is that his intended boasting and appearance of confidence reveal indirectly his guilt and corruption. This is important because it reveals Browning*****s interest in the hidden workings of the human mind and the psychological corruption of evil.

Focus:

Theme: topic of your essay: *****Irony and the speaker in Robert Browning*****s My Last Duchess*****

Introductory Paragraph:

Opening remarks: Introduces the topic of your essay, the author and poem you will be discussing, and the general focus and theme. Avoid being overly vague or superficial, or making sweeping claims about *****people***** or about *****life.*****

Example: *****Robert Browning*****s poem, My Last Duchess, is set in Renaissance Italy and is a monologue spoken by the Duke of Ferraro, a widow, to a man who is acting as the agent for a marriage contract with another man*****s daughter.*****

Narrow the focus: Move from the general overview to the more specific area of your theme. Plot details should be secondary to establishing your analysis of the ideas.

Example: *****In speaking to the agent, the Duke explains how his *****last Duchess***** had lived a seemingly happy life with the Duke, and yet at the same time the Duke ironically reveals some residual resentment of his first wife. The more the Duke describes his feelings about his dead wife, the more he inadvertently exposes his barely repressed anger at her. Without ever stating that he actually killed his wife, or ordered her to be killed, he comes right up to the edge of admitting that he is responsible for her demise.*****

Thesis: specific argument/claim you are going to make in your essay.

Example: *****In this essay I will argue that the Duke of Ferraro is unaware that he is inadvertently revealing he murdered his last Duchess. The irony of the poem is that his intended boasting and appearance of confidence reveal indirectly his guilt and corruption.*****

Significance: statement of the significance of your claim/thesis in the study of the poem.

Example: *****This is important because it reveals Browning*****s interest in the hidden workings of the human mind and the psychological corruption of evil.*****

Developmental Paragraphs:

Topic Sentence: Acts as a mini *****thesis statement***** giving your main point or idea for the paragraph. All of the points in the paragraph should work to develop this topic sentence. Usually the topic sentence comes early in the paragraph, with developing details following.

Transitions: At the beginning of paragraphs, transition phrases or sentences are used to link the previous paragraph*****s ideas to the new focus of the next paragraph. Within paragraphs, transition phrases link ideas to create a smooth flow.

Assertions: Assertions are the claims that you are making about the poem that develop your topic sentence idea. An assertion comes before your textual quote and introduces it.

Textual Support: Quotes from the poem are used to back up and support your assertions. These need to be contextualized, that is, explained in terms of your claim about them and incorporated into your sentence structure. Quotes should be kept to only a few lines or the significant words in a poem and should clearly show the location of the quote (i.e., the page number or, if provided, the line number of the quote.)

Significance: After you offer a quote in support of your assertion, you need to then go back and state specifically what in the quote supports your claim about it. Spell it out for your reader*****”it is your job to *****prove***** the text is doing what you say it is.

Organization:

In general you should develop your essay with the most important points first. But there is no formula for what will be the most logical and coherent way to work through your ideas. By creating an outline of your ideas first, you can begin to notice which ideas ought to be presented before other ideas so that they will all make sense. Depending on your essay*****s thesis and points, you may find it more coherent not to follow the structure/order of the poem, focusing instead of developing individual points that you are trying to establish. But in all cases, take care to ensure your reader can easily stay with the order and logic of your argument.

Closing Paragraph:

Think of your closing paragraph as a way to *****open up***** the idea you have been developing, to point out how it is significant, or to provide a way to examine other poems. In a short paper, it is not necessary or desireable to simply repeat the first paragraph or earlier points.

The point I want you to argue in the poem is about how egocentric and power loving the duke was and although the duke's monologue appears on the surface to be about his late wife, a close reading will show that the mention of his last duchess is merely a side note in his self-important speech.

Please keep in mind my point and if you have some different suggestions please contact me.

Thanks

Anumita