to treat a person like a tool or a toy and deny them their emotions

a person who has absolute power and exerts it in a cruel or oppressive way

when something that was intended to have a particular result actually has the opposite result

Analysing the poem 'My Last Duchess'

English

In 'AQA Power and Conflict Poetry', pupils compared the language, form and structure of a variety of poems connected by the themes of power and conflict. In 'AQA Power and Conflict Poetry continued', pupils work on making more nuanced comparisons between poems.

In 'A World at War: Poetry', pupils explore how poets presents the atrocities of World War One through their poetry. In 'AQA Power and Conflict Poetry', pupils analyse how a variety of different wars have been presented through poetry.

In this unit, pupis explore 12 of the 15 poems from the 'Power and Conflict' anthology. Pupils complete two lessons about each poem: one on understanding and one on analysis. Pupils study the poems in three groups, and they pause after each group to compare how those poems present common themes.

Poetry anthology: first study

Historic or outdated representations of people that may portray inequality or injustice.

Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

Subjects which particular individuals may be sensitive to, eg, adoption, migration, bereavement or death, divorce, poverty, deprivation.

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

They both speak of the Duchess' horrific death.

They both speak of the Duchess' promiscuous behaviour.

What is similar about the first four and last four lines of 'My Last Duchess'?

It symbolises how he loved her as he wanted to immortalise her.

It symbolises how he perceives her as a possession.

Why is it significant that the Duke has a painting made of his late wife in 'My Last Duchess'?

This shows the Duke boasting about the control he has over his late wife.

This shows the Duke boasting about the expensive materials in his house.

This shows the Duke accusing his wife of infidelity.

This shows how protective the Duke was over his wife.

​Look at the following quotation from 'My Last Duchess': "(since none puts by​/the curtain that I have drawn for you, but I)." What does this show?

Arguably, what does the use of enjambment in the poem 'My Last Duchess' emphasise?

the Duke’s deteriorating mental health.

the Duke’s need to exert strict control over his wife.

The use of rhyming couplets throughout 'My Last Duchess' may reflect…

many people sneak a look at her portrait.

the ''spot of joy'' is a mark of her defiance present in the portrait.

the Duke struggles to open the curtain shielding the portrait.

In 'My Last Duchess' one could argue that the Duke fails to control the Duchess even in her death as...

What complaints did the Duke have about the Duchess in 'My Last Duchess'?

The Duke in 'My Last Duchess' is shocked at how the Duchess did not feel indebted to him based on his “gift” of…

In the line “she liked whatever she looked on and her looks went everywhere”, from 'My Last Duchess' the Duke seems…

He gifts his wife lots of expensive things.

He controls the curtain that shields his late wife's portrait.

How does the Duke in 'My Last Duchess' seek to present himself as a powerful man?

one: it leads us to question the reliability of the Duke's story

two: we get a fair depiction of the Duke and Duchess' relationship

three: we hear the Duke's new wife's reservations too

How many narrative perspectives are there in 'My Last Duchess' and why is this significant?

it disguises his critique of the time and place he lived in

Why might Browning, a Victorian poet, have set his poem 'My Last Duchess' in the Italian Renaissance? 

Content guidance

Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Depiction or discussion of serious crime

Adult supervision required

Introduction

What will you need for this lesson?

Are you ready to learn?

Equipment

Content guidance

Supervision

Worksheet