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Year 10
AQA

Analysing the poem 'My Last Duchess'

I can explore how Browning uses language and structure to present power in ‘My Last Duchess’.

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Year 10
AQA

Analysing the poem 'My Last Duchess'

I can explore how Browning uses language and structure to present power in ‘My Last Duchess’.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Browning uses art to symbolise the Duke’s craving for power and control.
  2. By using the form of a dramatic monologue and rhyming couplets, Browning reflects the Duke’s desire for total control.
  3. Enjambment reveals a single person’s capacity to be carried away by passions and anger, subtly revealing instability.
  4. Ironically, through his craving for control and power, the Duke reveals himself to be powerless.
  5. Browning exposing the Duke as powerless and insecure may reflect his critique of patriarchal Victorian society.

Keywords

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

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

  • Expose - to show what has been covered or hidden

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

Common misconception

The Duke's presentation of himself is of absolute power.

If you look deeper into Browning's presentation of the Duke, he is revealed to lack power.


To help you plan your year 10 english lesson on: Analysing the poem 'My Last Duchess', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

When looking at interpretations of the Duke in learning cycle 2, you could include a hot seating activity where each pupil in a group of 3 provides the perspective of a different party (narrator, reader, and writer).
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Teacher tip
equipment-required

Equipment

You will need access to a copy of the AQA Power and Conflict Anthology for this lesson.

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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
  • Depiction or discussion of serious crime
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Supervision

Adult supervision required

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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What complaints did the Duke have about the Duchess in 'My Last Duchess'?
she wore immodest clothing
she rode mules
she did not have generational wealth
Correct answer: she blushed and smiled at many things
Q2.
The Duke in 'My Last Duchess' is shocked at how the Duchess did not feel indebted to him based on his “gift” of…
beautiful animals.
acres of land.
jewels.
Correct answer: high status and reputation.
Q3.
In the line “she liked whatever she looked on and her looks went everywhere”, from 'My Last Duchess' the Duke seems…
content
Correct answer: jealous
infatuated
Correct answer: insecure
Q4.
How does the Duke in 'My Last Duchess' seek to present himself as a powerful man?
He divorces his wife.
He gifts his wife lots of expensive things.
Correct answer: He controls the curtain that shields his late wife's portrait.
Correct answer: He shows off his status through art.
Q5.
How many narrative perspectives are there in 'My Last Duchess' and why is this significant?
Correct answer: 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
Q6.
Why might Browning, a Victorian poet, have set his poem 'My Last Duchess' in the Italian Renaissance?
he enjoyed the rich history of Italy
Correct answer: it disguises his critique of the time and place he lived in
his wife was Italian

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is similar about the first four and last four lines of 'My Last Duchess'?
They both speak of the Duchess' horrific death.
They both speak of the Duchess' promiscuous behaviour.
Correct answer: They both reference the Duke's artwork.
Q2.
Why is it significant that the Duke has a painting made of his late wife in 'My Last Duchess'?
It symbolises how he loved her as he wanted to immortalise her.
Correct answer: It symbolises how he perceives her as a possession.
It symbolises how beautiful she was .
Q3.
​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?
Correct answer: 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.
Q4.
Arguably, what does the use of enjambment in the poem 'My Last Duchess' emphasise?
the Duke's hidden love for his wife
Correct answer: the Duke's inability to control his rage
the Duchess' promiscuous behaviour
Q5.
The use of rhyming couplets throughout 'My Last Duchess' may reflect…
the Duke’s deteriorating mental health.
Correct answer: the Duke’s need to exert strict control over his wife.
the Duke’s mourning.
the Duchess’ promiscuity.
Q6.
In 'My Last Duchess' one could argue that the Duke fails to control the Duchess even in her death as...
many people sneak a look at her portrait.
Correct answer: the ''spot of joy'' is a mark of her defiance present in the portrait.
the Duke struggles to open the curtain shielding the portrait.