One can almost hear the Duke's true feelings of indignance, as he describes the Duchess to his guest. "Sir, 'twas not/Her husband's presence only, called that spot/Of joy into the Duchess' cheek:..." Her countenance and demeanor illustrated a true love of life, as it seems to have affected the way she treated those she encountered. It is as if she looked upon everyone as equal in stature, with no regard to sta

Of mine for dowry will be disallowed;

Not only does he want his next wife's rather large dowry, he will undoubtedly want her to be the perfect wife. Based on the story of his first wife, she will either be obedient and bend to his enormous ego, or suffer the fate of the last duchess.

The Count your master's known munificence

By controlling who is able to view the painting, the Duke fulfills his need to exhibit his power. He must show others how powerful he is, but he is rather cowardly in this respect because he does not flaunt this to those who may be more powerful than he. He does not tell his story of the last Duchess to the Count himself, but to his servant who would probably never tell the Count. Perhaps the servant would advise the Count's daughter as a warning so that she would live in fear and awe of the Duke.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Duke Ferrara, Robert Browning's, Duchess Count, That's Duchess, Fra Pandolf's, Bedford/St Martin's, complete control, count servant, enormous ego, gift duke,
Approximate Word count = 805
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)