The Duke of Ferrara was a very arrogant man. He did not seem to care about the happiness of his wife, only his own. He did not like the fact that she found happiness in other places beside himself, as if he should be the only life in her life. He could not understand how she could rank his nine thousand year old name with more simpler things such as her white mule that she rode on the terrace, an act of kindness from an "officious fool" and the "drooping of the daylight in the west." His wife, no doubt, had no idea he felt that way but he could not discuss it with her, blaming it on the f

act that he had no skill in speech. He let the problem persist until he no longer could stand it and finally "gave commands" that in one way or another caused her death.

The Duke's personality, although somewhat sinister, captures the reader's attention. He reveals his true inner self by explaining the 'vices' of his wife. A feeling of pathos occurs when the reader finally understands that the wife died innocently through no fault of her own, ultimately leaving the Duke the villain of the story. My Last Duchess is a pure testimonial to the fact that the main character in a story does not have to be a good person in order for it to be an enjoyable piece of art.

Insecurity is something that we all feel at one point or another in our relationships. The Duke, however, was too insecure. He thought very little of his first wife, believing her to be too childish and naive. He probably felt that she did not love him very much because of the fact that she put his favor at her breast in the same category

Some common words found in the essay are:
Duke Ferrara, Fra Pandolf, Robert Browning, People Duke, dramatic monologue,
Approximate Word count = 684
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)