Page 344 - DENG405_BRITISH_POETRY

Unit 29: Robert Browning: My Last Duchess and the Last Ride Together

comes to his unrequited love. His love is unselfish and does not avail of anything unreasonable, it is Notes
truly blessed with pride and happiness in having the Last ride with her which would endow him
with the joy of a lifetime. For this, he would even handover his most priced possession- the hope of
love that inspired him to live on. If gifted with the Ride, he guarantees that he will be content with
just the memory of the hope that inspired him to go on.

Examine the last ride together as a dramatic monologue.

The Lady bent her brows to this entreaty; pity smoothening the pride had filled her dark eyes. The
moment of her decision was a crucial point for the poet, as though he hung between life and death;
and the colour left his face for a splitting second. However, the positive signal replenishes the blood
at once. He is euphoric regarding the prospects of riding with her while the present lasted. And he
states that he is deified or exalted for one more day, because one never knows when the world
might end.
The poet subsequently refers to their physical proximity, implying that the word ‘ride’ has sexual
connotations. The poet informs her that if the she witnesses the Western cloud with its bosom laden
with blessings; if she encounters the sun’s and moon’s and evening stars all at once, it is just because
heaven has descended upon them. The poet pleads with her to leave her consciousness aside, and
let passion draw her “Cloud, sunset, moonrise, star-shine too, “That they rise above the distinctions
of the flesh to a spiritual union. She comes closer to the speaker with mixed emotions of joy and
fear.
The poet dwells on the significance of the present in the next stanza as he concentrates on the ride.
He contemplates on why people attach so much significance to the past and future, than focusing
on the present. His soul that was hitherto a long “scramped scroll “ smoothens itself out. The
metaphor connotes living life to the fullest in elation and ecstasy for the moment. The scroll freshens
and flutters in the wind in intense euphoria. Why does one get carried way by past actions:

Had I said that, had I done this,
So might I gain, so might I miss.

Why do people leave room, for doubts, suspicions, failure, misgivings that haunt the present instead
of protecting it, and distracting the same. One should breathe each moment as though there is no
room for regret. For him at the moment there was no truth save:

And here we are riding, she and I.
The speaker anticipated no ‘real’ love from his ladylove. He had failed in word and deeds. He
consoles himself that all men do strive for success, but who achieves it? His spirit was still on a high
with regard to the present, as they encountered unknown avenues during the course of their ride.
The speaker asserts that the “the world rushed by on either side.”. That is, the world seemed to rush
past because the poet was caught in the moment in slow motion. The world that was caught up in
worldly pursuits continued with it, in spite of the failures they encountered. Yet, what compensates
them for the petty present is the hopeful future that promises vast opportunities. Likewise, the poet
temporarily goes against his own dictum, suddenly wishing that if she would ever love him back.
He thus contradicts himself proving that hope is instinctive and universal. It cannot be traded for
anything in the world, in spite of ourselves.
What hand and brain went ever paired?
What heart alike conceived and dared?
What act proved all its thought had been?
What will but felt the fleshly screen?

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