Page 345 - DENG405_BRITISH_POETRY

British Poetry

Notes The poet asserts that the hand (practice) and brain (thought) never went perfectly paired. The heart
never dared to give vent to the true emotions that it fostered. No act even could prove the intention
behind the same. What hand and brain went ever paired?

Browning deems himself to be in no way lesser to the statesman, soldier, soft, sculptor
and musician. In fact, his riding is superior to all the above-said acts.

In this second stanza, he compares the Ride to the act of composing poetry. The difference is that
the Poet expressed what the normal person felt. The poets idealize certain things and places them
into rhyme, the image and rhyme co-existing side-by-side. However, the speaker quips whether the
Poet’s own life was as beautiful as he portrayed in poetry. Whether in reality the Poet was stricken
with poverty or ailments or old age. It was perhaps his tragedies that contributed to an iota of his
sublime.

Are you—poor, sick, old ere your time—
Nearer one whit your own sublime
Though the speaker prefers the Ride, as the ride entails only joy compared to the poets singing.
Ironically the speaker is a Poet himself in reality.
The sculptor turns years to lock the beauty of Venus in his artistic creation, but it is of no practical
use. The sculptor has devoted years of service to Art. The speaker personifies Art, and sculptor as
the slave of Art. All this servility comes to nothing, because a person is more attracted towards
domestic reality, his gaze immediately shifts from the statue of Venus to a dame that waddles(fords)
through a spring of water(burn).The Sculptor acquiesces, he accepts fate reluctantly but without
protest. On the other hand, shouldn’t the speaker openly express his discontent? The significance of
being a musician also pales in comparison. The musician whiles way his best years in music, while
music too has its own fashions and one kind of music may not appeal to another generation. His
only reward appears to be praise from a friend. The speaker too has sacrificed his youth, but he
rides fine because it endows upon him the bliss of a lifetime.

Self Assessment

Multiple Choice Questions:
1. What is the Duke arranging in “My Last Duchess”?
(a) The Duchess’s funeral (b) The painting of the Duchess’s portrait
(c) A new marriage for himself (d) The sale of his art collection
2. What is the rhyme scheme of “My Last Duchess”?
(a) Enjambed blank verse (b) Enjambed rhyming couplets
(c) End-stopped rhyming couplets (d) End-stopped blank verse
3. Who was the author of “My Last Duchess”?
(a) Elizabeth Barrett Browning (b) Lord Tennyson
(c) Arthur Hugh Clough (d) Robert Browning
4. Who is presumed speaker of “My Last Duchess”?
(a) Robert Browning (b) Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara
(c) The Duchess of Ferrara (d) Fra Pandolf

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