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Teaching My Last Duchess

My Last Duchess

"My Last Duchess" is a poem by Robert Browning, frequently anthologised as an example of the dramatic monologue. The poem is set during the late Italian Renaissance. The speaker (presumably the Duke of Ferrara) is giving the emissary of the family of his prospective new wife (presumably a third or fourth since Browning could have easily written 'second' but did not do so) a tour of the artworks in his home. He draws a curtain to reveal a painting of a woman, explaining that it is a portrait of his late wife; he invites his guest to sit and look at the painting.

Robert Browning
Public Domain

ESSENTIAL QUESTION:

How does Browning develop the narrator's character over the course of the poem?
STANDARDS:
RL.1 - Meaning & Evidence, RL.3 - Characters & Plot

DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE (DOK) LEVELS:

2,3
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