Essence of the Romantic and the Victorian ages in ‘My Last Duchess’ https://doi.org /10.5281/zen od o.14977404

Essence of the Romantic and the Victorian ages in ‘My Last Duchess’
https://doi.org /10.5281/zen od o.14977404

Author(s): Dr. Arvind Chaudhury

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14977404

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Volume 16 | Issue 1 | Feb 2025

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The Criterion: An International Journal in English Vol. 16, Issue-I, February 2025 ISSN: 0976-8165
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https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10448030
Essence of the Romantic and the Victorian ages in ‘My Last Duchess’
Dr. Arvind Chaudhury
Assistant Professor,
Department of English,
Hindu College,
University of Delhi,
Delhi-110007.
Article History: Submitted‐04/02/2025, Revised‐09/02/2025, Accepted‐26/02/2025, Published‐28/02/2025. 
Abstract:
The age, in which a poet or a poetess is brought up, has great impacts on his or her
sensibilities. In “My Last Duchess” the poet explored the horrific relationship of the Duke and
the Duchess. The Duke narrated to an emissary the entire story of killing her. It seemed that the
objective of visit of the emissary was, perhaps, to convey the proposal of marriage to the Duke.
In the poem, the Duke and the Duchess became symbols to represent the Victorian and the
Romantic ages respectively. It is evident that the scientific inventions and industrial revolutions
changed the mindsets of the people. The general attitude of persons shifted from the tranquil
state of Romanticism to reasonable and logical arguments of Victorianism. Browning captured
the manner of complex human existence of this age through the poetic creation of dramatic
monologue. The Duke was shattered enough to note the “spot of joy” on the Duchess’ face. The
“spot” reminded him of the French Revolution and the American War of Independence. These
revolutions challenged the institution of monarchy. So, the worried reactions by the Duke were
natural reactions on his part. He was highly threatened with the reflections of spontaneous
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Essence of the Romantic and the Victorian ages in ‘My Last Duchess’
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emotions on Duchess’ face. The Duke believed that his authority would be challenged by his
wife. Her thought of liberty and freedom are a means of threat for the Duke. Consequently, he
killed her to safeguard his authoritative position. It was explored that the feminist movement
found a voice in reaction to such horrible crime against women. It was also observed that the
form of interior monologue was the new dimension of creativity by T. S. Eliot to suit the Modern
age.
Keywords: Duke, Duchess, Romantic Age, Victorian Age, Dramatic Monologue, Interior
Monologue, French Revolution, Industrial Revolution, Utilitarianism, Doubt, Conflict,
Pessimism, Dehumanization, Lyrical Ballad, Blissfulness, Alienation, Individualism,
Existentialism.

The poem, ‘My Last Duchess’ by Robert Browning was published in Dramatic Lyrics in
1842. The age, in which the poem was published, was known as Victorian Age. The Victorian
age, which began in the year 1830, almost coincided with the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837
to 1901. Since the preceding age was Romantic age, the thoughts and ideas of the age were often
reflected in the works of the Victorian writers. It is said that the well-known writers of this age
such as Tennyson, Browning, Arnold, Dickens and others were influenced by the romantic
thoughts and feelings. At the same time, the writers of the Victorian age were also highly
anxious about the influences of the romantic fervour because they had to display their own poetic
talent. Considerably, the writers moulded their arts as per the existing contemporary ideas and
thoughts. In the poem, My Last Duchess, Browning based his plot on the institution of Dukedom
and his marital relations with the last Duchess as well as other Duchhesses. The poem drew the
critical attention of the critics and readers due to the significance of the subject-matter which
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focused on the institution of marriage. However, the aim of this paper is to consider Duke as a
symbol and representative of the Victorian society and the Lady Duchess as a representative and
symbol of the Romantic age. Considerably, the conflicts between the Duke and Duchess were
not studied only to the limitations of the marital conflicts but beyond this boundary. In other
words, the conflicts between the Duke and the Duchess represented the essence of the Victorian
and Romantic ages respectively.
The term “Essence” here requires elucidation to clarify the objective of this paper. It is
defined how the Duke and the last Duchess inhered characteristics of the Victorian and the
Romantic ages respectively. The well-known Victorian writers – Alfred Tennyson, Mathew
Arnold, Bronte sisters and so on – were under the impacts of the romantic writers. This impact
was caused as they were born and brought up during the glorious days of the romantic period.
Robert Browning, who was born in the year 1812, was also under the spell of the romantic
movements. The impacts of Percy Bysshe Shelly were often reflected in the poems of Browning
due to the thematic content of Shelleyan revolt. The poem, “My Last Duchess” achieved the
creative dimension due to the unique portrayal of the Duke who reflected the Victorian mindsets.
He was highly threatened to note the “spot of joy” on the Duchess’ smiling face.(Young p.58-60)
The Duke, who believed in class as a means of human existence and class categorization as the
basic foundation of society, was highly shaken to note that spot on her face. He considered that
she had inherited such thoughts from the romantic ideologues. Like romantic thinkers, the
Duchess believed in spontaneous existence and treated all people around her equally. The Duke
was perturbed to note such behaviour on her part that he considered her an infidel and thereby
took the liberty to kill her. Critics were highly astonished to note the Duke’s horrible arguments
for justifying the killing and also taming the last Duchess in a portrait. Was he so foolish or
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cunning? Or did he argue as a diplomat in front of the emissary? It seemed from his critical
arguments that he had reached a conclusive mindset to kill an individual departing from Duke’s
frame of mind. These arguments by a monarch were highly threatening to human existence. Such
an inhuman approach on the part of the Duke was an alarming note for an individual residing in
the Duke’s territory. The Duke was so deviated in his psychological state of mind that he failed
to control his words and actions. The nuptial knot of the Duke and the Duchess broke due to the
conflicting and contrasting characteristics of the respective ages inherent in their individual
beings. Browning’s masterpiece of dramatic monologue upheld the phenomenal and complex
means of existence in Victorian society. As a result, the characters of the Duke and Duchess
attained their symbolic status to represent their respective ages rather than limited to their
individual selves. Conclusively, it was assumed that the failure of the nuptial knot was a
reflection of the gradual transformation of a romantic-being into a reasonable and enquiring
Victorian-self.
Let us trace the general characteristics of the Romantic and the Victorian ages. The
timeline of English literature periods cannot be considered sharply from a particular year.
Usually, these periods were based on certain significant incidents. It is said that the year of the
Romanticism began with the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 or the publication of The
Lyrical Ballad in 1798. Similarly, there were several dates considered for the beginning of the
Victorian age such as 1830, 1832 and also 1837. It is argued that the year 1830 was the
beginning of a decade and also coincided with The Reform Act 1832. It is often argued that the
year 1837 should be considered as the beginning of this age because Queen Victoria ascended
the throne in this year. The city of Paris played a central role in the Romantic movements
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whereas England was the epicenter of the Victorian movement. The contrasting features of both
the ages are often reflected sharply in various literary texts.
The French Revolution contributed to the freedom of thoughts and expressions in
literature. Simultaneously, the manifesto of the revolution had a direct impact on monarchs and
their institutions. The American War of Independence resulted in independence of United States
of America and its impacts were felt in England. Both the revolutions influenced the minds of
the intellectuals as well as the common people of European countries including England also.
These revolutions, which demanded political freedoms, brought a change in society. Thereby the
intellectuals felt and considered that the neo-classical rules in the field of literature were a means
of hindrance in liberty and free thinking. The political slogan –Liberty, Equality, Fraternity-
emblazoned the mind of the poets. It was stated that the rules of the neoclassical period fettered
the minds of the poets and thus failed to answer the fundamental objectives of the slogan. The
poet started focusing on the mysterious existence of human beings which were based on
emotions and imaginations. Thus the nature of poetry was changed from the satiric spirit of the
neo-classical age to outburst of imagination and emotions, which were recollected in tranquility.
William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats and Lord
Byron expressed their best through poetry and not prose. It is to be noted that even women were
given space in the intellectual arena. However, the emotive dimensions of English literature of
the Romantic age again took a new turn during the Victorian age. It was seen that the entire
focus of temperament shifted to logical and scientific arguments. The Industrial Revolution also
contributed to the whole society. The zenith of scientific temperament was caused mainly due to
the publication of On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin in 1859. It shook the foundation
of the biblical arguments and its bases and thereby the entire focus of discussion shifted towards
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the principles of Darwin. The Victorian age was marked by the Industrial revolution, scientific
temperament and intellectual discussion. Obviously, these perspectives were also reflected in
literature and art. This new mode of thought brought a change in the particular characters as well
as the general temperament of the age. The writers considered argumentative approaches to suit
the subjects of their works. In the changed scenario, the reasoning mind was the English mind.
Due to all these factors, the society of this age experienced a complete transformation from a
rural and agricultural society into a commercial and industrial England.
The Last Duchess was an epitome and replica of the Romantic movements. Like a
Wordsworthian character, she focused towards subjective thoughts, individual existence,
spontaneous faith and a transcendental sense of yearning and pursuit. Naturally, she flew with
the idea of romantic uncertainty rather than the Victorian certainty. She believed in exploring the
accidental moment of circumstances rather than bending herself as per the will of arbitrariness.
Her existence was so intense and effectively based on the inspirations derived from the
principles of the Romantic age. It was of utmost importance to gauze her deep sensitive
understanding of human existence. Despite being created through the rhetorical utterances of the
Duke, she represented almost all the features of the Romantic age. She was so natural and
spontaneous that Browning, perhaps, created her by imitating the Wordsworthian principles of
“spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.”(Wordsworth, p.165)
The portrayal of Duke was done in contrast to the Last Duchess. It is stated that Alfonso
d’Este(1486-1534) was the model of the Duke. “The poem thus awakens our sense of historical
perspective, our knowledge that it was written by a nineteenth-century poet for readers who
would share his more enlightened viewpoint.”(Watson, p.75) Thus, in addition to the expansive
policy of the Italian prince, the Duke’s personality represented also the mighty Empire of the
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Victorian age. Due to the dramatic expansion and her dominance during the reign of Queen
Victoria, it was said that “the sun never set on the British Empire.” It was often debated how the
Empress Victoria, who was a woman, could represent the male-Duke. It was argued that even
women often carried patriarchal mindsets. “The achievement of the poem, then, is not simply
that Browning has created a superb character, but that the Duke himself, through a mask, is
playing a character.”(Garret, p.117) Unlike the last Duchess, the Duke, however, was incapable
of exploring uncertainties, mysteries as defined as Negative Capability by Keats and found his
suitable existence by social conventions and norms set by the society. The Duke believed in
artful manipulation of human beings just to affirm his selfhood. It was seen often that the
personal beliefs were imposed as a governing principles to be followed by the people. These
artificial rules were the parameters of the societal norms which were imposed forcefully by
Duke. The arrogance and pride of the Duke were due to those conventions of the Victorian and
the patriarchal world. Consequently, he believed in and also forced others to follow those
artificial norms of the societies. Thus, the Duke failed to understand and comprehend the
spectacular thoughts of the Last Duchess. The Duke was shattered highly with the
Duchess’ belief in the theory of Imagination as enunciated by Coleridge. The theory of Coleridge
focused on the organic evolution of the human self. Since the Duke failed to comprehend and
explore the last Duchess, the Duke considered her a Shelleyan character bearing a rebellious
nature.
A Utilitarian perspective was reflected in the character of the Duke as he emerged in his
existence by suppressing the spontaneity of the last Duchess. Utilitarianism, a
Benthamite principle, was wrongly applied by some people and institutions of the Victorian
age. Dickens, perhaps, tried to examine the wrong use of Benthamite principle in his
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novel, Hard Times(1854). In order to elucidate the impacts, the novel explored how the principle
was wrongly applied by a teacher called Gradgrind in the model institution. Instead of allowing
the students to enjoy their childhood and spontaneous growth, Gradgrind crafted a mode of
education that was based on arithmetic principles of facts only. Evidently, Lousia Gradgrind, the
daughter of Thomas Gradgrind, suppressed her emotions and imagination following the
principles of the utilitarian model of educations. She was forced by her father to marry a
businessman, Mr. Bounderby. It was a loveless marriage that failed to cater her emotional
demands. The students of this institution did not have the liberty to enjoy their fanciful and
emotional states of thoughts and dreams. Instead, they were subjected to strict rules and
restricted norms. The objective of Gradgrind was that the students must not be carried away by
their emotional states of being. On the contrary, a mechanization learning mode was focused so
that they become rational creatures only. An excerpt from Dickens’ novel, Hard Times, is
elucidated here to apply the Touchstone Method of Mathew Arnold to understand the “real
estimate” of poem, “My Last Duchess.” The Duchess, like Louisa, also underwent tremendous
mode of suppression so that she should not inculcate her intuitive being and imagination self.
The Duke’s expectations were shattered when he found that she was exchanging compassionate
greetings with the people around her. Evidently, her spontaneous reflections became the cause of
his crisis and he vehemently pointed those facts with a lot of emphasis before the emissary. It is
observed that a note of Utilitarian nature extended even further on the part of Duke and found a
manifestation through his lurching diabolical speech. As evident from the boastful glorification
of his past reputation and mightiness, the Duke presented the entire narration before the emissary
with an objective to get a trmendous amount of dowry as a gift. Also, he intended to convey in
clear terms to the emissary that his would-be wife should know about the incident of killing so
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that she should not dare to follow the footsteps of the last Duchess, failing which, she would
meet the same fate of the last Duchess. Conclusively, one can say that the Duke was far away
from a sense of generosity, kindness, frolicsome depth of Duchess’ womanhood. As a result, he
hovered for a particular and stereotype behavior as expected from a woman by a man. It was
reflected that the Duke carried the Utilitarian frame of mind as he not only killed but even tried
to exploit the killing of the last Duchess.
The doubt of the Victorian age and the blissfulness of the Romantic age were reflected in
the characters of the Duke and the last Duchess, respectively. He was highly worried to note the
“spot of joy” on her face. Since “spots” of natural settings were the locations where Romantic
poets used to meet for their creative purposes, the Duke was worried to note such reflections on
the Duchess’ face. The inequality existing between a man and a woman during the Victorian age
found a reflection in deliberate victimization of the Duchess by the Duke. The crime committed
by the Duke was a reflection of dehumanization generated due to Industrial Revolution. He was
so mad in pursuit of material prosperity that he considered the collection of statues and pieces of
art as a means of prosperity. Browning presented a harsh and realistic picture of the age through
this poem. In other words, the poet wanted to impart moral education to the readers.
In light of the topic of this paper, it is required to exhibit the various forms of creativity
designed by the writers of the age to capture the existing frame of mind during the Victorian age.
Thus, the various literary devices such as irony, sarcasm, melodrama, Juvenalian and Horatian
satires were used by the writers to express their thoughts. Charles Dickens, who was popular and
dominant voice of the Victorian age, became famous by creative inventions of various
caricatures to point out the oddities and absurdities existing during his time. William Makepeace
Thackeray used social satire to make his point against human vanity. On the same note,
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Browning also created the form of Dramatic monologue to present the rhetorical utterances of
the Duke.
The technique of Dramatic monologue encapsulated the scene of the social complexities of
the Victorian age. The intense cut-throat competition and the existing tensions among the various
schools of thought were prevailing in the age. Each school of thought was in the fashions of
imposing its ideas and principles with an intention to eliminate the other school. Evidently, one
school of thought completely clashed with the other one and tried its best to compete in the art of
subjugation. The desire to assert one’s authority just like the Duke through the monologue only
and unwilling to listen further showed the unique mindset of the age itself. Thus, the creative
poetic form by Browning reflected a unique mode which also critically examined the existing
rhetorics of the age. Philip Hobsbaum perceived that:
Indeed the critics saw the Victorian age essentially as one of lyric. In a sense, it was: much
of the weight of fiction was taken over by the prose novel, but this makes the verse
monologue all the more important. Insofar as poetry was capable of bearing serious
reference to the outside world, the monologue proved to be the clue to the period.
Underground as it sometimes was, submerged as critical opinion since that time has
allowed it to be, the monologue nevertheless was the lifeline of English verse when poetry
was in danger of losing its foothold in civilization as a relevant art-form.
Yet the period was to favour the erection of character in lieu of personal utterance, if only
because it at once doubted moral issues and yet was concerned to exhibit a good front to
the world…In Browning and his more gifted successors, a great deal of psychic energy
was released, much of which had lain in abeyance since the time of Shakespeare because
there was no dramatic fiction capable of giving it shape. And it is this interesting in the
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creation of character, particularly at a psychological extreme, that typifies the school of
Browning.(Hobsbaum, p.239)
The silent state of the emissary, who was on the mission to negotiate the wedding of
the Duke, was an essential element of the poetic form of dramatic monologue. This state of the
emissary also symbolized the reticence and repression imposed on women during the Victorian
age. It was a matter of standard practice that women were allowed to exist only in their state of
silence. This arbitrariness on the part of patriarchy was the reason that culminated in gender
inequality. In other words, the protest by women might land them in the portrait gallery of the
Duke. The emissary was shown to represent the lady and her father- King on whose behalf he
was there to negotiate the wedding. However, he was also as a representative of all those women
of the Victorian society whose situations were just like the last Duchess. In spite of the
dominance of the reasoning mind, the women during Victorian age were highly marginalized in
life as well as art. The reason behind this is that society was highly patriarchal in mindset and
women were not allowed to live their independent life. The basic premises and doctrines were
highly biased for women. Women were treated subordinate to their husbands in a family and so
in a society also by various means of marginalization.
The use of allusion in the poem also reinforced the silent state of women’s existence with
special focus on the span of time. The women were not suppressed and subjugated during the
Victorian age only but it was continuing since Renaissance period. The literary device was
brilliantly employed by Browning to point out how women were facing a life of humiliation in
almost all the ages from the Italian Renaissance to the Victorian age. The Duke became
synonymous with the exploitative mindsets that voiced to subjugate women. The poet through
the technique of allusion seemed to make an observation regarding cynical mindsets that were
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responsible for the demeaning means of existence for women even during the Victorian age
despite various reawakening and reformation movements since Renaissance.
Browning employed the literary device of irony, perhaps, to portray the Duke as a caricature
rather than a monarch. The words and situations were interplayed in such a way that the verbal
irony and the dramatic irony were reflected through his words and actions. The verbal and
rhetorical utterances of self-glorification by the Duke portrayed him just contrary to his speeches.
Naturally, the critics considered him a disillusioned personality. Critics were of the opinion that a
further examination of his statements might reveal that he was impotent as a husband. The verbal
and the dramatic ironies in the poem reflected his hollowness.
The paper concludes with the facts that the suppressive state of silence of emissary found a
ray of hope in the intellectual ammunition in J. S. Mill’s The Subjection of Women, published in
1861. It was also seen that the conflicts of the society was shifted and manifested in the
individual being of the Modern age. It can be elucidated that the conflicts of a character in the
Modern age was reflected in the poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” The poem was
written in 1911, when T. S. Eliot was enrolled in the Oxford University and it was published in
the year 1915. The poem was written in the form of Interior monologue. The dramatic scene of
the Victorian society was shifted into an individual self of the Modern society. Consequently, the
poem focuses on alienation, isolation, timidity self-consciousness. Prufrock may be considered
the modern Duke who was constantly searching a means to address his own self. The Duke,
perhaps, faced existential crisis and he started questioning his own existence in the post-Modern
world. The objective of the paper – the reflections of an age on the personality of an individual
self – is, thus, examined.

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