Robert Browning Short Essay |
Write a two-page analysis of how Browning presents the Duke’s character in his poem, “My Last Duchess.” Your analysis needs to include two elements: first, what sort of character does the Duke have, and second, how does that help you to interpret the poem? These should not necessarily be included in separate sections of the paper, but you need to be sure you are directly relating your discussion of character to the theme of the work. Look back at the sections in Literature and the Writing Process discussing theme and thesis for help on this. And here are a few questions to get you started. Remember not to use these questions as an organizational structure for your paper, but rather as a brainstorming exercise:
- What sort of person is the Duke?
- What sort of person is the Duchess?
- How does the fact that we only know about the Duchess through the Duke’s eyes affect our perceptions of her and of him?
- Why does he feel as he does about the Duchess?
- What motivates the Duke to behave as he does?
- What role do the various works of art serve in the poem to help us understand the Duke’s character, or his relationship with the Duchess?
Please use your Paper Guidelines to prepare the draft in the same format you would submit your formal papers, just for practice. And, as we’ve been discussing in class, you should have a thesis, a clear organizational pattern, and supportive textual evidence from the text! Be sure to review your book’s first chapter for directions on quoting material, and take a look at Integrating Literary Quotations for more information about how to include quotes smoothly into your own writing. Let me know if you need help.
This page copyright 2000-2007 by Lisa Hammond | last update 25 January 2007