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IRONIES IN ”MY LAST DUCHESS”
Literature and poetry are some of the greatest ways of pouring out feelings. Different writers, however, use different styles of writing to make their work attractive and effective in communicating their message. One of these ways is irony. It refers to the use of words or expressions that implies or mean the opposite. There are different types of irony, and they include dramatic irony, verbal irony, and situational irony. ‘my last Duchess’ is a work of poetry that is considered a dramatic monologue because the speaker is addressing a character who is not responding in the poem. This poem has employed the style of irony in a meaningful manner to bring out different themes and achieve some literature goals. He uses verbal and situational irony mostly, and they are going to be discussed in the below essay.
Verbal irony instances come out in the poem when the speaker says things which he does not mean. For example, the speaker talks about a painting of his wife on a wall. He calls that a piece of wonder in this poem. This could imply that the speaker was complementing that painting. However, this was not the case as the painting was a bitter reminder of his wife. It is evident since the poem is also dedicated to her, and it triggers memories of her wife and so complementing the painting can only be considered a style of verbal irony. Also, it looks very odd of the poet to say that the painting looked alive. Of course, it should be obvious that a painting or a picture should look alive and not dead. I mean this also ironical in its own explicit way.
Another instance of verbal irony is when he talks about “The depth and passion of its earnest glance”. this is a figure of personification but in deep analysis, it also stands out to be a case of irony. This is basically because, the persona is talking about a painting looking at him, looking at him so serious until he can feel it. Of course, this does not happen. Probably, the persona means the memories that the painting triggers rather than looking at him.
In addition to that, the speaker also talks about Duchess, his wife, in a complaining tone as he complains about her and the feeling she caused to him of despise, made him feel as if he was of less importance yet he was the duke. She did not treat him any special, she smiled to him as she did with anybody else, she did reject commands from him and showed a negative change in attitude whenever she was given any command and so on, making the duke feel despised. The irony here is because the duke is in this poem missing his wife but still he talks about the bad things she dis. As expected, probably he should be speaking in favor of his wife and perhaps praising her. After all, she is long departed.
An element of situational irony also comes out in this context. Situational irony refers to instances when things happen out of no expectation or something looks like what it really isn’t. here, the speaker, who is the duke, claims that it would be better if he never told his wife those things directly. He says, “E’en then would be some stooping; and I choose never to stoop”. However, this was water past the bridge. The death of his wife had closed all the chances for this, and it was less important to talk about what he should have done or what he should not have done, and talking about it to a portrait, something that will not listen, it will not hear either will it respond. Instead, he should have talked about them to his wife during the days of her life.
There is also an element of another irony when he requests his wife to stand. This could also be viewed as a situational irony as the speaker is not addressing the wife. He is addressing the painting on the wall. The painting that he treats so special. It is covered by a curtain which only he can uncover. However, no matter how special he treats it, no one would expect it to be requested by the duke to rise. Probably it would have been more reasonable if it was even a corpse being addressed but not a painting. After all, from where was the portrait rising? Portraits do not die and hence should not rise. Moreover, it is also ironical the way the duke is talking about his late Duchess as if so desperate. As if he could marry none other yet with his position he could have chosen to marry just as good wife as he had before, or even a better one.
In his introduction, either, he talks about his last duchess to whom the poem is dedicated yet in the last about five lines, he seems to address the wife he would marry next. If he marries, then his deceased wife will automatically cease being his last duchess and the newly married one would be. This therefore also presents to us some irony. Moreover, it is ironic that the duchess was impressed by everything she went across. He says, “she liked whate’er she looked on, and her looks went everywhere.” This is the wife of a duke. At least, she should have respect for her class. The duke is a sovereign leader, he is like a king in his territory and this should be the class of his wife.
Another instance of irony is what surrounds the death of the duchess. The duke is such a powerful person and he can afford therefore, to offer security for his wife. However, according to the poem, the duchess dies in his presence. He gives her an order but she doesn’t respond. Again, he talks negative about her saying that she is too easily impressed and that he does not honor his nine hundred years’ name. it therefore means that the duke killed his own wife. In the lines 42 and 43, “I gave commands/ Then all smiles stopped together” it hints to us that he duchess was killed under the command of the duke. However, in the poem the duke seems to lament. He cries for his gone wife yet she was killed by his command. So her goodness costed her. Being kind to people, being so much into everyone was the reason for her death. I mean the duke should have a concrete reason to kill his wife nit just mere imagination that his marriage was being threatened.; and then again pretends to be lamenting. If he really loves the duchess, then probably he would have sought the best way to solve such an issue.
This brings out another instance of a dramatic irony in the perception that the duke has as he talks about his late wife. Even after having commanded the death of his wife, he still thinks that he can justify himself yet he commanded against his very own innocent wife. As he talks about her in the poem, he thinks that the reasons he gave about her being so “cheap” would justify his actions. This is dramatic irony because the duke, in his mind, thinks that he is exposing his good side and a resonate one for that matter, to the audience yet the audience sees a negative side of him. They see a ruthless man, a sycophant man who thinks his power and position will justify his action against the duchess. In fact, it is also ironic that a king of his class will feel insecure about his wife interacting with other men. It is like he was not respected and anybody could trick his wife into unfaithful act. This made him think that after talking about her smiling to other men, receiving gifts from them, her portrait being painted by those men and so on, would win empathy for him for his action.
Another faint use of irony is on the fact that the duke intends to marry. However, in the poem he does not show any intentions to do away with the duchess portrait. Does he really care about what it would mean to hernew wife? Probably, his late wife, the Duchess, was reduced to work of art that would impress him either way as it will have no ability to do anything that will be likely to offend him. May be according to him, it should be an automatic warning to his future wife that she should always act to impress him and as a show of total authority about her. However, it is stupid to think that a human being can be reduced to act like a work of art. Instead, it would only be realistic to think of what he has to change about his perception and approach of things.
In conclusion, the poet in the poem “My Last Duchess” can be said to have effectively employed irony as a literary device with which he captures well the attention of the reader. He also creates suspense in the poem using this device making his work so attractive and captivating. Perhaps, it is a poem that carries the real taste of irony and giving its effectiveness with similar weight.
Reference
Friedland, Louis S. “Ferrara and My Last Duchess.” Studies in Philology 33 (1936): 656.