This poem is a fine example of Browning's skill in the use of dramatic
monologue. (See Introduction.) The Duke is skilfully made to reveal
his own character and motives, and those of the Duchess, and at the
same time to indicate the actions of himself and his listener.
Construct in imagination the scene and the action of the poem. What
has brought the Duke and the envoy together? What things indicate the
Duke's pride? Was his jealousy due to pride or to affection? Does he
prize the picture as a work of art or as a memory of the Duchess? What
faults did he find in her? What character do these criticisms show her
to have had? What did he wish her to he? Note the anti-climax in
lines 25-28: what is the effect? What shows the Duke's difficulty in
breaking his reserve on this matter? What motive has he for so doing?
Where does the poet show skill in condensation, in character drawing,
in vividness, in enlisting the reader's sympathy?
_The Flight of the Duchess_ should be read as a development and
variation of this theme.