Here we have provided My Last Duchess Questions Answers from Class 11 English Second Semester WBCHSE. “My Last Duchess” is a dramatic monologue written by the English poet Robert Browning.
My Last Duchess Short Questions Answers from Class 11 English Second Semester
Q.1 Who is Fra Pandolf in My Last Duchess?
Ans: Fra Pandolf is the painter who made the Duchess’s portrait. The Duke mentions him to show how well the painting captures her expression.
Q.2 What is the “spot of joy” in My Last Duchess?
Ans: The “spot of joy” refers to the Duchess blushing. The Duke thinks she blushed because she liked attention from others.
Q.3 What is the irony in My Last Duchess?
Ans: The irony is that the Duke tries to justify his actions. But his speech shows he is controlling and cruel, making readers feel sorry for the Duchess.
Q.4 What is the Duke arranging in My Last Duchess?
Ans: The Duke is arranging his next marriage. He talks to the Count’s envoy about his expectations for his new wife.
Q.5 What is the form of My Last Duchess?
Ans: My Last Duchess is a dramatic monologue. It is written in rhymed iambic pentameter, where the Duke speaks to a silent listener.
Q.6 Is My Last Duchess based on a true story?
Ans: Yes, My Last Duchess is based on the life of Duke Alfonso II of Ferrara, Italy. The poem refers to his first wife, Lucrezia de’ Medici, who died under suspicious circumstances shortly after marrying him.
Q.7 Why did the Duke disapprove of the Duchess’ behavior?
Ans: The Duke disapproved of the Duchess because she smiled and showed appreciation to everyone, not just him. He felt insulted by her friendliness and believed it diminished his status.
Q.8 Who is the listener in My Last Duchess?
Ans: The listener in My Last Duchess is the emissary of a count. He stays silent throughout the poem as the Duke speaks about his last Duchess. The emissary is helping to arrange a marriage between the Duke and the count’s daughter.
Q.9 How does the Duke view his first wife in My Last Duchess?
Ans: The Duke views his first wife as too carefree and ungrateful. He feels that she did not value his status and treated him the same as everyone else, which led him to have her killed.
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Q.10 Why does the Duke mention Fra Pandolf’s name multiple times?
Ans: The Duke repeatedly mentions Fra Pandolf’s name to emphasize the artist’s reputation. This shows the Duke’s pride in owning something created by a famous painter and suggests that he values appearances over genuine feelings.
Q.11 What does the statue of Neptune symbolize in My Last Duchess?
Ans: The statue of Neptune taming a sea horse symbolizes the Duke’s desire to control his wife. Just like Neptune controls the sea horse, the Duke wanted to dominate and control the Duchess.
Q.12 What is the significance of the painting in My Last Duchess?
Ans: The painting of the Duchess represents how the Duke views her as an object that he controls, even in death. It symbolizes his possessiveness, as only he decides who can look at the painting.
Q.13 What is the role of dramatic irony in My Last Duchess?
Ans: The dramatic irony in the poem lies in the Duke’s attempt to justify his actions, but he unintentionally reveals his own flaws. The reader realizes that the Duke is cruel and controlling, even though he believes he is reasonable.
Q.14 What is the message of My Last Duchess?
Ans: The Duke wants others to feel sorry for him as he speaks about his wife. However, the poem shows that the Duke is actually cruel and controlling. Through dramatic monologue, the message is that the Duke had his innocent wife killed because of his jealousy.
Q.15 What is the Duke’s personality in My Last Duchess?
Ans: The Duke is controlling, jealous, and arrogant. He shows a sense of superiority and treats his wife as an object that he could control.
Q.16. What is the Duke’s voice in “My Last Duchess”?
Ans: The Duke’s voice in “My Last Duchess” is arrogant and jealous. He shows misogyny and patriarchy. He sees women as objects, like the painting of the Duchess.
Q.17. What is the allusion used in the poem “My Last Duchess”?
Ans: In “My Last Duchess,” the Duke alludes to Neptune, the Roman god. He says, “Notice Neptune, though, taming a sea-horse.” This allusion shows the Duke’s desire for control.
Q.18. What are some words or adjectives that describe the speaker in “My Last Duchess”?
Ans: The speaker can be described as dark, bitter, and paranoid. He also seems slightly evil and very possessive.
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Q.19. Why is Fra Pandolf important in “My Last Duchess”?
Ans: Fra Pandolf is the painter of the Duchess’s portrait. His work shows the Duchess’s emotions. He symbolizes the Duke’s pride in owning a famous painting.
Q.20. In “My Last Duchess,” is the narrator an objective speaker or an omniscient narrator?
Ans: The Duke is not an objective narrator. He reveals his cruelty and controlling nature. He talks about the Duchess, but he misunderstands her kindness.
Q.21. How is the poem “My Last Duchess” a dramatic monologue?
Ans: “My Last Duchess” is a dramatic monologue because only the Duke speaks. His speech reveals his thoughts and feelings. The poem has characters, a setting, and a story.
Q.22. What does the Duke in “My Last Duchess” reveal about himself, supported by literary techniques?
Ans: The Duke reveals that he wants power and control. He uses symbols to show his desire for submission. His imagery of the Duchess’s smile shows his jealousy.
Q.23. Analyze the character of the Duke in Robert Browning’s poem “My Last Duchess.”
Ans: The Duke is proud, vain, and egotistical. He sees his ex-wife as a trophy, not a person. He wants to show off his wealth and connections.
Q.24. In “My Last Duchess,” what does the Duke want to tell the envoy?
Ans: The Duke wants to show off his possessions. He also wants to send a message to his new bride, the next Duchess.
Q.25. What words or lines especially show the speaker’s arrogance in Browning’s “My Last Duchess”?
Ans: The Duke says, “She thanked men—good! I know not how.” This shows he thinks her kindness was a flaw. He feels superior to her behavior.
Q.26 What does the Duke mean by “all smiles stopped together”?
Ans: The Duke means that after he gave his command, the Duchess stopped smiling forever, hinting that she was killed at his order.
Q.27 How does the Duke describe the Duchess’s smile?
Ans: The Duke describes the Duchess’s smile as something she gave to everyone, making him feel that it wasn’t special or reserved just for him.
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Q.28 What does the Duke think of the Duchess’s kindness?
Ans: The Duke thinks the Duchess’s kindness and friendly nature were signs of weakness, and he wanted her to reserve those gestures only for him.
Q.29 What does the Duke reveal about his control over the painting?
Ans: The Duke reveals that he keeps the painting of the Duchess behind a curtain, and only he decides who can look at it, showing his controlling nature.
Q.30 Why does the Duke dislike the Duchess’s interactions with others?
Ans: The Duke dislikes that the Duchess treated everyone equally, smiling at others and appreciating their gestures, which made him feel less special.
Q.31 Why does the Duke call the Duchess “my last Duchess”?
Ans: The Duke calls her “my last Duchess” because she is no longer alive, and he now controls her image through the painting.
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Q.32 What did the Duke do to stop the Duchess’s smiles?
Ans: The Duke gave orders to stop her smiles forever, implying that he had her killed because he couldn’t tolerate her behavior.
Q.32 What caused the Duchess to blush in the painting?
Ans: The Duchess blushed because of simple compliments, such as when Fra Pandolf might have commented on her mantle or the faint blush on her throat.
Q.33 How does the Duchess appear in the painting?
Ans: The Duchess appears lifelike in the painting, as if she were still alive, with an expression full of depth and passion.
Q.34 Who painted the portrait of the Duchess?
Ans: The portrait of the Duchess was painted by Fra Pandolf, a fictional artist mentioned by the Duke to impress the listener.
Q.35 What does the Duke’s mention of his “nine-hundred-years-old name” signify?
Ans: This signifies the Duke’s pride in his aristocratic lineage and his belief that his noble status should have been more valuable to the Duchess than any other gestures.
Q.36 What does the Duke’s statement, “I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together,” signify?
Ans: This expression signifies the Duke’s cruelty and authority, as he implies that he ordered the Duchess’s death to stop her from smiling at others.
Class 11 English My Last Duchess Long Questions Answers / Class XI English Second Semester
Q.1 Analyse My Last Duchess as a dramatic monologue.
Ans. My Last Duchess by Robert Browning is a classic example of a dramatic monologue. In this form, the speaker talks to a silent listener and reveals their thoughts and character. The speaker’s words often tell us more than they intend.
In the poem, the Duke of Ferrara is speaking to a messenger about a portrait of his late wife. He describes how she was kind and friendly to everyone, which he found disrespectful. The Duke wanted her to focus all her attention on him alone. Her smiles and behavior toward others made him jealous. He could not control her, so he decided to have her killed.
Through the Duke’s words, we learn that he is proud, possessive, and cruel. While he tries to justify his actions, the reader sees him as a controlling and dangerous person. The dramatic monologue helps show the Duke’s true nature without him realizing it. This makes the poem powerful, as it reveals both the Duke’s personality and his troubled relationship with his wife.
Q.2 What type of lady was the Duchess? Why was she killed?
Ans. The Duchess was a kind and cheerful woman. She had a free and open nature, which made her different from her strict husband, the Duke.
The Duke did not like the way she behaved. She was friendly with everyone and was easily pleased by little things. She accepted gifts from both the Duke and other people, which upset him. She smiled at everyone, and her joyful nature was something the Duke could not tolerate. He believed that she should behave more like a Duchess and show respect only to him. The Duke’s jealousy and pride were too strong. Unable to control her actions, he finally ordered her to be killed.
Q.3 What was the nature of the Duke?
Or, Analyse the character of Duke from the poem My Last Duchess.
Ans. The Duke was a controlling and proud man. He liked things to be done his way. He expected his wife to be fully devoted to him. He was autocratic and did not tolerate any behavior that displeased him. The Duke was also very jealous. His jealousy grew when his wife, the Duchess, smiled at others and received gifts from them. He tried to stop her, but she continued to behave in the same way. Unable to bear it any longer, the Duke ordered her death. Even when planning to marry again, the Duke told the envoy that there would be no change in the dowry terms. He expected complete loyalty from his next wife as well.
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Q.4 How is power syndrome conveyed in My Last Duchess?
Ans: In My Last Duchess, Robert Browning conveys power syndrome through the Duke of Ferrara. The Duke is obsessed with control and dominance over his wife. He cannot tolerate her friendly nature and her smiles directed at others. This behavior makes him feel jealous and disrespected. He believes she should only please him.
The ultimate expression of his power is when he orders her death. This act shows how far he is willing to go to maintain control. He treats the Duchess like a possession rather than a person. Even after her death, he keeps her portrait hidden behind a curtain, allowing only himself to reveal it. This symbolizes his desire to control her memory.
Additionally, the Duke’s pride in his noble lineage reflects his belief in his superiority. He expects his wife to uphold his status and demands complete loyalty. Overall, the Duke’s actions reveal his need for power and dominance, highlighting the destructive nature of power syndrome in relationships.
Q.5 “Fra Pandolf” by design, for never read
Strangers like you that pictured countenance,
The depth and passion of its earnest glance,
But to myself they turned (since none puts by
The curtain I have drawn for you, but I)
And seemed as they would ask me, if they durst,
How such a glance came there; so, not the first.
Are you to turn and ask thus. Sir, ’twas not” – ———– Explain these lines.
Answer: These lines are quoted from Robert Browning’s poem My Last Duchess.
The Duke informs the audience that he intentionally disclosed the name of the painter because everyone who sees the painting is curious about the artist. Viewers may be perplexed as to how the artist managed to capture the Duchess’s emotions so genuinely while still communicating such depth and passion. The Duke also tells the audience that only he has the authority to lift the drape that covers the image. This implies that only the Duke can see this painting or, if he chooses, display it to others. Furthermore, it suggests that the portrait is kept in the Duke’s gallery, which is only accessible with his permission.
He goes on to say that he is not the only one who is astounded by this magnificent work of art. Anyone who sees it turns to the Duke, as if they want to question him about how the Duchess’s picture is so lifelike, but they never do. Because he can read people’s faces and anticipate their questions, the Duke responds to everyone before they ask.
Q.6 What does the Statue of Neptune symbolize in the poem My Last Duchess?
Ans: In Robert Browning’s poem My Last Duchess, the Duke reveals the name of his guest, who works for a Count. They are discussing an arranged marriage between the Duke and the Count’s daughter. The Duke refers to her as his “beautiful target,” highlighting his objectifying view of women.
As they walk downstairs, the Duke points out a bronze statue of Neptune taming a sea horse. Neptune, the god of the sea, symbolizes the Duke himself, while the sea horse represents any Duchess he may possess. This imagery reflects the Duke’s belief in his own power and superiority. He sees himself as a god, desiring to tame his wife and assert control over her behavior, just as Neptune dominates the sea horse. This symbolism reveals the Duke’s possessive nature and his need for dominance in his relationships.
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Q.7 How does the Duke’s attitude toward the Duchess reflect societal norms of the time?
Ans: The Duke’s attitude toward the Duchess shows the patriarchal norms of the Renaissance era. During this time, men held power over women. The Duke sees the Duchess not as an equal partner but as a possession. He is possessive of her, wanting her joy to be directed only toward him. This reveals his lack of respect for her feelings and individuality. The Duke expects her to conform to his standards, highlighting how women were often objectified. Their worth was tied to their obedience. This oppressive mindset leads to tragedy in the poem, showing the harmful effects of such societal expectations. The Duke’s need for control ultimately results in a loss that emphasizes the destructive nature of these norms.
Q.8 What role does art play in the poem “My Last Dutchess”?
Ans: Art is very important in “My Last Duchess.” It symbolizes control, memory, and objectification. The Duke admires the portrait of the Duchess because it shows his desire to possess her beauty, even after her death. By commissioning the painting, he controls how she is remembered. He chooses to reveal the portrait to show his claim to her image. This control goes beyond art; it reflects his need to dominate those around him, especially women. The contrast between the Duchess’s lifelike portrait and her actual fate emphasizes her objectification. The Duke values her as a beautiful image rather than as a person with feelings. In the end, the painting serves as a chilling reminder of the Duke’s possessive nature.
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