مساعدة في ايجاد اجابه لسؤال في قصيدة “My Last Duchess”

[ali2006]

Themes
The main themes are power, influence, marriage, aristocracy and egotism. It is possible to use blanket terms such as love and death when commenting on themes, yet love does not seem to play on the duke's mind heavily. At least he does not love women, however he does love the painting and gains joy from intimidating the messenger by commenting on how he had her killed. Death does occur prior to the poem, but can only be considered as an expression of the duke's control and not a comment on death itself. The themes of death and ego can be found in some of Browning's other work such as The Bishop Orders His Tomb.

Story

The poem is set during the late Italian Renaissance. The speaker (presumably the Duke of Ferrara) is giving the emissary of his prospective second wife a tour of the artworks in his home. He draws a curtain to reveal a painting of a woman, explaining that it is a portrait of his late wife; he invites his guest to sit and look at the painting. As they look at the portrait of the late Duchess, the Duke describes her happy, cheerful and flirtatious nature, which had displeased him. He says, "She had a heart -- how shall I say? -- too soon made glad..." He goes on to say that his complaint of her was that "'twas not her husband's presence only" that made her happy. Eventually, "I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together." He now keeps her painting hidden behind a curtain that only he is allowed to draw back, meaning that now she only smiles for him. The Duke then resumes an earlier conversation regarding wedding arrangements, and in passing points out another work of art, a bronze statue of Neptune taming a sea-horse.
In an interview, Browning said, "I meant that the commands were that she should be put to death

[ali2006]

Quiz


http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/browning/quiz.html

1. What is the Duke arranging in “My Last Duchess”?
(A) The Duchess’s funeral
(B) The painting of the Duchess’s portrait
(C) A new marriage for himself
(D) The sale of his art collection

2. What is the rhyme scheme of “My Last Duchess”?
(A) Enjambed blank verse
(B) Enjambed rhyming couplets
(C) End-stopped rhyming couplets
(D) End-stopped blank verse

3. How is Porphyria killed?
(A) She is stabbed
(B) She is shot
(C) She is drowned
(D) She is strangled

4. When is “Porphyria’s Lover” set?
(A) Just before her murder
(B) As she is being killed
(C) Just after her death
(D) During her funeral

5. What makes “Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister” a soliloquy?
(A) A speaker who is distinct from the poet, who has no implied audience
(B) A speaker who is distinct from the poet, who has an audience before him
(C) The poet is the speaker, and is talking to himself
(D) The poet is the speaker, and is addressing a pretend audience

6. Who is the speaker’s primary adversary in “Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister”?
(A) The Prior
(B) The Pope
(C) Brother Lawrence
(D) Fra Lippo Lippi

7. In which country did Browning spend a great deal of time (other than England)?
(A) Scotland
(B) Italy
(C) France
(D) Spain

8. What season does the poet describe in “Home-Thoughts from Abroad”?
(A) Spring
(B) Summer
(C) Fall
(D) Winter

9. In “The Bishop Orders His Tomb...” where does the Bishop say the lapis for the tomb is hidden?
(A) In the catacombs beneath the church
(B) Buried in a vineyard
(C) At his mistress’s home
(D) Buried beneath the altar

10. Why is the Bishop so concerned with his tomb?
(A) He wants to outdo his predecessor
(B) He believes it will ensure his immortality
(C) He has done nothing to ensure either his earthly reputation or his salvation
(D) All of the above

11. To which well-known family does Fra Lippo Lippi’s patron belong?
(A) The Medicis
(B) The Borgias
(C) The Buonapartes
(D) The Urbinatis

12. What kind of art does Fra Lippo Lippi produce?
(A) Abstract art
(B) Nebulous religious art
(C) Landscapes
(D) Portraits of real people

13. What kind of meter is “A Toccata of Galuppi’s” written in?
(A) Tetrameter
(B) Pentameter
(C) Hexameter
(D) Octameter

14. Which city is described in “A Toccata of Galuppi’s”?
(A) London
(B) Rome
(C) Florence
(D) Venice

15. Which Shakespeare play inspired “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came”?
(A) The Tempest
(B) King Lear
(C) Macbeth
(D) Henry V

16. What is Roland’s final action?
(A) He blows his horn
(B) He jumps off the tower
(C) He slays a monster
(D) He returns to his home

17. What does the poet find in his walk across the moor in “Memorabilia”?
(A) A bird’s nest
(B) A robin’s egg
(C) A dead sparrow
(D) An eagle’s feather

18. Which late poet has the stranger in “Memorabilia” met?
(A) ley
(B) Keats
(C) Wordsworth
(D) Milton

19. What crime has Andrea del Sarto committed?
(A) Murder
(B) Adultery
(C) Theft
(D) Blasphemy

20. Which of the following painters is NOT someone to whom Andrea compares himself?
(A) Raphael
(B) Michelangelo
(C) Leonardo da Vinci
(D) Titian

21. What is the Campagna?
(A) The coast near Rome
(B) The river that flows through Florence
(C) The plains outside Rome
(D) The mountains near Milan

22. The tone of the poem “Two in the Campagna” can best be described as:
(A) Optimistic
(B) Resigned
(C) Deeply depressed
(D) Questioning

23. Which preeminent nineteenth-century scientist does Caliban question in his soliloquy?
(A) Darwin
(B) Lyall
(C) Lamarck
(D) Kelvin

24. How many stressed syllables does a pentameter line contain?
(A) Four
(B) Five
(C) Six
(D) None

[ali2006]

http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/browning/quiz.html