Lesson Four - My Last Duchess

Introduction

Lesson Three - "My Last Duchess"
Duration - 3 blocks (3 x 80 min + homework)

"The great passion in a man’s life may not be for women or men or wealth or toys or fame, or even for his children, but for his masculinity, and at any point in his life he may be tempted to throw over the things for which he regularly lays down his life for the sake of that masculinity." - Frank Pittman (20th century), U.S. psychiatrist and family therapist

My Last Duchess "is loosely based on historical events involving Alfonso, the Duke of Ferrara, who lived in the 16th century.

"The Duke is the speaker of the poem and tells us he is entertaining an emissary who has come to negotiate the Duke's marriage (he has recently been widowed) to the daughter of another powerful family. As he shows the visitor through his palace, he stops before a portrait of the late Duchess, apparently a young and lovely girl.

"The Duke begins reminiscing about the portrait sessions, then about the Duchess herself. His musings give way to a diatribe on her disgraceful behavior: he claims she flirted with everyone and did not appreciate his 'gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name.'

"As his monologue continues, the reader realizes with ever-more chilling certainty that the Duke, in fact, caused the Duchess's early demise: when her behavior escalated, '[he] gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together.'

"Having made this disclosure, the Duke returns to the business at hand: arranging for another marriage, with another young girl. As the Duke and the emissary walk leave the painting behind, the Duke points out other notable artworks in his collection." (sparknotes.com)

Resources

Documents

Websites
a study guide
Browning's Portrait of a Renaissance Man
The Old Ducal Palace, Ferrara

VIDEO

Lesson

Listen / view "My Last Duchess", using the links on the Resources page.
(The intonations and emphasis of the speaker make the poem far more easy to understand, than simply reading.)

Read the poem, "My Last Duchess ", and study the notes associated with it, found on the Resouces page.

Explore the links associated with the poem, found on the Resources page.

Assignment 1

Respond to the questions posted in the U2L4 Forum: Duchess

Respond to the questions in as much detail as possible in order to earn full marks.

The forum is worth 50 marks.

Your first post - that is, your answers to the questions posed - are worth 35 of those 50 marks. 
Compose your answers in a document and then copy and paste them into the forum.
If you compose in the forum window, and it is open for too long, it may time out before you click "submit" and all of your work will be lost!!

The remaining 15 marks are earned by your comments on your classmates' posts. 
You must comment on at least three of your classmates' posts.
Writing "I agree, good post" will earn you no marks, as that engenders no discussion.

The forums in this course replace the discussions that would be held in a traditional classroom.
Be sure that your comments add to a discussion.

Assignment 2

(100 marks)

Open a new Word document. Label it E201U2L4surname
In this document, write the good copy of your choice of assignment as outlined below.
Submit this assignment using the Dropbox for U2L4 Duchess speech

No matter which option you choose, you must write at least 500 words.
You MUST record in order to earn full marks.
Use the Online PoodLL tool in the Dropbox which you access by clicking on "Add Submission".

Adopt the persona of ONE of the characters in the poem and complete ONE of the following tasks:

The Duchess
Prior to your disappearance, you leave a voicemail message to a friend, telling about your life with the Duke. Describe some of your experiences both in the early years of your marriage and throughout the painting of your commissioned portrait. How do you view life, and what do you think of the people around you, including your husband, the Duke? What sorts of things delighted you? What sorts of things are causing you some concern?

Nikolaus Mardruz, the envoy of the Count of Tyrol
You are the envoy of Count Tyrol, who has sent you to Duke Ferrara to negotiate a wedding between the Duke and the Count's daughter, Barbara. Prior to dining with the Duke's other guests, he pulled a curtain aside and revealed to you the portrait of his last Duchess, whom he described to you. Based on your knowledge of the Duke through his own words, what kind of life can the Count's daughter expect as the new Duchess? Do you recommend that she marry the Duke? Why or why not? Present your speech to the Count. 

Brother Pandolf
You are Brother Pandolf, who painted the portrait of the Duchess. You keep a journal where you write down your thoughts about all of your paintings, and the experiences that shaped their creation. You have finally decided to write down your feelings about the Duchess and her husband, the Duke Ferrara. Based on your knowledge of the events, describe the Duchess, the Duke, and their relationship. Your assessment should be based on facts, rather than speculation. You then read your entry aloud to clarify that what you have written is accurate, in your estimation.

Remember that everything you have read in the poem is from the Duke's perspective, and it is your job to assess if the Duke is revealing more than he intends. Your claims must be supported by textual evidence, rather than conjecture.

Your assignment will be marked using the "personal response to texts" rubric for content and the "speech rubric" for the oral presentation. 

Conclusion

Consider how closely passion, ego, pride, and jealousy may be intertwined...