There may be some characteristics of the speaker present in the poem, despite the fact that it may not be centered on him. This may be seen in Robert Browning’s poem, My Last Duchess. The poet chose to include some of the speaker’s characteristics, in order to help the readers to have a better understanding of the speaker’s personality and the situation of the poem.

The readers may assume that the speaker of this poem is a Duke. The speaker opens his story by saying to his companion and to the readers, “That is my last duchess painted on the wall, looking as if she were still alive.” (Lines 1-2) Another clue to the speaker’s identity is the word “Ferrara” under the title, almost as a prologue to the poem, which may refer to Alfonso II, who was the Duke of Ferrara in Italy, during the sixteenth century. Like the speaker in this poem, the Duke of Ferrara’s first wife died, under mysterious circumstances, two or three years after their wedding. It might be the Duke of Ferrara, who is the speaker of this poem, in this dramatic monologue.

The fact that the speaker is a Duke and, therefore, a man with a high position in society may help the readers to better understand the speaker’s characteristics, behaviors and actions. Also, the fact that the Duke grew up in high-class society and surrounded by people in the same class may reveal that he has grown accustom to looking down to people and giving them orders.

For instance, on line 45, the Duke says to his companion, as well as to the readers, that he “gave commands,” which involved something he wanted done about his wife, the Duchess, though he doesn’t say or explain explicitly to his companion what command he gave. He might say, because he doesn’t want to reveal much about his involvement, if in fact he was involved. The way that he explains this may lead to suggest that he is used to giving “commands” and, perhaps more importantly, the Duke almost expects others to listen and obey his instructions. This aspect also may reveal that he is used to looking down to people.

The fact that the Duke gives some unknown commands involving his wife and her fate may also reveal that he controls other’s lives, but mainly his wife, her life and lifestyle. He wants this control so that his world will be the way he wishes and wants it to be and would almost seem to enjoy it, when he does have control.

For instance, the Duke commissioned Fra Pandolf to do a painting of his wife. The Duke controlled the time that Fra Pandolf had to paint the Duchess. The painter was only given a day, despite the fact that it takes more than a day to paint someone. The Duke as well says that Fra Pandolf might not have painted the whole truth and that he might have added rosy cheeks or, at least, said something to provoke her to blush. No matter which it is, the Duke said that it wasn’t only his presence that made her cheeks turn to a rosy color.

The Duke also ends up controlling his wife and every aspect that would involve her, the Duchess, and her life. While telling his tale to his companion, the Duke describes his wife as having a heart “too soon made glad, too easily impressed.” (Lines 22-23) She smiled at other people out of courtesy and enjoyed life, which was something that the Duke didn’t like in his wife and most likely, tried to control and restrained her. He didn’t seem to like the fact that she gave more attention to other people than to her husband. At least, this is what he thought.

The readers, as well as the Duke’s companion, won’t know the whole story, because this poem is a dramatic monologue and, therefore, only told in the speaker’s point of view. This may also reveal to some degree the Duke’s selfishness. Because the Duchess is his wife, she should therefore only look at and give attention to him and no one else.

On lines 45 and 46, the Duke says, “I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together.” The readers aren’t told exactly what happened to the Duchess, whether she died or not, but this does reveal that the Duke may have controlled or, at very least, had a part to play in what happened. The Duke didn’t like the fact that his wife would appear to give more attention, when he wanted to have exclusively, and, in his mind, if he couldn’t have her, then no one could.

In these two lines, it is almost as though the Duke compares his wife to an object, which is something that, at any moment, may be disposed of. Yet, he would appear very unsympathetic and uncaring towards his wife, although it would seem that he expects his wife to be sympathetic and caring towards him. The readers may think that, to the Duke, everything is black and white, plain and simple.

Though the story of the poem isn’t centered on the speaker, the readers may still be able to learn more about the story, as well as the speaker, who is telling the story. This is the case with Robert Browning’s poem, My Last Duchess. The readers learn about the Duke’s personality, but the story appears to be more about his wife.