The two poems I am going to discuss are Robert Browning‘s ‘My Last Duchess’ , and Edgar Allen Poe‘s ‘The Raven’ . I will discuss the way the forms of the poems and how their different structures, one being written in verse and the other in dramatic monologue, effect the reader’s interpretation, lead to an unreliable narrator. I will discuss the use of rhyme and rhythm, and also how the speaker’s psyche and strong emotions, like anger and jealousy in ‘My Last Duchess’ and madness in ‘The Raven’ alter the speaker’s reliability.
‘My Last Duchess’ is written in the form of a dramatic monologue, and uses iambic pentameter to mimic natural speech, as well as using rhyming couplets, which give the poem a faster pace and gives the character a stronger voice., ‘My Last Duchess’ can be categorised as a confession, since Duke is describing his …show more content…
His loneliness is evident in this poem, and can be seen in lines such as “Other friends have flown before” showing that he is suffering. This makes him an unreliable since he is overly dramatic about his situation and driven mad because of it. The Line “thing of evil – prophet still, if bird or devil!” shows how the speaker’s tone changes, reflecting the speaker becoming more angry and frantic. Poe uses exclamation points and dashes, which create a faster pace and the impression of heightened emotions. Similarly, Browning uses punctuation to show a change in emotion. “Sir, ‘twas all one!” uses an exclamation mark to show anger at the Duchesses attitude, and this display of a strong emotion causes untrustworthiness. Browning also uses dashes throughout the poem, emphasising the Duke’s thoughts. These become more frequent from lines 29 to 39, “She thanked men – good! but thanked somehow – I know not how-“ . This reflects how the character being presented is slipping and his true feelings are more
‘My Last Duchess’ is written in the form of a dramatic monologue, and uses iambic pentameter to mimic natural speech, as well as using rhyming couplets, which give the poem a faster pace and gives the character a stronger voice., ‘My Last Duchess’ can be categorised as a confession, since Duke is describing his …show more content…
His loneliness is evident in this poem, and can be seen in lines such as “Other friends have flown before” showing that he is suffering. This makes him an unreliable since he is overly dramatic about his situation and driven mad because of it. The Line “thing of evil – prophet still, if bird or devil!” shows how the speaker’s tone changes, reflecting the speaker becoming more angry and frantic. Poe uses exclamation points and dashes, which create a faster pace and the impression of heightened emotions. Similarly, Browning uses punctuation to show a change in emotion. “Sir, ‘twas all one!” uses an exclamation mark to show anger at the Duchesses attitude, and this display of a strong emotion causes untrustworthiness. Browning also uses dashes throughout the poem, emphasising the Duke’s thoughts. These become more frequent from lines 29 to 39, “She thanked men – good! but thanked somehow – I know not how-“ . This reflects how the character being presented is slipping and his true feelings are more