Exploring the Construction of Self: An Ironic Gaze Towards Robert Browning’s My Last Duchess

Abstract

Dramatic monologue can be considered as a lyrical- dramatic narrative hybrid and the flagship genre of Victorian poetry. It is the most significant poetic innovation of the Victorian era that helped to increase the dignity of Victorian poetry and especially the poems of Robert Browning to a very sophisticated level in the genre of literature. The lengthy speech delivered by the speaker expresses his/her private thoughts intentionally or not. It leads to the uncovering of the intentions and emotions deep within the self of a person. A dramatic monologue reveals the speaker’s temperament and character. The peculiar characteristics of the psychological state of the speaker may be revealed to the silent listener. The construction of the self is done on the basis of the close reading of the lines of the poem. This paper deals with the idea on how a dramatic monologue throws light upon the self within a person