And Behind Curtain #1.... Poison!

I really was not too sure what to think when I read My Last Duchess. The rhythm took me a minute to get use to (at first if felt a little contrived and ridged), but after a few lines that minor detour went away. It also took me a minute to figure out that this duke was talking to not only a group of people, but also his future father-in-law about his last wife. After figuring out who the duke was speaking to, I felt like it was much easier to see a type of story come together. The captions that are in my book let the reader know that the speaker of My Last Duchess is modeled on Alfonso II (Duke of Ferrara) who married Lucrezia de Medici when she was fourteen years old in 1558. She died about three years later, and the cause of death was speculated to be poison. The duke remarried in 1565. I felt like this information also allowed a story to unfold. When I re-read the poem, I started to wonder if maybe it was the duke who poisoned her. The fact that he keeps her picture behind a curtain, and only he is allowed to open the curtain, is what made me intentionally slightly suspicious of the thought. I also felt like the way I felt she was being described was as being a major flirt. The way the duke talks about her makes me think she flirted A LOT, maybe even had an affair or two. There is a motive right there: an unfaithful wife. Well, it is safe to say she certainly is only smiling for dear ol’ hubby now! An indirect confession scene is the picture that this poem painted for me. I think that this is a very interesting poem, and I enjoyed reading it.