The Last Dutches

Many poems must be read several times to be fully understood. It is often that one may find something of interest that was missed the first time around. It is also possible to have read a poem once and receive the full meaning. Sometimes a poem will leave one to think because the poem did not provide enough information for an affirmative conclusion. My Last Duchess provides an example of leaving readers unclear of the …

…curse that caused immense suffering to many women. Just as Hester was branded with "The Letter A" in The Scarlet Letter, so the Duke also branded his wife with the same stigma of a "loose" woman. The Duke was irate that his wife was too gay and smiled too much at others beside himself. And with this narration the Duke in his commanding demeanor notifies the agent his expectations of his next wife to be.