My Last Duchess

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

What do you know about the Victorian age? What characterized this period in history? How did the characteristics of the era seep into its literature?

Teaching Suggestion: With discussion and/or brief investigation, this prompt may help to provide students with some context for the era in which Browning wrote the poem, especially with respect to the then-prevalent hierarchy of gender and class. Students might discuss the impact of the Victorian age on form and content in literature to help them connect the period with the poem. This prompt also connects to the theme of Values and Perceptions Surrounding the Victorian Woman.

• This list provides some interesting facts about the Victorians.
• A collection of Victorian era artwork provides images from artists of the age. Discussion possibilities include the role of women in Victorian society; what can be gleaned or inferred from the paintings in which the prominence of women is evident

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the poem.

What examples of jealousy or possessiveness within a close relationship—whether in your own life, someone you know, or in a book, movie, or TV show—can you think of? How were these instances handled, and what lessons emerged from them?

Teaching Suggestion: This prompt may help students to identify and reflect on the unhealthy relationship dynamics (by modern standards) presented in the poem; students may be more forthcoming or invested in the written response if assured that sharing is not required. Associated group discussion topics might include the question of why Browning may have chosen to approach such a topic.