A Comparison of My Last Duchess by Robert Browning and...

A Comparison of My Last Duchess by Robert Browning and Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson These two poems, or monologues, were written by Robert Browning (My last Duchess) and Alfred Lord Tennyson (Ulysses), in the 19th century during the reign of Queen Victoria. Many other influential writers were also born in this period. During this time, Britain’s population doubled from 17.5 million to 37 million. Britain was a very powerful nation with a strong economy, and had a very large empire that covered the globe. This brought on an air of pride and confidence. Creature comforts, such as transport, sanitation and housing were improving during this time. More men had the vote than ever before, although†¦show more content†¦The worlds of both speakers are evoked by the presence of silent listeners, a feature of the dramatic monologue. In the case of My Last Duchess the silent listener is a servant of the Count of Tyrol who has come for marriage negotiations with the Duke and to see if he would be a suitable husband for the Count’s daughter. The Duke has c ontrol over the servant through veiled commands; for example, â€Å"Will it please you to sit† is actually a command to sit. In Ulysses the silent listener changes throughout the poem. Some examples of the silent listeners in this poem are his kingdom and his fellow mariners. Robert Browning presents the power of the Duke through his attitude to others. At the beginning of the poem he refers to the â€Å"hands† of a monk from the early Tuscan Renaissance, â€Å"Fra Pandolf†. By referring to only his hands, the duke demotes the monk to the only things that are useful to him, to create the painting of his Duchess. The painting is a possession which he can control, unlike the living Duchess, and he keeps a â€Å"curtain† drawn in front of it so that no one but he can see the Duchess. The Duke also mentions â€Å"Claus of Innsbruck† who cast â€Å"Neptune† â€Å"taming a sea-horse† for â€Å"me†. The emphasis on the word â€Å"me† shows that the Duke thinks he has power over famous craftsmen and how he can get them to do what he