📖 Key Terms

📖 Key Terms

Dramatic monologue

A poem in which a single speaker addresses a listener (real or imagined). The speaker reveals character through what they choose to say, how they say it, and what they inadvertently expose. Browning pioneered the form; “My Last Duchess” is its most famous example.

Dramatic irony

When the reader understands more than the speaker realises they are revealing. The Duke does not know that his words condemn him — he thinks he is displaying social confidence. Browning positions the reader to see the gap between the Duke's self-image and his actual character.

Iambic pentameter

A rhythm of ten syllables per line, alternating unstressed and stressed beats (da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM). Browning uses it to give the Duke's speech a controlled, aristocratic authority — then disrupts it with caesuras and enjambment to reveal what lies beneath.

Enjambment

When a sentence or clause runs over the end of a line without a pause. Browning uses enjambment throughout to give the Duke's monologue an unstoppable, self-absorbed quality — the speech flows onward, pulling the reader along before they can pause to judge.

Caesura

A pause within a line of poetry, usually marked by punctuation. Browning's caesuras (“how shall I say? — too soon made glad”) create moments where the Duke appears to hesitate — but the hesitation is stylistic, not moral. He is choosing his words, not questioning his actions.

Semantic field

A cluster of words drawn from the same area of meaning. The Duke's description of the Duchess draws on a semantic field of generosity and warmth (“glad”, “approving”, “blush”, “smile”); his descriptions of himself draw on status and ownership (“gift”, “nine-hundred-years-old name”, “favour”). The contrast defines the conflict.