Exploring Dramatic Monologues: "My Last Duchess" & "Porphyria’s Lover"
In this AP Literature and Composition class, we delve into two pivotal poems, "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning and "Porphyria’s Lover," examining dramatic monologues and their unique perspectives. Students will engage in a checklist review of sub work, answer quiz questions on the poems, and complete an inference chart and Venn diagram comparing the speakers. Homework includes finishing the inference chart and preparing for a class discussion, enriching understanding of character and intention within these timeless works of literature.
Exploring Dramatic Monologues: "My Last Duchess" & "Porphyria’s Lover"
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Presentation Transcript
“It’s a Make it up Monday!” AP Literature and Composition February 3, 2014 Mr. Houghteling
AGENDA • Sub Work checklist. • “My Last Duchess.” • Seven-question quiz on the poem. • Review/discuss inference chart. • “Porphyria’s Lover”
Multiple Choice questions 1. How old does the Duke say his name is? 2. What is the current object of the Duke’s desire (as he sees it)? 3. Where is the Duke and his companion? A. outside B. in a dining hall C. in the attic D. on the grand staircase 4. Who was the sculptor of Neptune in the poem? A. Carlo Crivelli B. FraPandolf C. Lorenzo Ghiberti D. Claus of Innsbruck
Multiple Choice questions 5. What does the Duke say was one of the faults of the Duchess? A. She hated him. B. She smiled too much. C. She was never impressed. D. She was a snob. 6. What does the Duke say he will never do? A. love B. hate C. fear D. stoop 7. What happened to the Duke’s last duchess?
Inference Chart “My Last Duchess” “Porphyria’s Lover”
Venn Diagram Your opinion of the speaker Speaker’s opinion of self
HOMEWORK Complete the inference chart and the Venn diagram for “My Last Duchess.” Prepare for the discussion on “Porphyria’s Lover.”
Lucrezia de’ Medici The 14-year-old daughter of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Lucrezia married in 1558 Alfonso Il d’Este, the fifth Duke of Ferrara, who was 25 at the time. The Duke abandoned Lucrezia for two years before she died in 1561 at age 17.
“My Last Duchess” • Takes place in 16th-century Italy • Based on the life of Alfonso II, duke of Ferrara. • The duke is negotiating to marry the daughter of a powerful count. • As the poem begins, the duke is showing a portrait of his former wife to the count’s agent. • FràPandolf: a fictitious friar and painter • Claus of Innsbruck: a fictitious Austrian sculptor.
From critic M.H. Abrams: Dramatic Monologue A single person, who is patently not the poet, utters the speech that makes up the whole of the poem, in a specific situation at a critical moment.
From critic M.H. Abrams: Dramatic Monologue 2. This person addresses and interacts with one or more other people; but we know of the [audience’s] presence, and what they say and do, only from clues [from the] single speaker.
From critic M.H. Abrams: Dramatic Monologue 3. The main principle controlling the poet's choice and formulation of what the speaker says is to reveal to the reader, in a way that enhances [his/her] interest, the speaker's temperament and character.
Venn Diagram Your opinion of the speaker Speaker’s opinion of self
