A Father's Worry

The literary devices of metaphors in the poem “A Story” by Li-Young Li contribute immensely to the central tension or main idea that the son has to move on from his father and not be tied down. An example of a metaphor in the poem is on line 18 where it states, “Am I a god that I should never disappoint?” This relates to the central tension or the main idea because since the father is worried about the son leaving, he asks him if he has to be a god because he should never disappoint his son. Another example of a metaphor is on lines six and seven where it states, “In a room full of book in a world of stories…” These lines are talking about how it is sad as to how a father can’t come up with one new story to tell his son when the world is so big. It also shows why the son needs to move on because his father cannot come up with a good enough story for his son to hear. Literary devices can play hugely on the main idea or the central tension in any piece of writing.

Lost for Words

In the poem, A Story, by Li-Young Lee, there is a central tension between a dad and his son. The speaker uses metaphor and symbolism to create the central tension.The son requests a new story from his dad and when the dad is unable to muster a story, the tension arises that if the dad is unable to come up with the story, he will lose the admiration and love from his son. This scares the dad in a way that he is afraid of being deserted in the future by his son. As the dad sits with his boy on his lap, “In a room full of books in a world of stories, he can recall not one, and soon, he thinks, the boy will give up on his father.” This metaphorical expression emphasizes the panic of the father, afraid that his son will grow tired of him, as there are numerous stories he could tell, but he can’t recite one. As the father looks into the future, he sees, “... the boy is packing his shirts... Are you a god, the man screams, that I sit mute before you? Am I a god that I should never disappoint?” The father in his vision of what's to come, he sees his son, packing his bags to leave. He does not understand, he uses the symbolism and representation of a god to express his reaction; after all, only a god would cause one to sit dumbfounded before him. Only a god, would have no other obligation but to not disappoint. To the father, telling his son a new story is everything, and the lack of one creates the central tension of the poem.

The Father's Empty Story

The Central Tension in the story "A Story" is that the boy really wants his dad to read him another story because the father has told him very good stories when he was little and the boy wants another one but the father cannot think of one so it makes the child very sad. The author of this poem uses a metaphor to describe how the boy is very sad by saying in the story how the five-year-old is waiting patiently on the father's lap and yet the father cannot think of any new story. This is a metaphor because the father can't think of a story and is trying to think of one. There are two seperate lines that these parts are in and so they are compared with each other. The author also uses irony in this poem by saying a line how the kid loves the alligator story and the child wants to hear the angel story again. This is an example of irony because alligators and angels are very different and the author us comparing two opposite ideas.

Beyond Words

3(B).
          "A Story" by Li-Young Li uses Foreshadowing and a metaphor to show tension with the father and himself also showing us an insight on the importance kids are in some parents life. The main idea in this poem is that the father can't think of a story to tell his son but the father can't think of a story and is afraid his son will be disappointed in him. The metaphor in the beginning "Sad is a man who is asked for a story and can't come up with one." (stanza one) This is a lead into the tension between the father and himself. The tension is basically given then goes on in depth using foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is used to show what the father is afraid of if he can't tell his son a story he will lose the relationship with his son. "Already the man lives far ahead, he sees the day this boy will go. Don't go! hear the Alligator story!...but the boy is packing up his shirts." The Foreshadowing shows tension with the the father and himself. This makes me wonder if other parents strive for a successful relationship with their children, to maintain hopefulness in the child's eyes.

Resenting Time

Two literary devices that help Li-Young Lee, the author of "A Story", develope the central tension between the father and time are Imagery and Foreshadowing.

Imagery, or the visually descriptive figurative language, is not only used consistantly throughout this poem, but it's presence is used by the author to help devlope the tension between the father and time by helping the reader literally see and imagine the relationship between the two. "His five year old son waits in his lap./ Not the same story, Baba. A new one./ The man rubs his chin, scratches his ear./ In a room full of books in a world/ of stories, he can recall/ not one, and soon, he thinks, the boy/ will give up on his father." The author also uses forshadowing to describe how the father feels the son growing up and leaving. The father resents time because it is eventually going to take away his son from him. "Already the man lives far ahead, he sees/ the day this boy will go. Don't go!" The two literary devices that help the author develope the central tension between father and time are Imagery and Foreshadowing.

 

 

 

Looking Ahead

In the poem, "A Story," by Li-Young Lee, the author uses foreshadowing and irony to develop the central tension of the rough relationship between a father and his son. In the story, the father "lives far ahead, he sees the day this boy will go. Don't go! Hear the alligator story...the spider story...Let me tell it!" The father is looking into the future with regret of the times that he did not read to his son, and is now begging for his son to come back. Lee uses irony by saying, "In a room full of books, in a world full of stories, he can recall not one..." This is ironic because the father can never think of a single story to tell his son, but there is a room full of stories that the father could just read to his son. Overall, through the use of foreshadowing and irony the author is able to depict the bad relationship between the father and the son, which is the central tension of the poem.

Under the Surface

In the poem “Four Skinny Trees” the author uses an extended metaphor to develop the theme in the story by using the trees as a symbol for Esperanza.  The theme that is expressed by the extended metaphor is the ugliest, poor, and raggedy things have beauty and magnitude underneath the surface. An extended metaphor is a symbol of something that is throughout the entire piece of literature. The extended metaphor in “Four Skinny Trees” is the trees represent her. She uses the metaphor by describing the trees as useless and unappealing but underneath the ground they are strong and ferocious. No one sees their strength except Esperanza, she is like those trees. She alike a weak, poor girl on the outside and that’s how everyone views her, but on the inside she has passion and true potential. The extended metaphor suggests that things may not always seem as they appear and few truly know what is under the surface. -Tiana

The Four Hopeful Trees

In “Four Skinny Trees” Esperanza, the speaker uses an extended metaphor to compare herself and her hardships to the trees hardships. This extended metaphor creates a theme throughout the story to be hopeful and know that other people or things are going through hardships as well. Esperanza says “They are the only ones who understand me. I am the only one who understands them.” This explains the theme by showing that the trees and Esperanza understand each other and rely on each other for strength.“Their strength is secret. They send ferocious roots into the ground. They grow up and they grow down..." Here Esperanza explains the trees extreme strength and determination. "When I am too sad and skinny to keep keeping, when I am a tiny thing against so many bricks ,then it is I look at trees." This shows that Esperanza is hopeful and looks forward to the best in the future.

A Story that Explains a Story Called, "A Story."

   The central tension of the short story, A Story, by Li-Young Lee is the father's inability to tell his son a wonderfully creative story; this tension is expressed through many literary devices. Setting is used when the author talks about the son being in his father's lap. This sets the place in the reader's mind and associates this setting with happiness and innocence by portraying a young boy sitting in his father's lap. Imagery is used in general when talking about how the son addresses his father as "Baba" and this shows how young the child must be. This image is most likely used to show the reader that the child is merely asking for a fun story, and is patiently waiting for his father's response. Metaphor is used at the end of the story when comparing their silence to the sum of an equation that adds the father's love and the son's eagerness together. All of these literary devices help to develop the central tension that is highlighted by the author. At one point in the story, the father considers an explanation that his son is god and he is sitting mute before him. This hyperbole, or exaggeration, is a great example of a literary device that also develops the conflict. The father wishes to speak to his son, yet he cannot think of a good story. His silence is an expression of his inability to conjure up a story for his son. The setting and imagery pose a view that the father is desperate to appease his son, yet his own lack of knowledge is drawing him back. These literary devices help to develop the central tension of this story. 

-The Sad Conflicts In "A Story"-

A) "A Story" is a short poem that develops alot of emotions between the speaker and the reader, but also develops a tension of the main characters in this story. The poet of the poem "A Story" helps develop his poem through the central tension of the main character who has issues coping with himself resulting in an internal conflict, but he also helps develop the central conflict through different types of literary devices such as binary opposition and foreshadowing.
       The main character in this story faces a conflict not only coping with his son, but also with himself. The issue is that he is too "boring" and he has a fear that his son is going to leave him some day due to this issue. An example that supports this is," In a room full of books in a world of stories, he can recall not one, and soon, he thinks the boy will give up on his father." Other than some of the given examples, conflict is emphasized in this story by binary opposition. An example of binary opposition in the story is," Not the same story, Baba. A new one." This example shows the differences of his son having a reason to leave him, and his son being unable to leave him. The last thing in this poem that helped the speaker develop the main characters conflict was his use of foreshadowing. It his foreshadowed that the boy would leave his father due to the lack of stories the father had. This lead to the emotional break down of the main character with lead to the realization of the internal conflict; coping with his lac of stories.

Central Tension of "A Story" by Li-Young Li

A) In the poem/short story, "A Story", by Li-Young Li, a central tension begins to form around the father and son. Portrayed by metaphor and foreshadowing, a central tension  rises through the  disappointment the father thinks he is giving his son by not knowing a story to tell him. In this poem, an extended metaphor arises about the story his father can't deliver to his son. This "story" is really the idea that his father can't provide the right ways to bring up his son as a man and his father knows this. In this poem an extended metaphor grows from the idea of the story and how it could also symbolize the teachings a man needs to give his son for him to become a man. The father looks ahead and sees that, "...the boy is packing his shirts". Through this you directly see the tension forming within the man himself that he is not good enough for his son. Also,  an element of foreshadowing conspires in the second stanza with, "... he thinks, the boy will give up on his father". This idea of the boy not believing in his father and getting given up on, wrecks the man on the inside. The central tension of the father not being good enough for his son is backed up in, "A Story", by metaphor, foreshadowing and even symbolism.

Tension and Literary Devices in "A Story"

What is the central tension in Li-Young Li's poem, "A Story", and what are at least two literary devices or strategies that help develop this tension? Be as specific as you can, and use textual evidence to support your points.

In "A Story", the father's internal and central tension is depicted through foreshadowing and metaphor, so that the reader can not only understand the poem, but connect with it on a personal level. The poem's central tension is an internal conflict in the father's mind as he debates and looks into the future to understand his son and the impact of a story. When the father cannot think of a story, he "lives far ahead, he sees the day this boy will go. Don't go! Hear the alligator story...the spider story...Let me tell it!" The conflict is developed through the father's fore

Unable to Tell Stories

In "A Story", Li- Young Lee creates a central tension using the method of foreshadowing to show the father is fearful that his son will be ignorant of him when he grows up. The speaker compares the fathers inability to provide childhood experiences with a negative future relationship between the father and the son. She also uses a metaphor to show the father's deep disappointment: "Are you a god, the man screams, that I sit mute before you? Am I a god, that I should never disappoint?". By applying these techniques, she encourages that the father is scared for his future, where he imagines that he is uselessly begging his son to not leave him. The two techniques help create an emotional understanding of the central tension in the story.

Four Skinny Trees, One Skinny Girl

           In "Four Skinny Trees", the speaker uses an extended metaphor comparing herself to flimsy trees to prove the theme that everyone has someone or something to help them. The speaker, known as Esparanza, states, "Four skinny trees with skinny necks and pointy elbows like mine." She used a simile in that statement, which is just a variation of a metaphor. She is clearly comparing herself to the trees, and this continus through the poem, helping her. Later in the play, Esperanza says, "When I am too sad and too skinny to keep keeping, when I am a tiny thing against so many bricks, then it is I look at the trees." The trees are the only things that can help her, but there is something that can help her. She's comparing herself to the trees, so she is saying that she can understand and help herself. This develops the theme that everyone has someone or something for them, even if it is themselves, represented by four skinny trees.

"A Story" by Li-Young Li uses Forshadowing and a metaphor to show tension with the father and him self also showing us an insight on the imporantce kids are in some parents life. The main idea in this poem is that the father can't think of a story to tell his son but the father can't think of a story and is afraid his son will be disapointed in him. The metaphor in the begaining "Sad is a man who is asked for a story and can't come up with one." (stanza one) This is a lead into the tension between the father and him self. The tension is basily given then goes on in depth using foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is used to show what the father is afraid of if he can't tell his son a story. "Already the man lives far ahead, he sees the day this boy will go. Don't go! heaer the Aligator story!...but the boy is packing up his shirts."

Similarities Over Differences

Similarities Over Differences-

In "Four Skinny Trees" the speaker uses an extended metaphor to compare herself and the trees; which works by showing the similarities between them, and it develops the theme through the connotation of the word "tree." The extended metaphor is how she describes the trees and compares the qualities to her own. For example she says, "Four skinny trees with skinny necks and pointy elbows like mine." this demonstrates one of the many metaphors between the speaker and the trees. The way this extended metaphor works is that is uses the similarities instead of the differences to make the reader believe that the speaker and the trees are similar. The theme is developed through the word "tree" by its connotation and the emotional way the author makes the people feel about them. The theme is there are more similarities than differences. "They  grow up and they grow down and grab the earth between their hairy toes." This quote demonstrates how even thought a human does not grow up and grow down, it shows how the trees are semi-human because of how she describes the roots as their toes. This is why even within the differences the author uses similarities to appeal to the reader

An extended metaphor

The extended metaphor in “Four Skinny Trees” is that she compares herself and her family to trees. She feels like she doesn’t have the best family but they are enough. “Skinny necks and pointy elbows like mine”. The “trees” are not the best trees out there, her family is not the best family but she likes them. “They are the only ones who understand me”. They understand her and they are enough for each other. The Theme in “Four Skinny Trees” is that you should be happy with what you have and find the positive things in them. The metaphor and the Theme work because the speaker explains how she cares for her family.The metaphor works because the speaker of the story is finding the best things in her family and is happy that she has them unlike Nenny in the Story. She shows that she is thankful for them because she says that her sister doesn’t care. “But Nenny just sleeps and doesn’t appreciate these things.

 

Mark

"A Story" About A Central Tension

     The poem, "A Story" the author uses imagery and tone to help the poet develop the central tension between the father and the son.  The poem is full of imagery,"But the boy is packing his shirts, he is looking for his keys.  Are you a god, the man screams, that I sit mute before you?  Am I a god that I should never disappoint?"  The author is painting the picture of the son leaving the father.  The central tension in the poem is between the father and the son.  The father has become inadequate to the son and now the son is leaving.  The father then begs for the son to not leave, claiming that the son is acting like he's above the dad.  The son and dad are opposite forces with the dad being a traditionalist because he likes the same stories and the son needing something new all the time.  The son leaves the dad and it can be assumed the reason is that the dad is not entertaining.  The tone of the poem does a good job of highlighting the central tension in the poem.  The tone uses words like but, give up, and don't.  These words emphasize the opposing forces; the dad fighting the son to not go and the son resisting.  Tone and imagery are crucial in making the central tension apparent.

Being A Tree

In the short story "Four Skinny Trees" the speaker uses an extended metaphor to compare herself with trees.The extended metaphor works to create a theme in the story because it explains how the speaker is poor and has bigger dreams than what she is now. The speaker, little Esperanza, was not born into a rich family. They live in a house that is inner city on mango street that is nothing to brag about. Near the sidewalk of the house there are four little trees that are planted right by the street.

“Four who do not belong here but are here.”

That is how Esperanza feels, she feels that she doesn’t belong in her horrid house, she feels she belongs to some place nicer and some place where she can help people, instead of needing help herself. She explains how if those trees can survive without much grass then she can survive without needing the best of everything.

It's Only A Story

The central tension in the poem, “A Story” by Li –Young Li is that the father is scared of the fact that his son will leave him once he is no longer able to entertain his son; this central tension is developed through using a somber tone and foreshadowing. Li-Young Li uses a somber tone throughout the poem. “Sad is the man who is asked for a story and can’t come up with one.” The poem starts off in a dreadful tone, and progresses as the man thinks about his son leaving. The author also uses foreshadowing when the man states,  "Already the man lives far ahead, he sees the day this boy will go. Don't go!" The father is picturing his son leaving him in the future. That is how Li-Young Li uses a somber tone and foreshadowing to develop the central tension.

Gordon Zhong

Infinite Dreams, Little Trees

In the poem "Four Skinny Trees", the author uses extended metaphor comparing herself to skinny, small trees to show that no matter how poor, or weak one may be, they still have a fighting force to achieve their dreams. This outlines the speakers life and gives a reason to why she still fights for her dreams. The speaker wants a house, and not only just a house but the house of her dreams. She describes her current position, poor and flimsy. But she shows that she will fight for her dreams even if she never gets to get her dream, and she uses the metaphor to do this. A theme that i developed from this poem is that no matter how low down and poor one can be, we all still have dreams, and will fight to achieve these goals.

Look Up at the Trees When Your On Your Knees

The extended metaphor used in Four Skinny Trees is a comparison between the girl and how the four skinny trees barely stay alive. This metaphor uses foil and comparisons to create themes. In Four Skinny Trees the girl says "when i am to sad and too Skinny to keep keeping, then it is i look at the trees." This is an example of how the girl uses the trees to keep living and how she compares herself to their condition when she feels she can't go any further. The extended metaphor is then used to create 2 main themes of the poetic story which is "when you feel down look up to the ones doing better in your position," and "comparing yourself to others may help with your problems."The metaphor that makes up the whole poem is used to create this theme and to reflect the similarities that the girl and the 4 skinny trees have in common yet create a foil between them as well. The girl dislikes her life and wants a new one while the trees are desperate to keep their own. Having the girl be so low about her life make the trees look more willing to stay alive. It makes them look like hero's. Together foiling characters and comparisons between the characters help to develop multiple themes.

Being a Father Isn't Meant for Perfection

"A Story" by Li-Young Lee emphasizes and clarifies that being a father isn't easy and it isn't meant for perfection with: struggling to tell his son a story and fearing that his son will not have the father that he always wanted or needed; that the man will not be able to be the perfect father.

"Already the man lives far ahead, he sees

the day this boy will go. Don't go! [...]

But the boy is packing his shirts,
 he is looking for his keys. [...]
But the boy is here. Please, Baba, a story?"

Li-Young Lee's use of literary devices: metaphors and dramatic irony, emphasize how the man really feels about his son and how hard he is trying to be a better father. He doesn't want his son growing up thinking that his father doesn't have much sympathy/affection for him. He wants to be able to tell his son a story without thinking, but by the heart and how he truly feels. His son wants to hear a story from his father, but he doesn't know what to say or where to start. It is as if the man is indirectly showing that he doesn't know how to take care of his son because he is afraid of the possible outcome or negative connotation he may bring to his son. It all starts with telling a story, but if a father can't do that then what can he do for his kids?



 

Esperenza A Tree

           “In Four Skinny Trees”, Esperanza compares herself to the trees as an extended metaphor to show that the appearance of an object doesn’t show their strengths and traits by using a symbol that represents her thoughts and actions.  Esperanza believes that the trees are a symbol of her own identity, unwanted and strong. She describes the trees by stating, “Four skinny trees with skinny necks and pointy elbows like mine. Four who do not belong here but are here. Four raggedy excuses planted by the city.” She believes that her family and her do not belong in this big city, they still belong in their apartment. They are both hungry and weak looking because of the lack of money the family has. They are out of place and Esperanza is not used to living in a house that is all theirs. To her it seems like they are not in their rightful places. Also, she talks about the trees being strong mentally. “They grow up and they grow down and grab the earth between their hairy toes and bite the sky with violent teeth and never quit their anger.” The trees show their strength by standing there by reaching up to the sky, and growing down beneath the roots. She believes that her strength is shown the same way, in her family and her holding on to what she has. She has so little, but stands with what she has and that way she shows her strength.

Story Time Ends in College

The central tension in Li-Young Lee's poem is that the father is trying to make his son happy with a story but can not come up with one and is afraid of disappointing his son. The father has told the same stories over and over and began to bore his kid which becomes a metaphor for his kid growing up and needing to move away. Eventually his son gets bored and leaves with keys showing that the poem is a metaphor for his son needing to move on and go to college/ leave the house. The father is having a hard time with this and does not want his son to leave. This is shown in the sentence "You laugh at the spider.Let me tell it! But the boy is packing his shirts, he is looking for his keys.". This shows that his son is grown up and moving away. That is why the conflict is about his son growing up and needs to move away and how it is a metaphor for the father running out of stories.

Resilient Trees

In "Four Skinny Trees", the extended metaphor used by the speaker describes a resilient theme, as she describes the trees as unwanted, but they still stand there, just as she thinks of herself. She says that the trees are "Four raggedy excuses planted by the city" but later goes on to say "Four who grew despite concrete. Four who reach and do not forget to reach. Four whose only reason is to be and be", this personifies the trees, and gives them purpose in life as just to stand there. She compares them to herself by saying "When I am too sad and too skinny to keep keeping, when I am a tiny thing against so many bricks, then it is I look at these trees." This tells the readers that she is resilient despite her opinion that she has no purpose in life, as are the four skinny trees.

A story, or not A story?

In Li-Young Li's "A Story", the author uses foreshadowing and irony to develop the tension of the story, that the father cannot think of a new story for his young son, and doen't want to dissapoint him. The use of Irony in the story begins in the second stanza, when the poem says "In a room full of books, in a world full of stories, he can recall not one...". The ironic fact that the father cannot think of a single story, and doesn't want to dissapoint the boy by not having a story, while in a rooms full of stories he could tell, supports the tension because the father would feel like dissapointing the boy if he were to look for a new story. Foreshadowing is used because of the father's dread of not being able to think of a story, imagining "the day this boy will go. Hear the alligator story! the angel story once more! You love the spider story. you laugh at the spider. let me tell it! But the boy is packing his shirts". The father dreads that his dissapointment will make the boy grow up faster and leave him. The father doesn't want in any way to dissapoint his young son with a repeated story, or to have to look for a story, and so he finishes at a stalemate, being unable to think of one.

Pushing the Duke Over the Edge

The Duke, being an arrogant and cold man, eliminated his last Duchess because of the way she treated him. Some of the small and ordinary events that led him to this are all events where she didn’t treat him quite like he envisioned. “She thanked men, - good! But thanked Somehow – I know not how – as if she ranked My gift of a nine-hundred-year-old name With anybody’s gift” (Lines 31-34). Thanking other men and treating them with respect turned into the Duke claiming his wife treated other men much like she treated him and how she valued them the same amount that she valued her husband. “A heart – how shall I say? – too soon made glad, Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er She looked on, and her looks went everywhere” (Lines 20-24). The Duchess appears to be a happy woman but the Duke thinks that his wife is too easily impresses with other’s actions when she should be over impressed with his and that she was always too happy with other’s when she needs to be only happy with him. I can see how the Duke is building up to something at this point because he is extremely frustrated with his wife and how she never pays any attention to him. The last trivial incident that produced this response in the Duke is “Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt, Whene’er I passed her; but who passed her without Much the same smile” (Lines 43-44). The Duke has had it with how she doesn’t treat him how he envisions even though the Duchess is just a friendly woman. These small incidents seem to produce this arrogant and cold Duke that we see in the story.

-Sydney B

The Duke and his Mistress

The Duke eliminated his last duchess because she undervalued him and treated him as if he were just any man because a lot of men liked her. She did not love him as much as he loved her. “She looked on, and her looks went everywhere”(line 24). The Duke is noticing her way more then she is even looking at him. He is day dreaming and considering everything. “My favour at her breast”(25). “I gave commands; then all the smiles stopped together”(45-46). The duke is feed up of man treating the duchess as if she were a toy. And he is also mad because she is a magnet to man who draws everyone in and gives hope them.

-Mark Gutierrez

The Trivial Incidents of the Duke

Some of the trivial incidents that have seemed to produce the response of eliminating the duke’s duchess are because of jealousy, love and hatred. Some examples of jealousy are so many men liked the duchess and the Duke loved the girl a lot more than all the other men did. This caused the Duke to get very jealous and want to kill somebody through hatred. Some evidence of this are in the poem, “The Last Duchess” the Duke explained, ”’Her mantle laps over my Lady’s wrist too much’ or ‘Paint must never hope to reproduce the faint”. This quote explains how the Duke is jealous because the other men are liking the duchess and he is saying pretty much if you touch her I will kill you.

The Duke's Revenge

3. The Duke eliminated (divorced? sent to a convent? had executed or poisoned?) his last duchess because (he felt) she undervalued him and treated him much as she treated other men. Which trivial incidents in particular seem to have produced this response in the Duke?

            The Duke is a cold and controlling man who, if the object is not up to his standards, he sees it as worthless and must be removed. He similarly treated his last Duchess as an object, and because she undervalued him, he eliminated her. The incident in particular that created the particular response was her treating him the same as everyone else, when “she smiled…Whene’er I passed her; but who passed without Much the same smile?” The Duke was treated the same as her other male admirers- men who “broke in the orchard for her” were the same as the man who gave her the “gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name”. His love for the Duchess was unrequited, so he “gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together”. The Duchess was finally eliminated, because the Duke felt that no smiles were better than the generic ones. 

Loved, But Wasn't Loved

3.        The duchess was a man magnet; they were all in awe of her. She was married though, her husband loved her so much, “she had a heart” he says but she didn’t love him as much as he loved her. This was upsetting to the duke and he hated the way she treated him. Here was her husband and she treated him like any other man. In lines, 30-39 says ,”she thanked men, - good! But thanked somehow-as if she ranked My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name with anybody’s gift…” He feels undervalued. This hurt him the most, he would show is love for her, shower her with complements and she treated him the same way when she got compliments from any other men. Eventually he cuts her off, he kills her, divorces her, something, ”oh sir, she smiled no doubt, whene’er I passed her; but passed without much the same smile? Then all smiles stopped together.” (43-46) he got fed up with the way she treated him, and he let her go.

The Duke of Hazard

There are several trivial incident that may have sent the Duke over the edge to divorce/ kill his Duchess. One instance is when his Duchess is when he let her ride a white mule around in a white orchard and thanked many men, not just her husband which made the duke think that she was ungrateful. This is shown in the quote “The bough of cherries some officious fool Broke in the orchard for her, the white mule She rode with round the terrace -- all and each Would draw from her alike the approving speech, Or blush, at least. She thanked men, -- good! but thanked Somehow -- I know not how” which describes the whole incident. Another incident is when the Duchess seemed to dislike/ stop being happy around the Duke when he gave her commands which made him feel like she was not happy to serve him. This is shown in the quote “ but who passed without Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands”. Lastly there was one incident where the Duchess suspected that she loved someone else as shown by the quote “'twas not Her husband's presence only, called that spot Of joy into the Duchess' cheek” when he was thinking that perhaps he was not the only one she loved. Those are all of the trivial incidents that may have sent the Duke over the edge to divorce/ kill his last Duchess.

Divorcing the Duchess

"She rode with round the terrace -- all and each
Would draw from her alike the approving speech,
Or blush, at least. She thanked men, -- good! but thanked
Somehow -- I know not how -- as if she ranked
My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name
With anybody's gift." ('My Last Duchess'-Robert Browning)

The speaker, being a duke, seems to have some personal problems with his marriage to his wife, who is a duchess. He divorced his duchess because he presumed she did not love him as her husband; treated him like any other man she met. He thought that she treated their marriage as if nothing but a promise, yet she had broken it. It seemed she loved all men equally to her husband and he didn't think this was righteous.


"Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands; 

Then all smiles stopped together [...]

The Count you master's known munifence

Is ample warrant that no just pretence

Of mine for dowry will be disallowed;" ('My Last Duchess'-Robert Browning)

Of course the duke loved his wife, but if she did not handle the reins of their marriage with every ounce of her blood from her heart and within her, he had no choice but to divorce her if things weren't working out.
He was afraid she wasn't happy with him; he wants nothing but for her to be happy, so he thought it best they split the reins of their marriage in the midst of her appeal to other men in relations to him. The duke had questioned her authority and who her heart belongs to, and it seemed that he had judged his last duchess wrong. She loved him, but he was blinded and overly jealous by how she had treated other men in that sense. She was not happy when they had divorced, and in the hands of fate she had died in misery. The duke felt empathy for his wife in her death, and wished he had not divorced her knowing she had actually loved him more than any man. He would give up all his possessions for her happiness and in the face of the trivial incidents he assumed would end their marriage and make her happy, but it didn't.

Fatal Happiness

The Duke seems to be very insecure with his marriage and turns to methods of elimination to get rid of his Duchess. He does this because he feels as if his Duchess values other men as much as himself. The duke says this in the line 24 when he says “She looked on, and her looks went everywhere.” The Duke feels as though he should be valued more than others. There are many situations where it seems questionable if the Duchess was faithful to the Duke. One of these times is when many other men could please her with gifts very easily. The Duke describes this in line 27 through 31 “The bough of cherries some officious fool/broke in the orchard for her…all and each/would draw from her alike the approving speech, / of blush at least…” The Duke felt as though he always gave the Duchess so much and she did not care. He states this in line 32 and 33 “ Somehow- I know not how –as if she ranked/ My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name/ with anybody’s gift.” These few incidents are simple things that made the Duke jealous of other men. The Duchess did not believe she was doing anything wrong but she later found out that these simple things were worthy of death.

The Cruel and Unusual Duke

     
    The Duke is a person who saw much fault in his wife. There were many things he saw in her that displeased him. It often makes the reader wonder how they even got to the point of marriage. Line number 45 states "This grew; I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands as if alive." This statement by the speaker suggests that he did something to get rid of his wife, which can be assumed was a violent or cruel act. However, throughout the poem, the reader may observe that the Duchess annoyed in more subtle, peculiar ways. On line number 22, the author writes, "A heart - how shall I say? - too soon made glad, Too easily impressed;" This statement suggests an idea of annoyance from the speaker. A flaw of being "easily impressed," is one that is commonly thought of by people who are annoyed by the person they are criticizing. The fact that the speaker chose to classify his dead wife this way shows that he is not going to mourn her death, but instead enjoy the fact that he can point out her flaws freely. Secondly, the speaker says on line 32 "Somehow - I know not how- as if she ranked My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name With anybody's gift." This statement by the speaker shows that the Duke was angry with the Duchess because his gift was not valued over the gifts of other men. She did not show extra appreciation for the Duke's gift and that enraged the Duke. These two are great examples of how the Duchess angered the Duke.

The Duchess's Equality Policy

Question 3- In “The Last Duchess”, the Duke orders to have his Duchess eliminated because he felt that the duchess did not value him. He tells the audience that there were reasons that caused this feeling. He stated, “ Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt, whenever I passed her; but who passed without much the same smile?”( Lines 43-45).  At first, he thought that she smiled at him only, but then realized that she smiled at everyone. She found it a courteous gesture and so she smiled at everyone. It did not mean anything for her, but for the Duke it was a symbol of love. In the beginning, he doesn't mind the smile, but later on he gets sick of the smile. The smile starts to become a symbol of hate. A trivial thing like a smile caused him to punish his wife. Another example of a trivial incident is that she talked to men and treated everyone equally. The duke wanted to be treated better than the other men, but the duchess didn't sense that so she treated everyone the same. According to the Duke, “ Or blush, at least. She thanked me, - good! but thanked somehow - I know not how - as if she ranked my gift of a nine-hundred-years old name with anybody’s gift” (Lines 30-34). The Duke felt like that he was not respected better. He felt that she talked to too many other men and did not talk enough to him. She again treated everyone equally, which was a problem to him. She blushed when she talked with other men, and the duke thought that she was not loyally respected to him. When he states that he doesn't know how his gift was ranked the same means that he doesn't know why he was treated the same as the other men. The trivial actions of smiling and talking to other men caused the Duke to eliminate his wife because he was mad that she treated everyone equally.

Jealousy, Painted on the Wall

3. The Duke eliminated (divorced? sent to a convent? had executed or poisoned?) his last duchess because (he felt) she undervalued him and treated him much as she treated other men. Which trivial incidents in particular seem to have produced this response in the Duke?

There are many trivial incidents that produced the response of killing his wife from Duke. Throughout the book, he explains many events and why he feels that he is unvalued. He says, “She had A heart...Too easily impressed.(Line ” This makes the Duchess seem shallow. Another incident is when he says “She thanked men, - good! but thanked..as if she ranked My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name with anybody's gift." The Duke is telling us that she treats anyone's gift equally to his. This makes him feel jealous, and he thinks that his gift should be worth more to him than anyone else's.

Gordon Zhong

The unfaithful duchess

Question #3

The Duke eliminated his last duchess because she undervalued him and she treated him like she treated other men, some events occurred that produced this response from the Duke. The Duke talked about in the poem about the way she looked and talked to men,

“Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er she look on, and her looks went everywhere.”

As the Duke described she was a beautiful woman to him and all other men, but there was a price to pay for her looks and that was she wasn’t very faithful in the relationship between her and the Duke. The Duke discussed how she always had men give her gifts, such as cherries, but she never appreciated the Duke as much as she should have being his wife. The duchess never cared about how faithful the Duke was, so the Duke ended the relationship, (execution, divorce, etc.)

She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not

The Duke killed his last duchess. He did this because he felt that she undervalued him and treated him like all the other men around; he was nothing special to her.

 “Oh sir, she smiled no doubt,

 Whene’er I passed her; but who passed without

 Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands;

 Then all smiles stopped together (Browning, 43).”

The poem “My Last Duchess” shows that she doesn’t really care. She smiles the same way to every man she sees, I would want to kill her for that too. Even now when you love someone there is a different feature they have towards you and no one else, like a smile, it is not an intentional change, but there is an uncontrollable change that is unexplainable. The Duke can see that there is no change and wonders why because his probably changes and then he realizes that he is the same as all the others and that she doesn’t really love him.

The Duke Wants the Truth

The Duke does seem like a very negative character from the start especially when he says and he is very selfish. The duke must have been very overpowering especially when he describes how his wife died. The duke stated,” I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together”, In other words he was a very negative person. However he does value his art and the duke has certain values and expectations that he wants in art. I think these values consist of detail and truth. This is because the man really focuses on the small things such as the grin of his wife and what his wife is wearing. On line seven, the Duke says,” That pictured countenance, the depth and passion of its earnest glance” this is just one example of the many references to detail of the painting in the poem. Lastly, the duke values truth in his artwork, while most people have a blank look or they are smiling in a picture, his duchess has a pessimistic look. He does not want people with fake smiles or looks he wants something to be reminded of as he looks at the piece. Possibly, he would like to be reminded their character and what they were like in real life. Anyways, that’s what the duke values in his art.

The Duke be Tripping SCR #3

                     The Duke is easily angered and selfish.  He unnecessarily gets angry at frivolous things.  The Duke made his last wife “disappear”.  One the main reasons he did was because he felt his wife did not appreciate him enough.  He says, "She had A heart-how shall I say?- too soon made glad, Too easily impressed; she like whate'er She looked on and he looks went everywhere... My favour at her breast, The dropping of daylight in the West, The bough of cherries by some fool."  He is being really jealous over something simple.  This jealousy leads to her disappearance.

The Duchess's Mistake

(Prompt #3)

The Duke eliminated his wife, the Duchess; because he felt she treated him just like all other men, and not as her husband. One event that suggests this is when the duke describes her in the terrace, riding a white mule, thanking a man for getting her cherries. She also received several compliments from other men, and gladly thanked them for them.

 “The white mule she rode with round the terrace-all and each would draw from her alike the approving speech, or blush at least. She thanked men”

 This angered the Duke very much, (even though saying thank you doesn’t mean that she is in love with another man) and provoked him to have her executed. 

The Dukes Envy

Prompt 3

There are many events that seemed to make the duchess “disappear”. Some are trivial while some are obvious. She seems to have been a happy and cheerful girl, but he was always jealous because of the attention she gave to others. “She had a heart to soon made glad. Too easily impressed. She liked whatever.” I think all this kindness to others hurt his feelings. I can see why he was jealous, but he overreacted. He seemed to become overalls obsessed with her, like stalking her. He would see whatever she did and whoever she talked to. He became too selfish, and owning of her. “I gave commands; then the smiling stopped all together.” He seemed to get crazier throughout the poem. Becoming more relentless and jealous. He starts off saying how great she is to how she wanted to end her happiness. It’s apparent that he is a jealous, selfish, evil, and terrible husband/person. 

The Jealous Duke

The Jealous Duke

Question-
3. The Duke eliminated (divorced? sent to a convent? had executed or poisoned?) his last duchess because (he felt) she undervalued him and treated him much as she treated other men. Which trivial incidents in particular seem to have produced this response in the Duke?

In the poem “My Last Duchess,” it tells the story about a Duke who is telling a story about his wife through a painting he had done of her. This painting was painted by an artist named Frá Pandolf who accurately portrayed his wife’s personality through the expression on the Duchesses face. The duchesses was a very loving person, she treated everyone equally and with respect. For example she would smile at her husband, the Duke, the same way she would smile at a commoner/ a complete stranger.

 “Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt, whene’er I passed her; but who passed without much as a smile” (line 42). 

 This quote is expressing how he was jealous of hoe she treated everyone equal, and how she would smile at everyone the same way; not giving him any special recognition. Even though he says,

 “E’en then would be some stooping, and I chose never to stoop” (line 41).

 This quote is saying how he would not stoop to tell her of his jealousy toward him “flirting.” Although later in the story he implies that after he confronted her about her smiling and flirting she later died. This was implied by the line saying, 

“then all smiles stop together” (line 46). 

In analysis of the poem, these lines implied that due to his jealousy he killed her. These were the trivial events that led to her death, which hidden in the poem, hinted that she died due to her husband murdering her.

By Whitney Marshall