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40 pages 1 hour read

Robert Browning

My Last Duchess

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1842

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Literary Device Answers

1. B. Enjambment refers to the instance of one line of poetry flowing into the other without a grammatical pause or break by way of punctuation. In these lines, a single sentence carries across three lines with no pauses or end-stops.

2. C. A metaphor is a figure of speech that employs indirect symbolization or representation. Here, the “spot of joy” refers to the Duchess’s blush.

3. C. Hyperbole involves exaggeration. The use of the word “everywhere” in this phrase is used hyperbolically.

4. D. A, B, and C each suggest the opposite of ideas presented in the poem: The duke is jealous of his late wife’s attention to other things, even though it is platonic; he takes pride in his social status; and he views women as objects to be possessed and controlled. His deep need for power and control forms a central theme of the poem.

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