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Difficulty: HardPoetic Diction and Syntax

Read the following passage from Robert Browning's dramatic monologue "My Last Duchess" (1842):

1 She had
2 A heart—how shall I say?—too soon made glad,
3 Too easily impressed; she liked whate'er
4 She looked on, and her looks went everywhere.
5 Sir, ’twas all one! My favour at her breast,
6 The dropping of the daylight in the West,
7 The bough of cherries some officious fool
8 Broke in the orchard for her, the white mule
9 She rode with round the terrace—all and each
10 Would draw from her alike the approving speech,
11 Or blush, at least. She thanked men,—good! but thanked
12 Somehow—I know not how—as if she ranked
13 My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name
14 With anybody’s gift.

In lines 5–11 ("My favour . . . blush, at least"), the syntactical structure of the sentence primarily serves to highlight which of the following?

  1. A
    the contrast between the active verbs associated with the Duchess and the passive structure of the Duke's description
  2. B
    the Duchess’s conscious desire to undermine her husband's noble status by favoring common objects
  3. the Duke’s indignation that his personal favor is equated with trivial, everyday occurrencesAnswer
  4. D
    Robert Browning’s belief that social hierarchies are inherently artificial and oppressive
  5. E
    the harmonious balance of natural beauty and domestic life in the Duke's estate

Answer

the Duke’s indignation that his personal favor is equated with trivial, everyday occurrences
The correct answer is correct because the syntax of the sentence accumulates a list of disparate subjects ('My favour', 'The dropping of the daylight', 'The bough of cherries', 'the white mule') and links them all grammatically to the same verb phrase ('Would draw from her alike'). This structural equivalence directly reflects the Duke's obsessive indignation that the Duchess did not distinguish between his prestigious favor and common, trivial events.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the grammatical structure of lines 5–11, noting the list of noun phrases.
The sentence constructs a series of parallel subjects: 'My favour at her breast,' 'The dropping of the daylight,' 'The bough of cherries,' and 'the white mule.'
To identify how the syntax is organized before the main verb is introduced.
2
Examine how these parallel subjects are resolved in lines 9–10.
The pronoun phrase 'all and each' synthesizes the items and acts as the subject for the predicate 'Would draw from her alike the approving speech.'
To understand the grammatical relationship between the cumulative list and the verb.
3
Connect the grammatical equivalence created by the syntax to the speaker's tone and characterization.
By placing his valuable 'favour' in a parallel structure with a sunset, cherries, and a mule, the Duke reveals his resentment that the Duchess valued his aristocratic name no more than simple, everyday occurrences.
To determine the thematic and psychological purpose of the syntactic construction in the monologue.

Key Concept

Poetic Diction and Syntax
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Topics

Poetic Diction and Syntax

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