Author: B. Wu, Murry Bergtraum HS, New York, NY

Subject: English

Grade Level: 9-12

Overview: This unit of lessons is designed to lead students to read the life and love stories about the couple-Elizabeth and Robert Browing -the Victorian poets. With some biographical knowledge about both poets, students will read and appreciate their poetry. They will also discuss how much their poetry can be related directly to their real life. Literary elements-sonnet, and dramatic poem, will also be studied. Students will demonstrate their understanding of their poetry by writing an interpretation of the couple' love for each other expressed in the poems.

Objective: Student will

• Understand and appreciate dramatic monologues that explore the effect of jealousy on personal relationships; also understand a sonnet that explore her unique attitudes toward romatic relationships
• Express understanding of the poem
• Identify the author's purpose
• Extend understanding of the poems through the extensive reading about the poet' life and some other selected

Material: Elizabeth Barrett Browning XLIII "How do I love thee ? Let me count the ways".

http://library.advanced.org/3247/cgi-bin/dispworks.cgi?poet=browning.elizabeth&frame=

"My Last Duchess " by Robert Browning

To read an anthology of his poems, please click this link-

http://library.advanced.org/3247/cgi-bin/dispworks.cgi?poet=browning.robert&frame=

1. This site contains Elizabeth Browning's biography, her poems, the analysis of symbolism and philosophy in her works, and other issues about Victorian poets- http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/hypertext/landow/victorian/ebb/browningov.html

2. About the Life of Elizabeth Browning- http://mirrors.org.sg/victorian/ebb/ebbio.html 
3. The relationship between Elizabeth and Robert Browning: http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/hypertext/landow/victorian/ebb/ebbio1.html 
4. Read another love story between the two poets: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ihas/poet/browning.html 
5. Some biographical knowledge about Robert Browning: http://ccis09.baylor.edu/Library/LibDepts/ABL/RB.html 

6. SELECTED POETRY OF ROBERT BROWNING (1812-1889): http://library.utoronto.ca/www/utel/rp/authors/browning.html

Activity I

Read Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess" and answer the following questions-

1. The poet describes the duchess through the eyes of a fictitious painter. What imagery are drawn in the poem describing the portrait?
2. What destroyed the duke's marriage ?
3. What do you think is the real cause of the duchess' death?
4. What can you infer from the duke's use of the word "last"(line 1)?
5. What might it mean that no one save the duke draws the curtain(lines 9-10)?
6. How would you explain duke's feelings about the duchess' tendency to be easily pleased (lines21-24)?
7. What do you think happened to make the smile stop (line 46)?
8. In your opinion, is the duke's graciousness in ignoring social differences genuine(53-54)?
9. What relationship can you draw between the duke and the duchess' relationship and Neptune's taming the sea horse?
10. What can you infer from the last two lines of the poem?
11. How would describe the speaker's attitude toward his former wife?
12. What major literary elements are used in the poem(irony, symbolism, characterization?

Respond-

In your notebook, explain your reaction to this poem.

Connect-

What does this poem reveal about the poet's attitude toward love and marriage? Is love about possessing each other? If it is not, what is it?

Activity II

Read Elizabeth Browning's sonnet and answer the following questions-

1. How many different ways does the speaker love her beloved, accoding to the poem?
2. What feeling is he speaker describing when she refers to " a love I seemed to lose/With my lost saints"? What is she saying that her beloved means to her?
3. What is your impression of the romantic relationship described in this sonnet?
4. There are different attitudes toward romantic relationship, such as idealistic vs practical; adventurous vs cautious; emotional vs rational' open vs reserved. Where attitude does the speaker have for love?
5. Do you think it is desirable to love or be loved in this way? Explain your answer.
6. This sonnet is probably the most quoted love poem in the English language. What qualities both in its contents and its style, make it memorable?

Activity III

Read information from the two sites above and complete the following exercise-

1. Summarize the romance between Elizabeth and Robert Browning.

2. What is Elizabeth and Robert Browning's attitude toward love?

3. How is their attitude toward love revealed or indicated in the poems discussed in the class?

Extensions:

1.Choose one of the poems and write an interpretation of it. From the anthology of each poet's works(

Elizabeth Browning or Robert Browning), read at least two more poems. In your interpretation essay, make sure to make connections between the couple's love life, their attitude toward love and the meaning of the poem.

2. Research the web and find at least two more good links pertaining to the topic. Link the sites to this assignment including a brief annotation for each site.