My Last Duchess: "Thank You" She Said

The Duke eliminated his last duchess because he felt she undervalued him and treated him much like she treated other men. “...too soon made glad,” the Duke thought, “too easily impressed:she liked whate’er.” When he said this, he was referring to the favors men did for her and what she gave in return. The response of eliminating his last duchess was brought on my how easily she was satisfied. the Duke’s decision was also impacted by this scenario, “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.” During this part of the poem, the Duke was describing what she did with the men who came along. Another piece of evidence for his decision is when he says, “She thanked men, - good! but thanked Somehow- I know not how- as if she ranked. The Duke was feeling like she treated other men, mere strangers, just like she treated him, her husband. In this, the Duke decided to eliminate her, though how is not known, but shown here, “I gave commands:Then all smiles stopped together. he had finally had enough of the way his last duchess had been treating him, compared with other men.

~Sydney Bates~