My Last Duchess was written by which poet?

My Last Duchess was written by which poet?

• A. Robert Browning
• B. Samuel Johnson
• C. Emily Dickinson
• D. Wordsworth

Answer: (A)

Robert Browning. The poem is a dramatic monologue in which a Renaissance duke speaks in his own voice about his last duchess, revealing his possessive, controlling nature and hinting at his role in her fate. Browning is renowned for this form, using a single speaker to disclose character through what is left unsaid. The other poets listed come from different periods and styles—Samuel Johnson with 18th-century prose and essays, Emily Dickinson with American 19th-century lyric poetry, and Wordsworth as a major Romantic poet—so they did not write this piece.

Robert Browning. The poem is a dramatic monologue in which a Renaissance duke speaks in his own voice about his last duchess, revealing his possessive, controlling nature and hinting at his role in her fate. Browning is renowned for this form, using a single speaker to disclose character through what is left unsaid. The other poets listed come from different periods and styles—Samuel Johnson with 18th-century prose and essays, Emily Dickinson with American 19th-century lyric poetry, and Wordsworth as a major Romantic poet—so they did not write this piece.