My Last Duchess / A.E Housman Answers

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The last duchess appears to have been murdered by a man hired by the speaker because she appeared to be cheating on him.

In lines 45–46, the speaker says, “I gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together.”

The speaker continues to push on for marriage with his client, regardless of how much the client is fearful of the speaker’s past actions. The speaker does not care for money since the wife that he is to get is the real object. This shows how women were treated as objects and only valued for their sexuality. Thus, the speaker is characterized as materialistic and selfish.

The Duke shows the Count’s agent the portrait of his dead wife to show the agent his previous marriage. Since his late wife was high-class, the Duke must have status to marry his late wife.

The Duke became more suspicious of his wife after she grew increasingly happier.

The Duke solved this conflict by ordering a man to kill her.

If he were to marry his second wife, chances are that he would be more controlling of her so that she does not cheat on him. She would become too suppressed and rebel.

The speaker means that the strength of her anger of her past regrets is equal to the strength of her love to her lover.

The kind of love expressed is unconditional love. The speaker loves all actions of her lover and does not stop loving him because of loss of faith or turn from praise.

In the first stanza, the athlete had won a race, picked up, and cheered. In the second stanza, the athlete is picked up, but this time he is in a coffin.

Fame fades faster than life. There is no more cheering after death. Never will that athlete be heard anymore.

That line means that the athlete’s fame died before he did.

Housman does not completely believe that the young athlete was smart to die because while his dame dies at the same time as him, and thus he does not have the agony of becoming hum-bled, he cannot live life anymore.

I would include how the athlete could have become even better and possible ascended to high levels, such as the professional level, as well as break record. Now everyone must live with a what-if attitude.

In “To an Athlete Dying Young,” the attitude of youths is that it is a travesty when they die be-cause they have lived an incomplete life and have not lived it to the fullest. In “When I Was One-and-Twenty,” the attitude of youths is that they are selfish and live in the moment.

The trochaic meter makes the speaker seem silly by emphasizing less important sounds while excluding important ones.

The counterpoint rhythm reinforces the line’s meaning by repeating and emphasizes the point by emphasizing words.