Dramatic Lyrics (1842) is a collection of poems by Robert Browning, the third pamphlet of his Bells and Pomegranates series. It contains My Last Duchess and The Pied Piper of Hamelin, and shows his mastery of the dramatic monologue.
The dramatic monologue
Browning gives the voice to a single speaker, not himself, who addresses a silent listener and reveals more than he intends.
In My Last Duchess, a Renaissance duke shows a portrait of his late wife to an envoy and, while negotiating his next marriage, lets slip that he had her silenced for smiling too freely.
Variety
The pamphlet also includes Porphyria's Lover, a chilling monologue of a murderer, Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister and Cavalier Tunes.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin, written for the young son of the actor William Macready, retells the German legend of the rat-catcher who leads away a town's children.
Reception
Browning was then known for difficult works such as Sordello, and the short, vivid poems of Dramatic Lyrics found more readers.
My Last Duchess is now one of the most anthologised and studied poems in English.
Anecdotes
A real duke
The speaker of My Last Duchess is usually identified with Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, whose young first wife Lucrezia de' Medici died in 1561 after three years of marriage.
A poem for a sick child
Browning wrote The Pied Piper to amuse Willie Macready, the actor's son, who was ill and wanted something to illustrate.
Frequently asked questions
What is a dramatic monologue?
A poem spoken by a character, not the poet, to a silent listener, revealing his personality.
Which famous poems are in Dramatic Lyrics?
My Last Duchess, Porphyria's Lover and The Pied Piper of Hamelin.
When was it published?
In 1842.