The Haunting Aristocrat In his dramatic monologue, Robert Browning uses irony, diction, and imagery to achieve a haunting effect. Robert Browning frequently wrote dramatic monologues to enhance the dark and avaricious qualities in his works. Browning’s use of this particular style is to “evoke the unconstrained reaction of a person in a particular situation or crisis” (Napierkowski 170). A poem may say one thing, but when mixed with dramatic monologue, it may “present a meaning …showed first 75 words of 777 total…

…showed last 75 words of 777 total…haunting tactics. Robert Browning presents a creepy feeling through his dramatic monologues. In “My Last Duchess,” he shows the reader the Dukes overbearing need for control and power through imagery, and he causes a weariness to overcome the reader through irony. Browning’s use of precise diction also contributes to the eerie developments throughout the poem. By combining dramatic monologue, irony, precise diction, and imagery together, Browning is able to produce his desired haunting effect.