Question

Read the excerpt.

From “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning . . . never read Strangers like you that pictured countenance, The depth and passion of its earnest glance, But to myself they turned (since none puts by The curtain I have drawn for you, but I) And seemed as they would ask me, if they durst, How such a glance came there; . . .
What does the speaker indirectly reveal about himself when he conveys that only he opens the curtain in front of the portrait?


A. that he is knowledgeable and helpful

B. that he is proper and polite

C. that he is possessive and controlling

D. that he is introspective and private

Answer 1

the answer is c

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

Answer: C. That he is possessive and controlling.

Explanation: The speaker in this poem is not Browning himself, but the Duke of Ferrara, talking about a portrait of his deceased wife among other artworks in his collection. In his recollection of her, he recognizes he was not fond of seeing her smile for other men, and now that she was dead (we are lead to suspect he had her killed), he makes sure she only smiles for him by controlling this curtain.