Why I Am Entitled To This Scholarship

<h1>Why I Am Entitled To This Scholarship</h1><p>If you have read for the SAT or GRE or any of the other government sanctioned tests, you have likely run over certain sorts of expositions that test takers may utilize. These can be paper tests for most schools that are a piece of the SAT or the GRE.</p><p></p><p>An exposition is generally one of the principal things you will do when stepping through a run of the mill examination. It is critical to show that you know the material alright with the goal that you get the correct evaluation. These exposition tests are what you ought to have.</p><p></p><p>A standard article for the most part has some essential data you have to have so as to appropriately show your capability in a specific subject. You will likewise need to give insights regarding the exploration you have done so as to get the data you are utilizing in your composition. As a rule, you will discover a rundown o f references in your own works. Ensure you explore these however much as could reasonably be expected so you can offer total help for your points.</p><p></p><p>The most concerning issue that can emerge with these exposition tests is that some understudies or secondary school understudies can't think about a unique thought. There will be a few understudies who will think of a profoundly unique thought, yet they essentially don't have a clue how to utilize it in the best possible manner. Your article should exhibit that you can viably utilize the thoughts that you know. By utilizing those equivalent thoughts you will have the option to show that you have set aside the effort to read for the test.</p><p></p><p>Another thing that you need to recollect is that your paper ought to have the option to show that you know about the run of the mill difficulties that will be looked on the standard test. The most ideal approach to accomplish this i s to feature the subjects that will be generally essential to the understudies. You need to ensure that you furnish the understudies with instances of these points with regards to a genuine circumstance. Along these lines, you will have the option to show that you comprehend the subtleties of what the understudies are examining in the genuine circumstances. You will at that point have the option to show that you have an extremely exhaustive comprehension of the subject. It is a smart thought to take a gander at the example papers when you are composing yours so as to show signs of improvement comprehension of what you are attempting to achieve.</p><p></p><p>Finally, you need to recollect that the most ideal approach to ensure that you get the grant you are seeking after is to ensure that your article tests are largely better than expected. You would prefer not to compose an exceptionally terrible article just to get the grant. It will be simpler to compose an incredible one than it will be to compose a poor one.</p><p></p><p>Remember why I merit this grant? It is on the grounds that you have what it takes that you have to turn into an incredible student.</p>

Writing a Persuasive Essay Template

Writing a Persuasive Essay TemplateIf you are planning to write a persuasive essay, then you can use a good persuasive essay template. These essays make it easy for anyone to generate good writing, even for those who have never written before. Although you can also do this yourself if you want to, using an essay template makes the entire process much easier and more efficient.Writing an essay is just as much about persuasion as anything else. You can't be any good at writing if you don't know what you are talking about. You need to do your research. However, the problem is that writing a convincing argument or argumentative essay is actually easier when you know how to start with an outline and where to go from there.One of the ways you can do this is by creating an outline. An outline will give you all the steps that you need to take in order to make the transition from one stage to the next. In other words, an outline will allow you to move forward and ensure that you aren't stuck in the middle of your essay. By writing an outline, you will be able to create a logical sequence of events and figure out what the different stages are and how they fit together. You will also be able to refer back to it as you go and get a sense of flow.A persuasive essay template will also provide you with a framework and reference point. These two things can be very useful tools that will help you. Remember, the more you know about writing a persuasive essay, the better you will be able to make your own essay. Writing an outline allows you to put your information together in a way that makes sense and helps you organize your thoughts.However, you also need to have persuasive content and compelling arguments. If you have enough of either, you should be able to convince anyone that will listen to you that what you are saying is true. It is important to remember that the only way you will be able to convince anyone is if you can convince them with your arguments and not just with y our ideas.However, when it comes to a persuasive essay template, you need to think about exactly what your piece is going to look like before you start writing. This way, you will be able to make a starting point with an outline and a frame of reference. In fact, this is the most important step of all. Without an outline and a reference point, you are just going to be floating in the middle of nowhere. You need to determine exactly what you want to say in order to be successful at this.Before you begin writing your persuasive essay template, be sure to identify the reasons you want to make the argument that you have. For example, if you are writing an essay about how much you hate to lose, then you need to figure out why. Do you want to draw a conclusion that you know in your heart is true?The point is that an outline is really just a beginning to a whole new story. When you are writing a persuasive essay template, always be prepared with an outline, a reference point, and a frame o f reference. Only after you have done that can you start to write and just keep moving forward.

Cause and Effect Essay Topics For College

Cause and Effect Essay Topics For CollegeIf you are planning to write an essay on the topic of cause and effect, it would help if you understand the meaning of such concepts. Here, the meaning of the word cause is somewhat different from the meaning of effect. It means that a single act by a particular individual has an effect on another event or person. The common example of this is the history of ancient Greece, where many women were involved in the founding of many important civilizations.This may not seem like a significant issue in itself but it is important to understand this concept. In our day and age, there are many causes that affect other people in the world including those in our own family. One of the major problems that parents face is what to do about certain things. They cannot figure out why their child likes to smoke or eats fast food or why the child is always having tantrums when things don't go his way. When we talk about cause and effect, we have to focus on thi ngs that we can control.Let's look at another example of cause and effect. I often read how one person with a disease takes away someone else's quality of life. There are many other examples, but one that strikes me is how a cure for a disease can cause harm to someone else. This may be a prime example of cause and effect. Some cures may cure the disease without causing any damage to others.Another example of cause and effect is when you write about certain situations in your life that influenced your actions and decisions. This is also known as 'causal reasoning'. The ability to realize what happened and why is known as causality. It is common in the humanities field to talk about causality as a subject of debate, but it is an essential concept to understand.Some other examples of this is the idea of the brain's ability to learn from experience. When we become better at something, it is because of our ability to analyze the circumstances around us and see what lessons we learned fr om the experience. Similarly, people who succeed in life can do so because they learn from past experiences.Now, consider the concept of 'reversal of causation'. This occurs when two events occur in a sequence of events that change the outcome of the previous events. It is also referred to as 'closing of the loop'. A famous example of this is the fact that many jobs lost to automation have returned. One of the main drivers of this was the loss of employment. What was important about this concept is that you needed to focus on a sequence of events that created the problem rather than focusing on one event that caused the problem.As you can see, you can develop a good understanding of cause and effect by doing some research and by writing about topics like cause and effect essay topics for college. These topics are an excellent way to expose yourself to a variety of different subjects and therefore to enhance your vocabulary. You will also find that learning a variety of subjects incr eases your level of creativity and problem solving ability. Do you think it will benefit you to take a college-level honors course in any subject, including cause and effect essay topics for college?

Quotes Free Essays

Gambling was so crucial to the economy of certain household that semi- espectable women slept with Jockeys to get closer to † the horse’s mouth. (page 50) – 11. â€Å"Most OndaatJes liked liquor, sometimes to excess. We will write a custom essay sample on Quotes or any similar topic only for you Order Now Most of them were hot tempered- though they blamed diabetes for this when ever possible. † (page 57) – This song can represent Michael’s mom Doris Gratian and his dad Mermlyn’s relationship, how in the beginning of their love it was very strong but when merlvyen started drinking their love was cold and crushed and how they ended up separating. This represents how during 1935 women wanted to get married and would fight to get the best men, and would do anything to get him. This quote means that since the horses were used for military purposes. But the races conflicted with it because every one wanted to own a horse and affected the economy. Horses were used tor gambling and they were being mistreated everyone would want too see the recesses and did not change the date of the races s for anything because it was so important for everyone. After they had put in all their money and realized hey had lost they would start leavening like ants so they wouldn’t be seen as losers. This quote explains how valuable the horses were and how people put all their money into the horses. They would even sleep next to them to protect the horses. People would put in money so they can own at least a leg. The Ondaatje family would drink and blame it on diabetes to make an excuse. And to make it seem like it was Just in their blood. 12. â€Å"God loves a drunk. † (page 59)- â€Å"Reading torn 100-year-old newspaper clippings that come apart in your hands like et sand, information tough as plastic dolls. (page 69) â€Å"There is a myth that if a child is given thalagoya tongue to eat he will become brillianty articulate,†¦ † (page 73) â€Å"The Sinhalese are beyond a doubt one of the least musical people in the world. It would be quite impossible to have less sense of pitch, line, or rhythm. † ( page 76) â€Å"Ceylon is an experience-but heavens, not a permanence. † (page 78) â€Å"All Jungles are evil. † (page 78) â€Å"Sweat runs with its own tangible life down a body as if a giant egg has been broken nto our shoulders. (page 79) â€Å"Heat disgraces foreigners. † (page 80) â€Å"A perfumed sea. How to cite Quotes, Papers

Sarah and the ways to cope with her problems Essay Example

Sarah and the ways to cope with her problems Essay Sarah had worked for fifteen years as a driver with the Greenline Bus Company .But she had to give it up because of her back-pain. That means ,it is almost certain that she would have continued as an efficient driver even now if such inconvenience did not come her way ,incapacitating her! It might have left a streak of frustration at some corner of her mind, perhaps in the subconscious layer! Psychologically speaking, Sarah is a woman with serious manic-depressive syndrome which hardly surfaces. This again is coupled with outer insouciance and inner feeling of insecurity. Psychological imbalance may be the joint results of chronic suppression of a feeling of exhaustion and bipolar disorder . The latter drives her to swing between action and inaction, thus making her excel in some areas of her duties and fail in some others. Sarah is now a trainer and she is admired by her boss for her adaptability and amiable disposition. But the problem is that she cannot be declared as an efficient assessor as she shows poor ability in interviewing and even if the trainers come and point out her inefficiency she cannot admit it. She tends to forget the previous lessons though she does well with the recent lessons. She lacks in concentration or she has a poor memory to remember the lessons imparted in the previous classes. But she does not understand why she is being undermined . She finds no problem with herself. Perhaps, she has been overconfident about her capabilities. This is again perilous! We will write a custom essay sample on Sarah and the ways to cope with her problems specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Sarah and the ways to cope with her problems specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Sarah and the ways to cope with her problems specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Sarah might even be in difficulty with the methods of teaching the skills. the lesson-kits should have been concise and easy-to-remember. After giving up her regular job as a driver, she might have suffered from a sense of insecurity along with frustration . Every moment she feels that she might even lose the job of interviewer even. This inward tension keeps her on tenterhooks of which she is unaware outwardly. We are assuming all the possibilities so far. But, one thing must be kept in mind that Sarah is able to take up all the lessons taught for the nonce. If she had less intelligence could she ever take up such intricate lessons? NO! That means, while she is taught her lessons she applies al her gray cells to assimilate it. But, along with passage of time or lack of its application, the knowledge acquired fades out . It is due to lack of retentive power. Of course, it has a connection with her willingness to remember. As she is in the good book of the manager , she is complacent in some way. But, as her inefficiency as an interviewer is pointed out, she falters and feels insecure. But, again she may develop the willingness automatically if she finds the teaching process interesting. It may be that she strains all her intellectual faculty to absorb the lesson imparted at a time, either because of its lengthiness or of its drab, dull nature. So, though she remembers the present lessons , the previous lesson slips off her memory. The learning method that she follows may not tally with the teaching process. Perhaps the teaching method demands learning by rote, which she because of her certain incapability may not always adapt. That may be one reason why she tends to forget the previous lesson. Karen Horney in her Neurotic Personality of our Times thinks that a person become neurotic and panic-stricken when he/she finds a secured position in life standing threatened. As Sarah knows well that if this job of an interviewer stands jeopardized and if always she is informed by her instructor that her performance level is poor, her future may be bleak. Hence this fear-psychosis leaves her trembling and she tends to forget the previous lesson. Naturally, while she goes for taking an interview everything goes awry. On hearing repeatedly of her failure as an interviewer, she grows recalcitrant and feels that keeping her boss in good humor will only solve all problems. She therefore looks adaptable, undemanding, amiable to him. But all the faults lie in choosing and applying her   interview-techniques that she learns in the specific classes. It may be that as thee is fault with her learning method, she cannot remember the nitty-gritty and hence comes out a cropper while application of the techniques come. So her learning methods must be supported by practical application of the theory simultaneously with the teaching of the basic tenets of the same. While interviewing the others a strange inferiority complex too might creep in to play foul. Even if we take it for granted that   she remembered all the interviewing skills she had been taught , she might forget all the tenets while seeing a prospective interviewee. It is simply because of her past designation which had come to a close quite pathetically for a sudden deadly back-pain. In her unconscious , she keeps thinking that she could easily be in her confirmed challenging position of an efficient driver but now she is NOT! For the nonce, she forgets all reasons behind her relinquishing, and feels irritated that she is now an assessor whose ability is constantly suspected and questioned. Naturally, she develops some sort of withdrawal symptoms that ultimately results in alienation and she keeps cutting a sorry figure as an interviewer. May be that for this reason he is internally aloof from the lessons and this lack of deep involvement erases all that she learns from that less on immediately after the interaction. But as I have already said, exerting all her strength she tries to assimilate the immediate lessons. Whatever the case may be, there can be no doubt about her predilection rather fixation with the past. Here, Sigmund Freud in his well-acclaimed book   Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis writes, â€Å"But on the subject of fixation to a particular phase in the past we may add that such behavior is far more widespread than neurosis. Every neurosis includes a fixation of that kind , but not every fixation leads to a neurosis , coincides with a neurosis or arises owing to a neurosis. A perfect model of an affective fixation is provided by mourning , which actually involves the most   complete alienation from the present and the future.†[cf Freud, 1991,p-316] Naturally , if   Sarah’s plight is judged minutely, her previous occupation will be seen to come to intervene .Sarah’s learning too gets impaired   when she learns that her performance as an interviewer is very poor . She tries her best to adopt the lessons minutely but all the efforts go in vain when she is reminded of her loopholes. To sum up, it is concluded despite all her problems it cannot be gainsaid that Sarah has definite problems with the immediately previous lessons. It may be because of three reasons. Firstly, because of lack of concentration and poor retention power the previous lesson drops off her memory. Secondly ,as the assessors din into her brain always that her interview techniques are wrong she stays in tension and though she can respond to the immediate lessons well, the previous lessons betray her. Calm of mind, a tension-free tranquility are essential for remembering that. Thirdly, the lessons are either lengthy or boring for her.   Again, a sense of frustration   gets the better of her while taking interview of the persons for fresh recruitment in the same post [i.e. bus-driver], she had been .Her personality disorders come in the way of acting rightly. Sarah as an assessor may face problems in taking up the lessons imparted to her. Before all, it must be seen that the teaching-learning techniques get suited to her needs. The lessons must be planned in such a manner that Sarah must not face any difficulty in taking them up. For example, these lessons may be broken up in short modules to suit her level of understanding, concentration and further retention. The lessons may be made so interesting that Sarah feels like remembering them for a long time. An example may come handy: A driver must have a good vision and intuition. While taking a hairpin bend on a hilly path, he must make sure to keep his ears pricked up to listen to each and every honk at each and every turn of the road. On a straight path, again, he must keep an eye on the road as well as the side -mirror to keep track of every vehicle that whisks past his car at breakneck speed. A picture is put up on the LCD projector then to show different inclining angles. Sarah must understand and assimilate this much lesson and then the instructor should pass on to the next one. The teacher should make it sure that the short lessons must be supported by paintings, pictures, photographs r any other tool with immense visual appeal. It must enable Sarah to remember every lesson vividly. Audio-visual method of teaching is bound to be effective with persons like her. Sarah as a person too should be analyzed minutely. In Section I , it has been said again and again that   she may have a seed of frustration and insecurity sown in her mind immediately after giving up her job as a   regular driver with the Greenline Bus Company. But why? She had given it up because of her back-pain, a veritable reason, no doubt. Again, she had been re-appointed by the same company as an assessor. But, at the back of her mind   a fear of insecurity unnerves her when her flaws as an interviewer are pointed out .To shrug the unsavory sense off, she tends to disbelieve that she has any such drawback at all. For the aforesaid reasons, Sarah may be taken for certain psychometric tests like Rorschach test and thematic and perceptive tests to ascertain the personality disorders in her. And then of course, depending on the subsequent findings necessary steps may be taken to rectify her demeanors .Similarly, the teaching techniques may be modified according to her learning needs. For example, if it is found that she has a learning disorder she may be given a total psychotherapy treatment and then she may be given her assignments later. If she is found to suffer from a manic-depressive syndrome[bipolar disorder] ,she may be given a breather or a leave for one month or so and then she may be allowed to choose he dates of her lessons and can be lectured in brief sessions. If she is found to have fault with her retention capacity she may be given a respite with a certain task of solving a series of memory tests. Barring all the above-mentioned possibilities, it should be kept in mind that the process of discouragement must be stopped for the nonce. Even if she has faults in her interviewing she should not be said anything blatantly. For the time being, she may be kept aside from the interviewing process. If she asks whether the interviews are being held or not, a lie may be told to deter her. For example, the fresh recruitment has been withheld for the time being or so. Later on, after imparting her short and interesting lessons, she may be tried again with the assignment of an interviewer. This time, she may even excel in her efforts. The instructor should be understanding, cooperative, compassionate and adaptive. They must in a playful manner impart the short lessons to her and a subsequent test must be taken immediately after the completion of the lecture. Of course, the instructor must not forget to ask her about the previous lesson in a light and playful manner. If a light attitude is displayed, she may not forget the previous lesson. Another thing must be kept in mind : her former job of a bus-driver wit the same Company must never be mentioned. Let alone, speaking about her back-pain which was the reason behind her giving up the work. Lionel Trilling in his interesting book The Liberal Imagination says, â€Å"Freud showed, too, how the mind ,in one of its parts, could work without logic, yet not without that directing purpose, that control of intent from which, perhaps it might be said, logic springs. For the unconscious mind works without the syntactical conjunctions which are logic’s essence. It recognizes no because, no therefore, no but †¦.†[Trilling, 1950,p-50] In case of Sarah the problem lies in the fact that she does not understand that her performance as an interviewer is not of any commendable standard. Hence , Sarah’s problem with learning can be solved by following certain methods like: Easy play-method: Not the child’s method of learning, but a kind ,cooperative method of teaching. Memory games: In order to encourage her memory, some intelligent games may be given to her by way of recreation. Psychotherapeutic measures: Some measures may be followed to help her get back a sense of security and come out of the complex, inferior or whatever, she otherwise might have   had. Supportive attitude: The Company must proffer a friendly hand to her by not reminding her of her inefficiency of taking an interview. Rather her training process may be prolonged and shorter and interesting lessons may be provided to her.Her past involvement with the same Company as a driver should never be mentioned because she quit it owing to an excruciating back-pain, which might be the cause of her personality disorder and subsequent amnesia. She must be encouraged to develop a positive attitude towards learning . Sarah’s personality disorder owes a lot to alienation and lack of adaptation to the compulsory necessity.     If we delve deep into the minds of a hundred persons we will find that all of them are ill in some way or the other. For each person separate therapeutic methods produce wonderful results. Naturally, Sarah’s case is not a strange or detached one. If the above methods or steps are followed, she is sure to overcome her difficulties and prove her mettle in course of time.

Legalization of Canibus Sativa essays

Legalization of Canibus Sativa essays The debate over the legalization of Cannabis Sativa, more commonly known as marijuana, has been one of the most heated controversies ever to occur in the United States. Its use as a medicine has existed for thousands of years in many countries world wide and documented as far back as 2700 BC where the plant had been grown for fiber. Common slang names for this drug include ganja, cannabis, dope, grass, bung, rasta, weed, pot, or tree. Unfortunately many critics opinions may vary on this topic. Yet, regardless of whether or not you think marijuana should be legalized for medical use its important to understand both sides of the argument. Dennis Petro says, There is no compelling evidence now that marijuana is a necessary treatment for the conditions for which some want it legalized-pain, muscle spasms and glaucoma. Many doctors say that in the past, without a doubt, smoking pot was a good way to treat certain problems, but today other drugs make pot smoking for medical purposes unnecessary. Lester Grinspoon, a marijuana guru and Harvard psychiatrist argues that marijuana certainly seems safer than many other drugs even aspirin, which causes bleeding and kills hundreds of people a year, there has not been a single known death by marijuana overdose. The drugs detractors maintain that there is no proven medical use for smoked marijuana (Peron). Many researchers claim that marijuana alleviates some symptoms associated with a variety of diseases. Specifically, cancer patients report the efficacy of marijuana in the reduction of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, as well as increase in appetite and weight gain, according to studies by researchers at Dana- Farber Cancer Institute, Cornell Medical College in New York and National Institutes of Health. In a study of 1,000 oncologists published in July in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, 44% said they recommended marijuana to at least one patient...

Analysis of the Robert Browning Poem My Last Duchess

Analysis of the Robert Browning Poem My Last Duchess Robert Browning was a prolific poet and at times his poetry drew a  stark contrast to that of his famous wife, Elizabeth Barrett Browning. A perfect example is his dramatic monologue, My Last Duchess, which is dark and a daring portrait of a domineering man. Though written in 1842, My Last Duchess is set in the 16th-century. And yet, it speaks volumes of the treatment of women in the Victorian time of the Brownings. The misogynistic character of the poem is also a severe contrast to Browning himself who was a master of negative capability. Browning would often write poetry of men like the duke who dominated (and barely loved) his wife while penning endearing love poems to his own Elizabeth. My Last Duchess is a poem to that engages conversation and it is a perfect study for any student of classic literature. The Contrast of the Brownings Poetry Elizabeth Barrett Brownings most famous sonnet asks, How do I love thee? Let me count the ways? Sounds lovely, does it not? On the other hand, Porphyrias Lover, an infamous poem that was written by Elizabeths husband, would count the ways in a very disturbing and unexpected manner. Step 1) Welcome the beautiful girl into your secret meeting place.Step 2) Listen while she declares her undying love for you.Step 3) Tenderly wrap her long, golden hair around her throat.Step 4) Strangle her.Step 5) Sit happily next to her dead body. The above list is a disgustingly violent scenario, the sort one might expect to find in a grizzly episode of some CSI knock-off or straight-to-video slasher flick. Or maybe its even darker than that, due to the last nihilistic lines of the poem: And all night long we have not stirred,And yet God has not said a word! (lines 59-60) If it were read aloud in a creative writing classroom today, the students would probably shift uncomfortably in their seats, and the unsettled English teacher might very well recommend counseling for the poet. Yet, far from modern, Porphyrias Lover is a product of Englands prim and oh-so-proper Victorian society of the mid-1800s, and the poet was an adoring husband in favor of equality for women. So why then does Browning delve into the mindset of a misogynistic sociopath, not just with Porphyrias Lover, but also with the deviously cruel poem My Last Duchess? Browning exercises what John Keats referred to as negative capability: an artists capacity to lose himself in his characters, revealing nothing of his own personality, political views, or philosophies. In order to critique the oppressive, male-dominated society of his age, Browning gave voice to villainous characters, each representing the antithesis of his worldview. Browning does not eliminate his personal virtues from all of his poetry. This dedicated husband also wrote sincere and tender poems to his wife; these romantic works, such as Summum Bonum, unveil the true and benevolent nature of Robert Browning. The Theme of My Last Duchess Even if readers give My Last Duchess a mere passing glance, they should be able to detect at least one element: arrogance. The speaker of the poem exhibits an arrogance rooted in an audacious sense of male superiority. In simpler terms: he is stuck on himself. But to understand the deadliness of the Dukes powerhouse combo of narcissism and misogyny, the reader must delve deeply into this dramatic monologue, paying close attention to both what is said as well as unsaid. It is evident that the speakers name is Ferrara (as suggested by the character heading at the beginning of the speech). Most scholars agree that Browning derived his character from a 16th-century duke of the same title: Alfonso II dEste, a renowned patron of the arts who was also rumored to have poisoned his first wife. Understanding the Dramatic Monologue What sets this poem apart from many others is that it is a dramatic monologue, a type of poem in which a character distinctly different from that of the poet is speaking to someone else. Actually, some dramatic monologues feature speakers who talk to themselves, but the monologues with silent characters display more artistry, more theatrics in storytelling because they are not merely confessional tirades (as with Porphyrias Lover). Instead, readers can imagine a specific setting and detect action and reaction based on the hints given within the verse. In My Last Duchess, the duke is speaking to a courtier of a wealthy count. Before the poem even begins, the courtier has been escorted through the Dukes palace - probably through an art gallery filled with paintings and sculptures. The courtier has seen a curtain which conceals a painting, and the duke decides to treat his guest to a viewing of a very special portrait of his late wife. The courtier is impressed, perhaps even mesmerized by the smile of the woman in the painting and he asks what produced such an expression. And thats when the dramatic monologue begins: Thats my last Duchess painted on the wall,Looking as if she were alive. I callThat piece a wonder, now: Fra Pandolfs handsWorked busily a day, and there she stands.Willt please you sit and look at her?  (lines 1-5) The Duke behaves cordially enough, asking his guest if he would like to gaze at the painting. We are witnessing the speakers public persona. Notice how he keeps the painting behind a curtain until he feels like showing it to others. He has control over who views the painting, mastery over the painted smile of his deceased wife. As the monologue continues, the Duke brags about the fame of the painter: Fra Pandolf (a quick tangent: fra is a shortened version of friar, a holy member of the church. Note how the Duke uses a holy member of the church as part of his plan to capture and control his wifes image). It pleases the Duke that his wifes smile has been preserved within the artwork. The Character of the Late Duchess During the Duchess life, the Duke explains, his wife would offer that beautiful smile to everyone, instead of reserving her look of joy exclusively for her husband. She appreciated nature, the kindness of others, animals, and the simple pleasures of everyday life. And this disgusts the duke. It seems the duchess cared about her husband and often showed him that look of joy and love, but he feels that the duchess ranked / [his] gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name / With anybodys gift (lines 32 - 34). He might not reveal his explosive emotions to the courtier as they sit and look at the painting, but the reader can deduce that the duchess lack of worshipfulness infuriated her husband. He wanted to be the only person, the only object of her affection. The duke self-righteously continues his explanation of events, rationalizing that despite his disappointment it would have been beneath him to talk openly with his wife about his feelings of jealousy. He does not request, nor even demand, that she alter her behavior because Een then would be some stooping; and I choose / Never to stoop (lines 42 - 43). He feels that communication with his own wife is beneath his class. Instead, he gives commands and all smiles stopped together (line 46). Keep in mind, he does not give commands to his wife; as the duke indicates, instruction would be stooping. Rather, he delivers orders to his minions who then execute this poor, innocent woman. Is the Duchess So Innocent? Some readers believe that the Duchess isnt so innocent, that her smiles are really a code word for promiscuous behavior. Their theory is that whoever she smiles at (a servant for example) is someone she engages in a sexual relationship. However, if she were sleeping around with everything she smiled at (the setting sun, a branch from a cherry tree, a mule), then we would have a duchess who is a not only a sexual deviant  but must possess the physical prowess similar to a  Greek goddess. How else could she have sex with the sun? Although the Duke is not the most reliable of narrators, he keeps most of his conversation on a literal, not a symbolic, level. He may be an untrustworthy character, yet the reader should trust that when he says a smile, he means a smile. If the duke executed a lustful, adulterous wife, that would still make him a bad guy, but a different sort of bad guy: a vengeful cuckold. However, if the duke executed a faithful, kind-hearted wife who failed to revere her husband above all others, then we are witnessing a monologue performed by a monster. That is exactly the experience which Browning means for his audience. Women in the Victorian Age Certainly, women were oppressed during the 1500s, the era in which My Last Duchess takes place. Yet, the poem is less a critique of the feudalistic ways of medieval Europe and more of an attack on the biased, overbearing views expressed during Brownings day. How uptight was Englands Victorian society of the 1800s? A historical article titled Sexuality and Modernity explains that The Victorian bourgeois may have covered their piano legs out of modesty. Thats right, those pent-up Victorians were turned on by the sensuous curve of a pianos leg! Literature of the era, in circles both journalistic and literary, portrayed women as fragile creatures in need of a husband. For a Victorian woman to be morally good, she must embody sensitivity, self-sacrifice, innate purity (Salisbury and Kersten). All of these traits are exhibited by the Duchess if we assume that allowing herself to be married to a creep in order to please her family is an act of self-sacrifice. While many Victorian husbands desired a pure, virginal bride, they also desired physical, mental, and sexual conquest. If a man was not satisfied with his wife, a woman who was his legal subordinate in the eyes of the law, he might not kill her off as the Duke so cavalierly does in Brownings poem. However, the husband might very well patronize one of Londons many prostitutes, thereby obliterating the sanctity of the marriage and endangering his innocent wife with a frightening variety of incurable diseases. Robert and Elizabeth Browning Fortunately, Browning was not transposing his own personality into  My Last Duchess. He was far from the typical Victorian  and married a woman who was both older and socially his superior. He adored his wife  Elizabeth Barrett Browning  so much that together they defied her fathers wishes and eloped. Over the years, they raised a family, supported each others writing careers, and loved each other as equals. Clearly, Browning used what Keats called negative capability to invent a character that was strikingly unlike his own: a vicious, controlling duke whose morals and beliefs contrasted with those of the poet. Yet, perhaps Browning was observing fellow members of Victorian society when he crafted the devious lines of Duke Ferrera. Barretts father, although not a murderous lord from the 16th-century, he was a controlling patriarch who demanded that his daughters stay faithful to him, that they never move out of the home, not even to marry. Like the duke who coveted his precious artwork, Barretts father wanted to keep hold of his children as if they were inanimate figures in a gallery. When she defied her fathers demands and married Robert Browning, she became dead to her father and he never saw her again†¦ unless, of course, he kept a picture of Elizabeth on his wall.