Compare My Last Duchess and Poppies: Grade 9 Thesis & Quotes (AQA)

Quick Comparison Grid (The “Ninja Cheat Sheet”)

1. Silencing and Power: Command vs Loss

My Last Duchess:

• The Duke exerts explicit control: “I gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together.” The euphemism masks murder behind authority.
• The Duchess has no voice—she exists only through the Duke’s narrative and the painting he controls.
• Elite Link: The curtain becomes a symbol of censorship; the Duke decides who sees her and how she is remembered.

Poppies:

• The mother is silenced indirectly through loss. Her son’s absence removes her ability to act as a mother.
• She speaks in the poem, but her voice is filled with suppressed emotion rather than authority.
• Elite Link: Her silence at the war memorial contrasts with the Duke’s dominating speech, highlighting different forms of voicelessness.

Explore: Browning shows silencing as an act of violence, while Weir shows silencing as an emotional consequence of institutional decisions.

2. Control vs Care: Possession and Love

My Last Duchess:

• The Duke views marriage as ownership. The Duchess’s smiles are seen as a threat to his status.
• His obsession with his “nine-hundred-years-old name” shows his desire to control lineage and legacy.
• Elite Link: Love is replaced by possession; the Duchess is valued only when frozen and obedient.

Poppies:

• The mother’s actions are rooted in care and protection—she sews, smooths, and remembers.
• Her love is selfless, even when it causes pain.
• Elite Link: The contrast between the Duke’s controlling love and the mother’s nurturing love exposes the moral emptiness of power.

Explore: The Duke equates love with dominance, while the mother equates love with sacrifice and remembrance.

3. Structure: Control vs Fragmentation

My Last Duchess:

• The heroic couplets and iambic pentameter reflect the Duke’s obsession with order and authority.
• Enjambment allows his true nature to slip out, revealing instability beneath control.
• Elite Link: The Duchess is permanently enclosed within the poem’s structure, just as she is within the painting.

Poppies:

• The free verse structure mirrors the unpredictability of grief.
• Temporal shifts reflect the mother’s inability to separate past from present.
• Elite Link: The lack of closure reflects the ongoing nature of loss.

Explore: Browning uses structure to contain and dominate, while Weir uses structure to expose emotional fracture.

Context Comparison (AO3 Power Move)

Elite Insight: Browning exposes how power kills women through control, while Weir exposes how power kills relationships through absence—both reveal the human cost hidden behind authority.

Exam Sentence Starters

1. “While Browning exposes direct patriarchal power that silences women through control and violence, Weir reveals indirect institutional power that silences women through grief…”
2. “Both poets explore the denial of female agency: Browning through the Duke’s commands, and Weir through the mother’s enforced separation from her son…”
3. “The Duke’s obsession with control contrasts sharply with the mother’s quiet acts of care, highlighting different responses to power and loss…”
4. “Browning’s controlled couplets reflect domination, whereas Weir’s fragmented free verse reflects emotional disintegration…”
5. “Contextually, Browning critiques patriarchal aristocracy, while Weir critiques the emotional consequences of modern warfare…”

FAQs

What is the best poem to compare with My Last Duchess?

Poppies works well for gender and silencing. You can also compare it to Ozymandias for arrogance of power, or London for institutional control.

What is the best poem to compare with Poppies?

My Last Duchess is effective for private grief vs public power. Alternatively, compare it to Kamikaze for family impact, or Remains for aftermath of war.

What is the best theme linking My Last Duchess and Poppies?

Power, Control, and the Silencing of Women—both poems explore how women’s voices are suppressed by authority and circumstance.

What quotes should I compare between My Last Duchess and Poppies?

• “I gave commands” (Duchess) vs. “I was brave” (Poppies)—command vs endurance.
• “The curtain I have drawn” (Duchess) vs. “I listened” (Poppies)—control vs attentiveness.
• “All smiles stopped together” (Duchess) vs. “The world overflowing like a treasure chest” (Poppies)—death vs memory.

How do I compare structure in My Last Duchess and Poppies?

Browning uses heroic couplets and dramatic monologue to enforce control and silence. Weir uses free verse and fragmented chronology to reflect the emotional impact of grief. Both use form to explore the effects of power.

What is a Grade 9 thesis for My Last Duchess vs. Poppies?

“While Browning presents direct, coercive patriarchal power that violently silences a woman, Weir explores indirect institutional power that silences a mother through grief and absence.”

Read Next

• My Last Duchess Revision Sheet
• Poppies Revision Sheet
• Power & Conflict Comparisons Hub