My Last Duchess

The character of "My Last Duchess" appears to be a well known man with a secret. No one expects the duke to be able to tell such a graphic story of his lovers death. "Who'd stoop to blame This sort of trifling?" (Browning 748). The people probably didn't know that the duchess was murdered and that the duke knew about it, which makes the poem so surprising. The duke must also have a little anger issues. He said, "Just this or that in you disgusts me; here you miss, or exceed the mark" (Browning 748). The woman he is talking to probably got a little worried and afraid of him at this point after hearing the story of how the duchess was murdered as she was passing the portrait of her.