Point of View

The poem is a monologue and makes use of both first and second-person point of view. Because the entire poem is presented as transcribed speech, it is not rooted in a single point of view. Readers do not see the duke’s internal thoughts, as they might in a more traditional first-person poem, or the physical events that are happening, as they likely would in third-person. Instead, the poem focuses only on what the duke is saying, both about himself (in first person) and to the count’s servant (in second person).

This style allows Browning to display the tension between what the duke might be thinking and what he says, and to encourage readers to question the duke's sincerity. It also creates a direct association between the readers and the listener. Like the count’s servant, readers are put in the position of listening...