Theme of Jealousy in Poems - Essay Example

Theme of Jealousy Jealousy is a central theme in both Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” and Browning’s “My Last Duchess”. Jealousy leads to revenge. In the “Cask of Amontillado” the protagonist, Montresor, starts the story by informing the audience that Fortunato has upset him. In this respect, the narrator is on a revenge mission after irreparable insult. Montresor intends to exact the revenge in a measurable manner without putting Fortunato in a precarious situation (Meyers 201). The author exposes one character that sets a hideous chain of betrayal and retribution. Essentially, Montresor aims to be the jury, a judge, and executioner. Montresor hates Fortunato because the latter had caused many injuries to the former. Due to jealousy, Montresor endeavors to attack Fortunato by skillfully employing a reverse psychology. Notably, Montresor constantly indicates that he has the capacity to ask Luchesi to observe Amontillado although Fortunate detests the obscene scene, and claims that Luchesi does not have the ability to tell Amontillado from Sherry (Poe 745). The audience knows that Montresor is jealous of Fortunato. In order to complete his revenge mission, Montresor tricks Fortunate into coming to his catacombs in order to taste some Amontillado, which is non-existent. Jealousy drives Montresor to endeavor to betray Fortunato by inviting him to taste Amontillado that did not exist. Montresor wishes that he had what Fortunato possessed. Notably, Montresor tells Fortunato that he has the wealth and many people respect, love, and admire him (Poe 744). In effect, Montresor wishes that he had what Fortunate owns. Due to such wishes, Montresor has developed a vengeful spirit catapulted by jealousy (Meyers 202). Montresor thinks that Fortunato is more significant than he is. The protagonist is in deep thought of revenging although he does not indicate the precise reason for executing the deed. The audience can notice that the protagonist intends to kill Fortunato due to mere jealousy and pride. Jealousy is too much in Montresor, and it does not allow him to give his intended action a second thought. Notably, the protagonist proves that he has the highest level of jealousy when he ridicules Fortunato’s attire. Montresor says, “The man wore motley. He had on a tight-fitting parti-stripped dress and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells” (Poe 744). The description of the Fortunato’s attire hinges on a pure jealousy. Poe uses irony to underscore the theme of jealously. Notably, Poe’s choice of the Amontillado as the death bait is significant. The quintessential Sherry intends to capture the irony. The dryness of the Sherry contrasts to the damp catacombs. Similarly, the sweetness of Sherry contrasts the Fortunato’s awful experiences after Montresor buries him alive. Similarly, the opening line contains irony. Montresor indicates that he did not wish to revenge for the physical injuries, but the Fortunato’s move to taint his reputation compelled him to avenge (Meyers 201). It is amazing how the physical attacks do not cause harm to the narrator’s body, yet the reputation attack inflicts damage on the protagonist. Likewise, it is ironical that Fortunato becomes a victim of jealousy and revenge when his name suggests the opposite. In effect, the name of the Fortunato contains irony. Literally, Fortunato implies a lucky person. Arguably, the Fortunato’s name represents verbal irony. It is ironical that the lucky one should face the horrible death at the hands of Montresor. Jealous caused Montresor to kill Fortunato. Montresor had intense desire to murder Fortunato even though the latter did not commit anything that harmed the former. Notably, Montresor continued to call Fortunato “admired, respected, and beloved” although he claimed he had hurt him innumerable times. The words prove that Fortunate was lovable and good person (Poe 745). Thus, Montresor’s move to kill Fortunato hinged on pure malice. Sometimes, Montresor pretends who was concerned about the Fortunato’s health. Perhaps, the protagonist was alluding to Fortunato’s death. Dramatic irony sets in because the audience knows that Montresor’s jealous of Fortunato fueled the latter’s death. However, Fortunato does not know whether Montresor intends to lure him to death. In essence, jealousy can render a person to commit the most heinous acts without any tangible reason. My Last Duchess, authored by Browning captures the theme of jealousy. The poem features Duke who advanced the theme of jealousy. Duke is a pretty an allegorical figure that exhibits malice. Notably, Duke is jealous of the attention his wife accords to other people. A mere extension of grateful from Duke’s wife to the other people attracted jealous (Woods 75). Duke thought that his wife gave the other people more attention than she did to him. Perhaps, Duke thought that his wife flirted with other people and their marital bond was in jeopardy. Duke justified his jealousy of the wife by complaining that she was friendly to others and not dignified enough. The protagonist does not embrace the idea that the wife should be cheerful at all times (Gupta 34). Even after murdering the wife, Duke speaks awfully about her. Evidently, Duke recalls how his wife displeased him when talking to the visitor. In essence, jealousy compelled Duke to murder his wife. Browning employs dramatic monologue to present the theme of jealousy. The author shows the controlling and jealous traits that Duke possessed without attempting to mention them explicitly. The picture the audience gets from the first line when Duke describes the portrait of his wife suggests that she was a mere external appearance to him. Jealous of the wife was intense that Duke could mock her even in death. Duke indicates that his wife used to blush to the other men (Woods 75). Duke’s jealous imaginations compelled him to think that every man who passed his wife tended to elicit special and intimate reaction. It appears that Duke wanted his wife to smile at no other person except him. The duchess’ smiles to the other people elicited powerful anger and jealousy in Duke to a point of commanding her execution. Gupta argues that condemning the wife of flirtatious tendencies without any proves is a high level of jealousy that Duke exhibited (33). Duke’s jealousy hinges on the perceived inability to control his wife. Duke had absolute control over the wife’s lifeless portrait after he commanded her death. Evidently, Duke is full of malice that he cannot discuss the intentional and unintentional smiles that his wife extends to the other men. The jealousy was about any sort of attention as opposed to the romantic interest (Gupta 33). The increased level of jealous pushes Duke to murder the duchess. In effect, murder is the only solution to render the duchess powerless in terms of admiration she received from other men. Perhaps, the author chose Duke to speak of the dead wife’s portrait because the story of duchess’ murder underscored the theme of jealousy. Duke perpetrated jealousy. The unemotional way in which Duke narrates the story accentuates his jealous character. In essence, Duke wanted control over his wife in every aspect, but he could not manage. Due to overwhelming jealousy, Duke chose to have the duchess killed. In conclusion, Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” and Browning’s “My Last Duchess” capture the theme of jealousy. Montresor and Duke are jealous, and they kill their victims due to the overwhelming level of malice. Montresor murdered Fortunato by tricking him to accompany him to his catacombs to taste Amontillado that did not exist. Montresor wished he had the wealth Fortunate possessed. Jealousy compelled Montresor to betray Fortunato and eventually kill him. Similarly, Duke killed the duchess out of pure malice. Duke felt that his wife gave other men more attention than she extended to him. Therefore, Duke’s jealous of the duchess forced him to resort to murder. Hence, jealousy drove Duke and Montresor to kill duchess and Fortunato respectively. Works Cited Gupta, Arti. Robert Browning: A Reassessment in the Light of Hindu Vision. New Delhi: Sarup & Sons, 2002. Print. Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. New York: Cooper Square Press, 2010. Print. Poe, Edgar. “The Cask of Amontillado.” Baym, Nina. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003. Print. Woods, Geraldine. Ap English Literature & Composition for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Pub, 2008. Print. Read More