Spirit of the age

‘My Last Duchess’ by Robert Browning is a prefect dramatic monologue. There is a suggestion that the poem relates to the Duke Alfonso II of Ferrara and the last Duchess to the wife of Alfonso II, Lucrezia de Medici. However, the poem is an imaginative genius of a highly talented poet of the Renaissance values. The dramatic monologue is appropriate for psychological analysis. The character’s words reveal his personality, mind and nature.
The poem is short. Just fifty six lines are used to give a concentrated picture of a whole life time. It shows Browning’s genius for condensation. The poem is a brilliant study of the Italian Renaissance, which was marked by intrigue, avarice, hypocrisy and an exquisite taste for the arts. According to me the spirit of the age is captured through the words of a single speaker. What do you think?