understand something more Browning uses simple talk to reveal hidden feelings like pride fear jealousy regret and love The speakers often reveal their true nature without knowing it My Last Duchess A Study of Male Pride and Jealousy In this poem the Duke of Ferrara speaks to a visitor While talking he shows a painting of his last Duchess his dead wife He talks about her smiling too much at everyone Slowly we understand that the duke is proud jealous cruel and controlling He says I gave commands Then all smiles stopped together This means he may have killed his wife The poem shows his controlling nature The Duke thinks he is perfect but we can see his cruel and selfish mind Browning shows us the psychology of a man who wants total control Fra Lippo Lippi A Study of Conflict Between Flesh and Soul Fra Lippo is a painter and a monk He talks to some nightguards and tells them about his life He says he likes to enjoy life He meets secretly with ladies He wants to paint real human bodies but the Church wants him to paint only holy things He says Can t I take breath and try to add life s flash This shows his inner struggle between body and soul art and religion He loves life and beauty but he is trapped in monastic rules Browning shows a man who feels divided inside The Last Ride Together A Study of Acceptance and Hope In this poem a rejected lover speaks His beloved does not love him back He accepts that his love has failed But instead of feeling hopeless he becomes grateful He asks for only one thing a final ride with his beloved He says Your leave for one last ride with me This shows his optimism and peaceful acceptance of failure Through this monologue we understand how he deals with pain love and hope This poem is full of positive psychological strength Andrea del Sarto A Study of Weakness and Lost Dreams Andrea is a painter who feels he could have done better in life He blames his own weakness and his wife Lucrezia He says people should try to do more than what they can easily reach Ah but a man's reach should exceed his grasp Or what's a heaven for This line reveals how Andrea wanted more in life but could not reach it Browning shows us a man who is talented but emotionally broken This is a perfect study of a person s inner failure Understanding of Women Though most of Browning s speakers are men he also shows the silent female characters very clearly In My Last Duchess we learn that the Duchess was kind and innocent She found happiness in simple things In The Last Ride Together the woman is quiet but her presence gives deep meaning to the speaker s life Andrea s wife Lucrezia is careless She doesn t care about her husband s happiness or success In conclusion Robert Browning is a master of showing the psychology of people through their own words He never directly tells us what they are like Instead he lets them speak and through their speech we understand their mind His poems are like windows into the human soul So we can truly say Browning s poetry is a deep psychological study of men and women