The Duke of Ferrara is a character and speaker in the poem "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning. The reader witnesses a man in control who will destroy everything he cannot control. We immediately realize the extent of the Duke's need for power in the title and in the first line when he uses the term “Mio” which indicates ownership (Browning). Therefore the Duke cannot control the Duchess's “point of joy” (Browning line 21); he orders her to be killed (Browning line 45). He still feels the need to control the Duchess, even after death. This control is revealed when he opens the curtain and declares, “(for none lays aside / The curtain I drew for you, except I)” (Browning line 9-10). The Duke speaks to a servant about courting his master's daughter. It is known that he is already trying to control his next possible wife by telling the story of his last duchess to her servant, with the belief that it will be passed on to her daughter. Finally, in his final attempt to remind the servant of their discussion and his expectations, he directs the s...