Poetic Form

My Last Duchess by Ferrara

That's my last Duchess painted on the wall,
Looking as if she were alive. I call
That piece a wonder, now: Fra Pandolf's hands
Worked busily a day, and there she stands.
......

Prose

That's my last Duchess painted on the wall, looking as if she were alive.
I call that piece a wonder, now: Fra Pandolf's hands worked busily a day, and there she stands.
......

My Last Duchess uses an AA BB CC..... form. And to fulfill the use of the form, the sentences were split for the sake of the rhyme. In the short example above, two full sentences were split to accommodate an AA BB form. By doing so, not only it created a rhyme, but it also helps to put extra stress in certain area of the sentence. For example, the sentence “That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall, looking as if she were alive.” Would only inform the reader of how lively the painting is. However, by separating the sentence into two: “That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall,” and “Looking as if she were alive. I call” would imply a level of importance to that particular painting on the first section and inform the reader how she looks alive in the painting on the second. The poetic form has not only create a rhyme for the poem, it has also been used to apply a higher level of importance on certain parts of the sentence.