Summary and Analysis of, "The Pragmatics of Silence, and the Figuration of the Reader in Browning's Dramatic Monologues," By Jennifer A. Wagner-Lawlor

            It is the age old phrase, “Silence is golden,” that so many individuals have heard their grandparents, their parents, and their teachers say. It is a phrase that you either agree with; believing that an individual whom is quiet may be the most powerful—holding all of the answers to so unbelievable sequence. Or for some it is a phrase that they disagree with whole-heartedly; believing that if someone has nothing to say about something than they really have no true and thoughtful opinion. Yet, in the end we must wonder what our parents’, grandparents’, and teachers’ reasoning behind using this statement was? Is silence really golden?

            Within Jennifer A Wagner-Lawlor’s article, “The Pragmatics of Silence, and the Figuration of the Reader in Browning’s Dramatic Monologues,” she explores the reasoning behind the silence of the auditor (the listener) within some of Browning’s major works. She argues throughout much of her article that silence is a key concept to not only Browning’s work, but also most dramatic monologues. “Silence under such circumstances indicates consensus, and indeed more than consensus—absolute faith, awe, recognition of an ineffability before which there is no need to talk” (Wagner 576).  This statement shows that in this case, the case of the auditor, his/her silence may actually be considered golden. Lawlor explores the meaning behind the silence of the auditor and gives the meaning an importance to the dramatic monologue. Without the silence of the auditor it comes to question whether or not the same meaning would arise from the dramatic monologue. Although silent the auditor plays a key role within the dramatic monologues.

            One of the main monologues that Lawlor used within her article was Browning’s, My Last Duchess. Within this monologue the Duke, who is the main character/ the narrator if you will, is talking about his last duchess. The duchess whom he could not control, whom he did not believe was his best choice because she did not ever pay any mind to his power, and the duchess whom in the end caused him to lose his mind, thus having her killed. Throughout much of the monologue we, as readers, have no real idea who the Duke is talking to or if he is actually talking to anyone, but himself. The auditor is identified towards the end of the monologue as the Duke claims, “Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt…” (Browning 84). Here the Duke is directly calling to the individual whom he is talking to, yet the auditor still remains silent. However, Lawlor would claim that this is Browning’s main intention. Lawlor claims that keeping the auditor silent allows readers to place his/herself in the position of the auditor; allowing readers to listen solely to what the speaker, the Duke in this case, has to say (Wagner 578). “The body of the shadowy listener, the text’s implied listener, that “you,” is intentionally kept out of the spotlight by the speaker, whose sole purpose is an often narcissistic self-delineation” (Wagner 578). In My Last Duchess, we are able to discover a lot about the Duke’s character just by how he relays his information to the auditor, as well as what information he is relaying. The reader, “you,” is the implied listener of the story!

            Placing the speaker at the center of attention, while placing the reader in the auditor’s position allows readers to sympathize and judge the speaker without any input from an outside source (the auditor). Lawlor believes that the silence is not just coming from the second party, but also from the Duchess herself, who is a third party within this monologue (Wagner 587). It is amazing everything we can hear and see from a character who has not spoken at all throughout the entire monologue. So, it may seem that silence is really golden. “The discernment of the second-person auditor is only possible through the reader’s own more distant, objective, and possibly resistant response to the speaker” (Wagner 589). The silence played out in Browning’s monologues is purposeful and it is placed into the monologue with meaning; it is meant to create a story for the reader that he/ she can actually become a part of.

Works Cited:

Browning, Robert.“My Last Duchess.” Robert Browning's Poetry.Ed. James F. Loucks and Andrew M.
            Stauffer. second ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company,2007. 523-42. Print.

Wagner-Lawlor, Jennifer A. “The Pragmatics of Silence, and the Figuration of the Reader in Browning’s
             Dramatic Monologues.” Robert Browning's Poetry.Ed. James F. Loucks and Andrew M. Stauffer.
             second ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company,2007. 523-42.  Print.

© [Mykenzie Fox] [http: // COUNTGISMOND.blogspot.com/ ], [2013]. Unauthorized use and/ or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/ or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to [Mykenzie Fox] and [http: // COUNTGISMOND.blogspot.com/ ] with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.