Browning also relies on a number of different metaphors, or comparisons between two things, to provide information. For example, the Duke reveals his protectiveness of his wife as he talks of curtains that only he has permission to draw. The phrase "spot of joy into the Duchess' cheek" is a metaphor comparing the splendor and beauty of the Duchess that caught everyone's eye.

             Lastly, "My Last Duchess has imagery that provides information and mood. At the end of the poem, the Duke uses the bronze Neptune who is taming a seahorse to explain his need for complete obedience from his future wife. Also, it demonstrates how the Duke sees himself as a God who demands allegiance from everyone. Through such an approach, Browning conveys the crimes and personal deficiencies of the Victorian age.

             "Richard Cory" is one of Edwin Arlington Robinson's best-known poems. It comes from the collection "The Children of the Night." The poem was written in 1897 after Robinson read a newspaper clipping about Frank Avery, who "blew his bowels out with a shotgun." Despite his wealth, Richard Cory "was always human when he talked," and "admirably schooled in every grace." Everyone wishes they are like him, until he "put a bullet through his head." Like "My Last Duchess," the ending of Robinson's poem is very ironic, in that Cory is so capable of maintaining a pleasant front. .

             In a matter of 16 short lines, Robinson is able to condense the entire life of an individual. The first two lines suggest how Cory is on a different plane than others. The second two relate how his "clean favored and imperially slim" appearance sets him off. In the next lines, Robinson moves from appearance to personality that makes Cory even more special. The next lines hold him up as a model. Here is a life to which someone should aspire. It is the dream held by most, especially those who "went without the meat" and "cursed the bread." The ending abruptly shows the difference between dream and reality.