The OED defines "munificence" as: The quality of being munificent; great generosity or liberality in giving.

The word is used for a mysterious Count showing that the Duke is aware that his story may have been off-putting, and he must now save face by praising his new socio-political target. However, to use a word that is antithetical to who the Duke is draws larger parallels between who he associates with, who he pretends to be, and who he really is. The Duke is not giving in the sense that he should be praised, he is giving in the sense that gives people reasons to fear him. By praising this Count's munificence, he can downplay his own lack of it.

The Duke states that he "gave commands" in order for the Duchess to behave--whether this means a death sentence or exile have no difference to the Duke as she is dead to him either way.

However, "Lucrezia suffered from chronic lung-trouble, that her father and her brother Francesco were kept constantly informed with regard to the progress of her last illness" (Friedland 673) which implies Lucrezia succumbed to illness. While the Duke married her as a political advantage, if he were to kill her, he risks a war with her family, the Medicis; once again the Duke must put on a front to exert dominance over his subjects and guests. Whether she died by his hand, or from illness is not the issue the Duke wants attention on, but rather, that he can decide when she dies, and anyone within his court is no different.

The Duke's final words being about another artpiece he has demonstrates how little he cared for the Duchess. The need to brag about more art being made for him not only shows his ability to display power, but it also shows a reflection of his true intentions. The bronze cast is of Neptune (a god) taming a seahorse--this reflects how the Duke views himself: a god taming a lesser creature; as he sees himself as a god, he will inevitably treat the new duchess similarly. There was never going to be a dual-respect and understanding between him and the Duchess as she was as useful as a seahorse to him. His calculated shift from a painting of his "beloved" wife, to a bronze cast displaying a feat of dominance demonstrates the Duke's ability for social politics and directs attention away from the gruesome end of the Duchess.

While looking up the Duchess, Lucrezia de' Medici, came a poem called "My Next Duchess" by a priest named Lawrence Jones in which a member of the envoy warns of the Duke as a means to save the next duchess from his grasp. While the poem does not follow all the same writing conventions as Browning's poem such as form and tone, it is effective in the way that provides a secondary perspective on the story within this poem. The break of such conventions lends a sort of response that is more human that the facade that the Duke puts on.

The poem aims to explore how the envoy reacted to the Duke's monologue, and the horror at which is deemed worthy enough to become a cautionary tale to future noblewomen about the Duke of Ferrara.

for - book - Social and Cultural Dynamics - Pitirim Sorokin , societal transition - value transition

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This may be of interest to Jerry Michalski et al.

https://blog.mahabali.me/pedagogy/pedagogical-snacking-transforming-classroom-dynamics/

Providing a snack break during classes can dramatically improve the participants' participation and cohesion.

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