1. Whose portrait is the Duke showing to his visitor? What about the portrait causes people to ask questions about it?
2. To what does the Duke attribute the look on the Duchess's face in the portrait?
3. What is the implication of the Duke's statement that "her looks went everywhere"?
4. Why did the Duke not tell the Duchess what displeased him about her conduct?
5. What had happened to the Duke's relationship with his wife before she died? What makes this fact ominous?
6. What is ominous about the Duke's choice of words in lines 50-53?
7. What is the painter agreeing to do? What will he do with the money that he earns? What does he hope for in return?
8. What does the painter want to do this evening?
9. How does the painter feel toward his wife? How does she act toward him? How do you know?
10. How does the painter characterize his present life? To what does he compare it?
11. What is the painter capable of doing?
12. Del Sarto paints flawlessly, but he feels that there is something lacking in his work. What is lacking that he finds in other painters?
13. What does del Sarto mean when he says of Raphael's painting that its body is wrong but its soul is right? In what sense is del Sarto the better painter? In what sense is Raphael the better painter?
14. What does del Sarto wish his wife had given him?
15. Does del Sarto blame his wife or himself for his failure to create great work? How do you know?
16. Why doesn't del Sarto finish the statement that begins, "had you not grown restless"? What is he thinking about here?
17. What did the great Michelangelo tell Raphael about del Sarto? Does del Sarto believe that Michelangelo was right?
18. What does del Sarto implore his wife to do? How might this affect his work? Why?
19. Who has come to see del Sarto's wife? Why is he there? Why does she want del Sarto to do the painting mentioned at the beginning of the poem?
20. What is del Sarto attempting to justify here?
21. Even in heaven, if given one last chance to paint greatly, del Sarto believes that he would be outdone by Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Why? What would keep him from having spirit enough to do great work? On whom does the blame ultimately rest for his not doing great work?
