Final answer:
Enjambment in 'My Last Duchess' is used to extend thoughts across lines without pause, impacting the poem's tone and the reader's experience. It contrasts with end-stopped lines, which provide a sense of balance and closure at the end of each line.
Step-by-step explanation:
Enjambment in poetry refers to a line that extends without a pause into the next line, creating a sense of continuation. Robert Browning's poem My Last Duchess utilizes enjambment as a literary device to contribute to the tone and pace of the poem, creating an uninterrupted flow of thought from the speaker, which can surprise readers with a change in image or meaning as one line runs into the next. The speaker in this dramatic monologue reveals his character through the poetic structure, where the enjambment can suggest a controlling and relentless nature, mirroring his behavior towards his last duchess.
For example, Browning uses enjambment to surprise the reader when the seemingly harsh image of a body 'breaking' shifts into a more positive image of the body 'breaking into blossom.' In contrast, other poets, such as Pope in his An Essay on Criticism, employ end-stopped lines, which are characterized by the use of punctuation at the end of each line to create a sense of balance and harmony. This distinction underscores the different effects that enjambment versus end-stopped lines have on a poem's rhythm and the reader's experience.