The poem is set in the Italian Renaissance but could be interpreted as a critique of how women were treated in the Victorian era in which Browning wrote this poem. The speaker (presumably the Duke Alfonso of Ferrara) is giving the emissary of the family of his prospective new wife a tour of the artworks in his home. He draws a curtain to reveal a painting of a woman, explaining that it is a portrait of his late wife; he invites his guest to sit and look at the painting. As they look at the portrait of the late Duchess, the Duke describes her happy, cheerful and flirtatious nature, which had displeased him. He says, "She had a heart – how shall I say? – too soon made glad..." He goes on to say that his complaint of her was that "'twas not her husband's presence only" that made her happy. Eventually, "I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together." This could be interpreted as either the Duke had given commands to the Duchess to stop smiling, or commands for her to be killed. He now keeps her painting hidden behind a curtain that only he is allowed to draw back, thus now she only smiles for him.