What did the Duke stop the Duchess from doing?

• A. Flirting with other men
• B. Wearing bright clothes
• C. Visiting family
• D. Singing in public

Answer: (A)

This question tests how power and control show up in relationships, especially in the way one person tries to limit another’s behavior. In this poem, the speaker presents a wife as a possession he can command, and his impatience is aimed at how she interacts with people—particularly men.

The crucial idea is that the Duke is unhappy with the Duchess because she enjoyed the company and flattery of others, a behavior that challenges his authority. The line about giving commands and then “all smiles stopping” signals that he could intervene in her social ease and, in the poem’s dark arc, take drastic action to enforce that control. So the behavior he’s policing is her flirting with other men, not her clothing, family visits, or singing in public. Those aspects aren’t tied to the Duke’s motive or the poem’s central tension; the controlling issue is how she related to other men.