Professionals divide literature into many different categories or genres, which do not seem related to each other. Some crossover hybrids exist, but very few works of literature can actually be compared to others that do not belong to the same genre. Such a comparison would be that of a poem and the detective genre in general. For example, Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess", a dramatic monologue, would very rarely be compared to the short story "The Purloined Letter" by Edgar Allan Poe. The authors of Detective Fiction Crime and Compromise, however, placed Browning's poem in the manifestation section of their book. A manifestation of detective fiction is something, other than detective fiction, which outwardly or perceptibly indicates a materialization of the detective genre (Gale Cengage Learning). Browning manifests detective fiction by incorporating the theme of reverse imperialism into his poem. Reverse imperialism occurs when one country, which usually tries to control others, is taken over and controlled by another. Browning understood society's fear of reverse imperialism and channeled it as Poe did in his short stories. In "My Last Duchess", Robert Browning paints a picture with his words, which depicts Duke Ferrara as an imperialist man who would produce anxiety in society due to his fear of reverse imperialism. “My Last Duchess” is written in a dramatic monologue style. , which allows readers to see the true temperament of Browning's character, Duke Ferrara, and how similar his personality was to that of an imposing imperialist country. A key point of reverse imperialism, which society would notice in the poem, would be the compulsive nature of collecting objects as the Duke does. Imperialist country...... middle of paper ......is many different themes. One of these themes is reverse imperialism, which may seem strange to find in a poem, but Robert Browning truly describes it with his character Duke Ferrara. The poem, written in the same period as most of Edgar Allan Poe's detective novels, manifests many detective themes, and these themes allow it to be compared to several other literary genres. Browning truly succeeded in expressing the anxieties and concerns of his society in his monologue poem “My Last Duchess”. Works Cited “Glossary of Terms”. Gale Cengage Learning. Cengage Learning, and Web. April 5, 2011..Browning, Robert. “My last duchess”. Detective fiction: crime and compromise. Ed. Dick Allen and David Chacko. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1974. 44-45. Print.