The production vindicated the new feature-length movie format by restoring several characters, plot complications, and atmosphere that had been truncated in Thanhouser’s 1910 version of less than one-sixth the length.

Based on Browning's poem, a widowed Duchess raises a son that decides to abandon modern ways and act like it's the medieval days. When he wishes to marry, a young woman is found and plays along believing it's all a joke.