Fra Lippo Lippi

Robert Browning was a 19th-century English poet whose work contains dark humor, intense
characterization, and the use of the dramatic monologue as a form. He wrote from the
perspective of famous historical figures and literary characters, and he discovered nuanced
and fresh perspectives on familiar figures. Browning wrote a great deal in his youth, but his
productivity slowed when he married fellow poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–61) and
moved to Italy to raise a family. He began to write again once he moved back to England
following his wife's death. Browning wrote prolifically in his old age and achieved a great
deal of commercial and critical success. He is remembered as one of the foremost English
poets of his age, and his legacy is as a philosophical poet and innovator of the dramatic
monologue as a poetic form.

Victorian Britain
Robert Browning wrote most of his poetry during the Victorian era of British history. The
Victorian era is named after Queen Victoria (1819–1901) who ruled the country from 1837
until her death in 1901. The era was defined by a huge growth in Britain's economy and
empire as well as an increase in democratic representation in government and a distinct
division between the social classes. Victorian Britain was a sharply divided country in which
the wealth gap between the richest and poorest people was particularly pronounced. The
ruling classes were often aristocrats who owned large estates and had no need to work, but
they were joined by business owners who capitalized on the rapidly industrialized society to
make fortunes. University education was only available to upper- and middle-class men, and
social mobility or changing between social classes was uncommon.

Victorian Britain vastly expanded its empire. Queen Victoria was the head of state of many
colonies around the world including India, Canada, Australia, Kenya, and many places in the
Caribbean. Wealth and resources were extracted from these colonies, often in a violent
fashion. These resources were then used to fuel the growth of the empire and make Britain
one of the world's richest and most powerful countries. People from these colonies traveled
to Britain but did not enjoy the same rights and privileges as British people. The chief
benefactors of the British Empire were the British and particularly those British people who
were already wealthy.

Religion played an important role in Victorian Britain. The state religion was Christianity and
particularly the Church of England. The British monarch has traditionally served as the
official head of the Church of England, and Queen Victoria filled this role. The Christian Bible
was read by many people, and the local church in villages, towns, and city districts was
considered an important hub of the community. Religion played an important role in the
British Empire as well. Missionaries were sent to foreign countries to convert the local
population to Christianity. These conversions were often forced and allowed the British to
exercise a form of social control over the colonized countries. The use of religion as an
imperial tool led some British people to question the role of their empire on the world
stage.
Robert Browning's poetry is largely influenced by the Victorian world he witnessed around
him even though he spent years abroad living in Italy and traveling around Europe. He wrote
about class divisions and represented them in poems such as "My Last Duchess." The
representative in this poem is forced to listen to an aristocrat casually explain how he
murdered his wife. The duke of Ferrara is the aristocrat and acts as though he is above the
law. The nature of empires is examined in poems such as "Two in the Campagna" and "Love
among the Ruins" which portray former cities and world powers that have crumbled into
nothingness. The portrayal of Caliban in "Caliban upon Setebos" is an examination of a
foreign, nonwhite, non-Christian character who is capable of profound thought and self-
reflection. Browning challenges the established principles of the Victorian era such as class,
empire, and religion though his criticisms are often subtle.

Victorian Poetry
The Victorian era produced a large amount of literature. The literature of this period
reflected social upheaval and formed an identifiable movement with specific traits and
styles. The poetry of the era explored the social conditions of the country and the role of
women in society. Robert Browning's wife Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–61) was also a
poet. Her poems such as "Cry of the Children" (1844) portrayed the terrible conditions
endured by children who worked in factories. The popular poem helped to raise awareness
of social issues and demonstrated how poetry could influence society.

An important quality of Victorian poetry is its emphasis on the senses. Imagery and appeals
to sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch are used to convey contemporary issues. Poets also
appealed to the reader's sentimentality which means that they explored passion and
tenderness in an occasionally exaggerated manner. Sentimentality features typical emotions
being inflated to the point where they define characters and situations. Characters become
overcome with emotion which can weaken them to the point of collapse.

Victorian poets also sought to reclaim the past. They drew on classical literature from the
ancient world but also stories, books, plays, and poems from the medieval and renaissance
eras. Stories about chivalrous and heroic knights were popular, and the depiction of royal
courts in the medieval era resonated within the rigid Victorian class system.

All of these Victorian sensibilities can be found in the work of Robert Browning. His wife
Elizabeth encouraged and influenced Browning's poetry and helped him to refine his
criticism of social issues. "My Last Duchess" is a criticism of the aristocratic class system and
the conception of women as property rather than as individuals with rights. Browning also
appealed to the senses and sentimentality throughout his poetry. "Soliloquy of the Spanish
Cloister" is written from the perspective of a monk who has allowed himself to become
overcome with emotion. The unnamed monk hates Brother Lawrence from the shadows,
and every touch, taste, and smell he experiences is a reflection of his loathing for his
colleague. The reclamation of the past is Browning's most Victorian quality. His dramatic
monologues revisit characters from history and literature to give them new voices and new
perspectives. Browning infuses men such as Filippino Lippi (1457–1504) with fresh ideas
about art and representation. Browning's work is very much a product of its time and has
been heralded as an excellent example of Victorian poetry.
Dramatic Monologues
A dramatic monologue is a poem which is presented as a speech made by a single character.
The style is designed to contain a character's history, narrative, and psychological insight in
a single poem. The dramatic monologue has a long history, and many examples of the style
can be found in medieval English literature. "The Seafarer" (10th century) and "The
Wanderer" (10th century) are two poems by anonymous authors which illustrate the use of
the dramatic monologue in the Old English language. The style also has a long tradition of
being used in folk songs and ballads. The Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759–96) employed a
dramatic monologue in "Holy Willie's Prayer" (1789). Later poets such as T.S. Eliot (1888–
1965) expanded on the form's relentless interrogation of the central character even further.
"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (1915) portrays the mental tensions which threaten to
consume a young man's life as he struggles to deal with his overwhelming emotions.

Robert Browning is considered one of the most important poets with regard to the dramatic
monologue. He is credited with adding subtlety and characterization to his dramatic
monologues which emphasized the dramatic and the personal at the same time. Characters
delivering dramatic monologues in Browning's work do not simply state their thoughts and
ambitions. The nuances of their characters are revealed through moments of hesitation,
asides, and casual remarks which reflect real speech. "The Bishop Orders His Tomb at St.
Praxed's Church," "Fra Lippo Lippi," and "Andrea del Sarto" are all examples of dramatic
monologues. Browning engaged with real figures from history such as Andrea del Sarto and
Lippo Lippi as well as fictional figures. Each of the characters delivers a dramatic speech that
finds meaning in previously unexpected places. The dramatic monologue is a defining trait
of Browning's poetry.

Summary
Filippino Lippi (1457–1504) is a monk and a painter who is known as Lippo Lippi. He lives in
Florence, Italy, in the 15th century. One night he takes a walk through one of the less
reputable areas of town and is caught by a group of policemen. They accost him, and he
criticizes their harsh treatment while insisting that there is no reason to punish him. The
police only allow him to depart when he mentions the name of Florence's powerful rulers
the Medici and hints that he is a family friend. Lippi turns to the leader of the police and
explains that he is a famous painter. He expresses concern that people are too quick to bow
to authority figures such as the Medici family and suggests that the police leader allow his
men to disperse. The police leader listens to Lippi explain that he has been locked in his
house for three weeks of hard work. A passing group of partygoers inspired Lippi to break
free from his home and have some fun. The policemen caught Lippi just as he had begun to
enjoy himself. He wonders whether indulging his desire to have fun makes him a "beast."

Lippo recounts the story of his life. His parents died when he was a baby and his poor aunt
sent him to be raised by monks. Lippo happily became a monk because doing so guaranteed
a regular supply of food. The slow, idle life of a monk suited Lippi, and he did not excel in
any academic area that the monks pushed him toward. His one talent was for art,
particularly drawing faces. His history as a hungry child taught him how to distinguish faces
and imbue them with character. Lippi became the monks' designated artist. He painted all
kinds of scenes as he was inspired by the world around him. The monks appreciated his
work, but the more important people did not approve of his desire to draw regular working
people rather than religious pieces. Lippi reflects on an artist's ability to capture the soul. He
believes that "simple beauty" is the best demonstration of God's power. Lippi is caught in a
battle between painting the real world that he wants to paint and being pressured to paint
moralistic, religious works. He agrees to the demands to remain successful, so he has to
unleash his more hedonistic desires through the prostitutes found in the less reputable
parts of the city. His impoverished youth is difficult to leave behind, and he never wants to
stop portraying poor people in his paintings.

Lippi begins to think about what each generation of painters owes to those who came
before. Artists are constantly innovating and breaking the rules set by the previous
generations. Lippi remembers a young painter called Hulking Tom. He believes that Tom has
the potential to become a great artist and shatter all the conventions that Lippi has helped
to establish. Lippi has always been concerned with realism in art, and he wonders whether
art should portray the world and the objects in it "just as they are" or whether an artist
should attempt to improve what God has created. An artist has the power to show people a
new perspective or interpretation of a subject. Lippi becomes angry when he thinks about
how his bosses occasionally ruin his artistic endeavors but apologizes so that he does not
anger the police leader.

Lippi assures his audience that he has developed a new plan which will satisfy his bosses and
himself. He plans to paint a picture that will depict God and religious imagery. Lippi will
include himself in the corner of the painting observing the religious scene. He knows that
the inclusion might make people angry. Lippi bids farewell to the police leader and promises
to return home quickly.

Analysis
"Fra Lippo Lippi" is narrated from the perspective of the title character. Filippino Lippi
(1457–1504) was a monk and a painter who lived in Florence, Italy, in the 15th century. Lippi
speaks in an informal manner when he addresses the police leader, and his rant about art
and artistry covers many topics. His sprawling, unfocused speech is a reflection of the way
he has spent his evening. Lippi is drunk but tries to hide his drunkenness from the police.
The police leader takes the place of the audience as he is forced to listen to all of Lippi's
rambling, scattershot thoughts.
For all of Lippi's drunken, defensive pleas, he is still capable of profound and intelligent
insights into the mind of an artist. The thoughts lurk just below the surface of Lippi's
consciousness, and he snatches at whatever he sees. He is not afraid to allow his mind to
wander even though he is in a precarious situation. The threat of arrest means less to Lippi
than the thoughts themselves. The fact that he has so many insights close to hand reveals
that he thinks often about the subject of art, and the importance he invests into the topic is
demonstrated by his willingness to explain everything to the police. Lippi would rather
finally speak the thoughts aloud even if doing so means that he may be arrested.

The focus of Lippi's complaint is the tension in the working relationship between his artistic
ideals and the demands of his bosses. His bosses want him to paint religious scenes which
demonstrate the importance of God. Lippi would rather paint secular scenes which
accurately depict the lives of the poor people all around him. Lippi grew up as a poor orphan
and places a great deal of importance on the representation of real people's lives. His talent
is unquestioned, but he does not direct this talent in a way that benefits those who hold
power over him. Neither the leaders of the monastery nor the ruling families of Florence are
particularly invested in portraying the lives of poor people. Lippi's realistic paintings are very
high quality, but they provide no additional benefit to the rich and powerful who worry that
Lippi's depictions of working-class life are a distraction. They do not believe that Lippi's
objective should be "to catch men with show, / with homage to perishable clay" because
the general population may consequently forget their responsibilities and limitations. Lippi
adheres to the rules but doing so forces him to bottle up his feelings and suppress his
emotions. These emotions then spill over suddenly and cause Lippi to go out drinking in the
wrong part of town. He is suppressed by his bosses for so long that he eventually has no
choice but to rebel.

Lippi's difficult situation forces him to think deeply about the nature of art. He wonders
about the primary purpose of art and has to decide whether art is meant to teach people or
to entertain people as well as whether it should show people normal scenes to which they
can relate or spectacular scenes to which they can aspire. Lippi does not reach a conclusion
because he is caught in a difficult predicament. The question is not abstract and has an
actual bearing on his life and his work. Lippi cannot speculate on the nature of art and
cannot reach a satisfying conclusion because every impact of his answer is felt in his life.
Either he commits to his artistic integrity and returns to being poor or he does as he is told
and derives no satisfaction from his work. Neither option is satisfactory and both require
sacrifice. The tension between the two choices drives Lippi toward immoral behaviour as he
searches for some form of release. The heads of the monastery and the ruling family of
Florence demand work which depicts religious figures, but at the same time their demands
force Lippi to commit sinful acts. Lippi's career as an artist reflects his position at the
beginning of the poem. He is caught on a dark street and unsure of which way to go while
being accosted by those who have power over him. He ultimately returns to the "grey
beginning" and wanders home without committing to anything. The greyness of his
unsatisfying life will continue.

Major Themes

 The Purposes of Art

 The Relationship Between Art and Morality