Humanistic Studies of the University of Kansas, Vol. 1Mitchell, Arthur
Philosophy
Humanistic Studies of the University of Kansas, Vol. 1
Mitchell, Arthur
Humanities
Browning’s art monologue is of two kinds--the monologue of the artist
who is the chief character in the poem, and the monologue of the poet
addressing the artist directly. Nor are these forms confined entirely
to Italian art poems. _My Last Duchess_, _The Bishop orders his Tomb_,
_Pictor Ignotus_, _Fra Lippo Lippi_, _Andrea del Sarto_, _Abt Vogler_,
are all in dramatic monologue, with either an artist or one interested
in art, as the speaker. _A Toccata of Galuppi’s_, _Master Hughes
of Saxe-Gotha_, and _Old Pictures in Florence_, represent the poet
addressing the artist. _Filippo Baldinucci_ is presented in the first
person, in monologue form. In _The Guardian Angel_ the poet directly
addressed the angel of the picture. _One Word More_ and _A Face_, in
which the art element is strong, are written in the first person, the
former addressed directly to Mrs. Browning with the poet speaking, and
the second addressed to no particular person. This review establishes
the fact that the monologue is Browning’s favorite form for poems about
art, since the list just quoted includes all important poems of that
kind. In every case he made some personality prominent, and in all
serious poems on art, that personality is either speaking or spoken to,
the very finest poems being of the former type.
II. AMOUNT OF MATERIAL USED FROM EACH OF THE FINE ARTS.--In the
foregoing discussion of the five branches of Italian art in
Browning,--sculpture, music, poetry, architecture, and painting--the
order has been determined largely by a quantitative standard. In the
Appendix are systematic lists showing the number of poems and the exact
references in connection with each art. No extensive comparison of
the different arts regarding frequency of introduction, therefore, is
needed here; but a few generalizations concerning some of the reasons
for the variation in emphasis seem not amiss.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account