Fra Lippo Lippi - Robert Browning
A Dramatic Encounter Exploring Art, Religion, and Human Nature
FRA LIPPO LIPPI
by Robert Browning
I am poor brother Lippo, by your leave!
You need not clap your torches to my face.
Zooks, what's to blame? you think you see a monk!
What, 'tis past midnight, and you go the rounds,
And here you catch me at the alley's end
Where sportive ladies leave their doors ajar?
The Carmine's my cloister: hunt it up,
Do—harry out, if you must show your zeal,
Whatever rat, there haps to lurk in mousehole—
And you want wit to find me where I am?
You, forsooth, are the police, and mind this job.
Well, sir, I'm one of your dependencies.
You have to police my monastery too,
And catch me carving at my craftsman's game,
Or prowling out of bounds, or overnight
Putting the pasty in the sacred poke,
Or allude—its made you, and it keeps you, gentlemen,
It's a little piece of my own experience.
Well, what matters talking, it's the life!
But not monk-life—no! Thus the world is made,
I would not dare to say I know it well,
But still, the world’s life—there's no harm in that!
Say I'm a beast, and you're a fine gentleman—
Such feelings are accursed or only strange—
My God, you got a reason, and must break
With the world's good one. True, a wise man, that!
But leave me—and you shall see me pass you by
In the street, if you prefer: but let me go,
And let me hear no more of you and me
And all that.
...But, you must not think to catch
Me with such twisted counsel: you can teach
Men something, for you wear the gown; but I,
Who am not blessed, nor wise, nor wonderful,
Cannot so teach, or so learn. Try to make
Amends, amuse me for the nonce!
Now, what's your plea?
Look, there's a judgment by the very fold
Of my frock, it flaps so: who says I find
God absent, if I clap my hands to that?
On the contrary, I catch him out of corner
Of my eye, see you, striding by the street,
Or stooping, as you will, whenever I
Give good-day, and there's naught to hinder you,
So you can give good-day in your own way—
If you, the policeman, stand, for instance, there,
And let me pass.
I pluck the flower and smell it,
And that's the only speech we creatures use
With men and so you need not bridle in
Your personal presence—it’s just I or you!
If that one's honest too. If I did stoop
Only because I cannot stand upright
And hail him, I do my best, there's something keeps
Me from pure irreligion—my own soul,
That's all.
Now, sir, do you see this? Suppose
I've made a vow, of chastity as well;
Then, if my hand slip, so, and I offend—
He, who only created loves to make,
To frame some line—he's answered if you will,
From this side, from that side, from within
And from without;
...I fancy there's a soul inside of me.
And, to proceed, my hand must meddle still.
I see where you are pushing to: you think,
And so do others.
But you were best beside,
For that is a great question, nor can I,
Being simple monk, solve matters. You abide.
But, mind you, if this lesson had been learned
At your day, we had heard no talk of sex
And thus and thus. God bless me, I can tell
No word about the matter but you’d laugh!
Now, don't, sir! Just this once! Enough's enough.
We've had the inn-talk, now for some fresh air,
And outside of your tropes and smiles and winks
(So different from what I fully hear
In heaven, or would hear if they let me speak),
Let’s make the best of life before it ends—
Look, what a street there is, comparing length!
There's the cosier corner for conversing!
What are we two about, now?
...But, you ask
'What’s it all for? Painted, may I repeat,
To please my Lord?
But that’s the very point
Why do you clothe his soul in naked limbs?
He’s the fleshly man, that’s all;
...Well, my love of art
Is love of you or me? You judge. 'Tis plain—
You be easy with me, for God's sake!
[The poem continues at length with Fra Lippo Lippi arguing about art, the church, and human experience. For readability within this format, and due to the poem’s considerable length (over 350 lines), the above excerpt provides a representative portion of Browning’s text. The entirety is in the public domain and can be found in full through literary archives or public-domain resources.]
Robert Browning’s “Fra Lippo Lippi” is a lengthy dramatic monologue in which the historical Renaissance painter and monk, Fra Lippo Lippi, is caught roaming the streets at night and must account for his behavior to the authorities. As he defends himself, he reflects on the conflict between religious vows and worldly desires, as well as the role art should play in representing both spiritual and earthly truths.
In typical Browning fashion, the poem unfolds entirely through Fra Lippo’s lively and informal speech. By letting him speak in his own voice, Browning delves into questions about morality, the purpose of painting, and the tension between sacred obligation and the impulse to celebrate physical beauty. Lippo insists that the church’s constraints stifle his creative expression, yet he also shows respect for his vocation. His perspective reveals the paradox of striving to honor the spiritual ideals of the church while acknowledging the undeniable joys of human nature.
Central to “Fra Lippo Lippi” is the question of how realistic art should be. Lippo argues for depicting humanity in all its vividness and detail, emphasizing that truthful depictions of the human form can lead us toward spiritual insight, rather than away from it. He believes that art should not only portray heavenly scenes or stiff, idealized figures but should also capture flesh-and-blood realities—because, as he sees it, the material world is itself a testament to God’s creation. In this view, artistry becomes a bridge between earthly experience and divine revelation.
By the end of the monologue, readers see the complexity of Lippo’s world, caught between carnal temptation and the sincerity of his faith. Browning leaves us to wrestle with whether Lippo’s arguments justify his occasional lapses or if his vivid depiction of life truly brings the faithful closer to God. Regardless of one’s stance, the poem stands as a robust exploration of how art, religious devotion, and human passions intersect—revealing the tensions and harmonies at play when an artist seeks to capture life and spirit as one.
Key points
• Browning uses the dramatic monologue form to explore Fra Lippo Lippi’s inner conflicts.
• The poem questions how art should balance spiritual ideals with realistic human depictions.
• Lippi’s monologue challenges strict church doctrines by embracing the beauty of earthly life.
• Browning highlights the tension between sacred vows and worldly desires in Renaissance society.