Fra Lippo Lippi Summary

        Fra Lippo Lippi Summary 

                                - Robert Browning 

Fra Lippo Lippi is a dramatic monologue written by Robert Browning in 1855.  This poem is written in blank verse. It talks about the conflict between art and religion. Browning depicts a 15^th century real-life painter Fra Lippo Lippi. He was a monk and painter of Italy.

Fra Lippo is the speaker of this poem. He is a monk and a painter. The poem begins with the entry of Fra Lippo Lippi stumbling home late at night. The policemen caught  hold of Lippo for entering a brothel house. Lippo informs the policemen about his return to home. He mocks at the guard for their mistake and informs about Cosmio Medici. Hearing the name of Medici the police release Lippo.

Lippo speaks about his past life to the guard. He lost his parents when he was a child. His life was miserable. He led his life along the street. He ate the food of dog. At the age of eight his aunt sent him to a convent. In the convent he was well fed by the monks. When the monks asked him to become a monk he readily accepted. He consented to become a monk for food and dress. He was taught Latin language in the monastery. Lippo is not happy about learning this language.

Lippo showed a great interest in painting. As a monk he started to draw pictures. He drew the people’s face on the copybooks. In the monastery a prior looks his paintings. He is not happy with the paintings made by Lippo. Lippo is good in painting pictures with soul and beauty. But the prior aspires for more soul in the art, “paint the soul, never mind the legs and arms!”. Some monks scorns at him for his creations. They insists him to draw the picture of the saint. Lippo dislikes drawing the life of saints. He feels sad about his choiceless life in  the monastery.

Lippo speaks against the monks but later he feels nervous and bad. He is not ready to ruin his relationship with the monastery. He conveys the guard that he has a plan to return to the Church. He decides to paint the picture of Madonna, God and the Child. He plans to include a picture of himself watching the scene.  He is ready to surround himself with angels and divine beings. He gets so lost in his daydream that he forgets where he is. The officers startle him back to reality, and he runs off into the sunset.