JL3T (ISSN 2477-5444 E-ISSN 2580-2348)

Journal of Linguistics, Literature & Language Teaching

DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE IN ROBERT BROWNING’S POEM

“ANDREA DEL SARTO”

FadhillahWiandari
IAIN Langsa
fadhillahwiandari@yahoo.co.id

ABSTRACT
Robert browning and the form of poetry known as “dramatic monologue”
inevitably go togather. It is already made known that dramatic monologue is
esssentially a narrative spoken by a single character. We are to imagine that it
is being listened to but never answered; it is a dialogue of which we are to hear
only one side. It gains added effect and dimensions through the character’s
comments on his own story and the circumtances in which he speaks. It is
through the single character’s speech that Browning present the plot,
characters and scenes. It is through the words of Andrea that the reader can
feel the presence of the plot, characters and scenes. This article tries to
describe how Robert Browning handles his three objects in writing dramatic
monologue through his poem entitled Andrea Del Sarto.

Keyword
Dramatic monologue, poem, objective poetry.

INTRODUCTION
Robert Browning and the form of poetry called “dramatic
monologue” inavitably go together. The dramatic monologue is essentially a
narrative spoken by a single character. It gains added effects and dimensions
through the character‟s comments on his own story and circumtances in
which he speaks (Sen: 2000). M.H Abrams (2002) remarks that the dramatic
monologue has the following characteristics: first, a single person, who is not
the poet himself, utters the entire poem in a specific situation at a critical
moment. Second, this person addresses and interacts with one or more other
people; but we know of the auditors‟ presence and what they say and do only

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from clues in the discourse of a single speaker. Third, the monologue is so

organize that its focus is on the temprament and the character that the
dramatic speaker unintentionally reveals in the course of what he says.
In the dramatic monologue the reader can infer or judge the
intelligence and honesty of the narrator and asses the value of views
expressed. The form also gives the poet the opportunity to be technically
impersonal like a dramatist. However, the salient featuresof the dramatic
monologue can be understood better if we compare the dramatic monologue
with soliloquy. Since the dramatic monologue is a narrative spoken by a
single person; the form seems to have affinity with the soliloquy, man talking
to himself of private debate. However, we should not forget that the root
meaning of the term “monologue” is a single man‟s conversation. Of course,
that may sound slightly paradoxical because conversation by its very nature
means a talk between two persons. The paradox is resolved when we realized
that in the dramatic monologue, though the active speech is ascribed to a
single person, the presence and the reactions of other person are conveyed
naturally in the course of the single man‟s talk. The listener does not actively
interrupt the current of speech. Thus, the dramatic monologue, unlike the
soliloquy, implies the presence of some other character or characters,
listening and reacting. In a soliloquy, the speaker deliver his own thoughts,
uninterrupted by the objections or the proportions of other persons. In a
dramatic monologue; however, the reactions of the listener, or other persons,
are woven into a speaker‟s word.
Andrea del Sarto is one of the greatest dramatic monologue of
Browning. The poem presents a slice from the life of a great painter named
Andrea del sarto. The painter is shown in a reflective mood, and as he muses
over his failure in art, his very soul is laid bare before the readers. His

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thoughts range over the past and the present, and in this way the complete
tragedy of a soul is revealed.

1. The Poet’s Biography

Browning was born in Camberwell, a suburb of London, England,
the first son Robert and Sarah Anna Browning. His father was a man of both
fine intellect and character who worked as a well-paid clerk for the bank of
England.Browning‟s paternal grandfather was a wealthy slave owner in St
Kitts, west Indies, but Browning‟s father was an abolitionist. Browning‟s
father had been sent to the west Indies to work on a sugar plantation.
Revolted by the slavery there, he soon returned to England. Browning‟s
mother was a musician. He had one sister, Sarianna. It is rumored that
Browning‟s grandmother, margaret Tittle, was a Jamaican-born mulatto who
had inherited a plantation in St Kitts.
Browning was a fast lerner, and by the age of fourteen he wa fluent in
French, Italian and Latin as well as his native English. He became a great
admirer of the romantic poets, especially Shelley. Following the precedent of
Shelley, Browning become an atheis and vegetarian, both of he gave up later.
At the age of sixteen, he attended University Collage London but left after
his first year. His mother staunch evangelical faith prevented his studying at
either Oxford University or Cambridge University; both then open only to
members of the church of England. He had substantial musical ability and
composed arrangements of various songs.In 1845, Browning met Elizabeth
Barret, who lived as a semi-invalid and virtual prisoner in her father‟s house
in Wimpole street. Gradually a significant romance developed between them,
leading to their secret marriage and flight on September 12, 1846. (The
marriage was initially secreat because Elizabeth‟s father disapproved of

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marriage for any of his children). From the time of their marriage, they lived
in Italy, first in Pisa, and then, within a year, finding an apartment in Florence
at Casa Guidi (now a musium to their memory). Their only child, Wiedeman
Barret Browning, nick name “Penini” or “Pen”, was born in 1849. In these
years Browning was fascinated by and learned hugely from the art and
atmosphere of Italy. He would, in later life, say that „italy was my university‟.
Browning was also bought a home in Asolo, in the Veneto outside venice,
and in a cruel irony he died on the day that the Town Council approved the
purchase.
His wife died in 1861 and he died in 12 December 1889 at his son‟s
home Ca‟ Rezzonico in Venice, the same day as Asolando wan published,
and was buried in Poets‟ corner in Westminister Abbey. His grave now lies
immediately adjacent to that of Alfred Tennyson.

2. Summary of the Poem

This poem represents yet another of Brownings‟ dramatic monologue
spoken in the voice of historical Renaissance painter. Andrea Del Sarto, like
Fra Lippo Lippi, lived and worked in Florence, Albeit a little later than
Lippo, and was later appointed court painter by Francis, the King of France.
Under the nagging influence of hid wife Lucrezia,to whom he speak
in this poem, he left the Franch court for Italy but promise to return; he took
with him some money that Francix has given him to purchase Italian artwork
for the court, and also the money advance to him for his own comissioned
paintings. However, he spent all of his money on a house of himself and his
wife in Italy and never returned to France.This poem find Andrea in the
house he has bought with the stolen money, as he thinks back on his career
and laments that his wordly concerns have kept him from fulfilling his

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promoise as an artist. As he and Lucrezia sit at their window, he talks to her

at his relative successes and failures: although Michelangelo (here, Michel
agnolo) and raphael (Rafael) enjoyed higher inspiration and better petronage-
and lacked nagging wives-he is the better craftsman, and he points outto her
the problems with the Great Masters‟ work. But while Andrea succeeds
technically where they do not (thus his title “the faulltless painter”), their
work ultimately triumphs for its emotional and spiritual power.
Andrea now finds himself in the twilight of his career and his
marriage: Lucrezia‟s Cousin- probably her lover-keeeps whistling for her to
come; she apparently either owes the man gambling debts or has promised to
cover his own. The fond weary Andrea gives her some money, promises to
sell paintings to pay off her debts, and sends her away to her “cousin‟ while
he remains to sit quietly and dream of painting in heaven.

CHARACTERISTICS OF ROBERT BROWNING’S POETRY

1. Representing his character in moments of tense drama
Browning is passionately interested in all form of human nature. He
is eager to know exactly how men and woman think and feel, therefore his
chief work is in spiritual portraiture. Browning represents them usually in
moments of tense drama, and does not forget their physical presence. He
had the zest of the novelist for every kind of detail, and to his strong,
wholesome good sense nothing comes amiss in the way of vice or madness
or abnormality. Whatever is or has been human is his province, and he has
the gusto of an antiquary in digging into the dust of the past.

2. dealing with the imaginary ones and historical persons

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He manage to allow many of his imagined person to be pretty much

themselves. In writing andrea Del sarto, the poet was more than usually
faithful to his sources, and the result is a triumphant portrait of the painter.
Andrea says what the reader is convince he would say. But, unfortunately he
says more. He accepts the doctrine of compensation: if things do not go well
in this world, thing will be proportionately better in the next.

3. Not possesing the objectivity of a dramatist

Browning cannot throw large and varied groups of people
togather. In all the words which his characters utter we seem to hear the ring
of Browning‟s own voice. He is less a dramatic than an exhibitor, an
interpreter of single dramatic situations. In presenting these single situations,
Browning‟s power is absolute; here he works with the most graphic
vividness, and with the compression of meaning which crowds into a few
lines the implication of life-time.

4. Using pure dramas, dramatic narrative, and dramatic lyric

In three form – pure drama, dramatic narrative, and dramatic lyric –
he gave the history of hundreds of souls; or, if not their whole history, at
least some crucial moment of it, when its issues trembled in the balance and
dipped toward good or evil. In his earlier life, he made many attemps to
present these crucial moment in dramas intended for the stage, but but the
form was not perfectly suited to his peculiar cast.

5. Clergy, as a rule, not drawn from the loftiest type

The bishop ordering his tomb makes the monk in the Spanish
cloister shows the weak points of “enclosed orders”. It is in The Ring and

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the book, in the character of caponsacchi, the soldier-priest who tries in vain
to save pompilia that he shows the noblest type of christisn service.

6. Presenting a large number of memorable character

Ithas been suggested that, in his power over character, Browning is
second only to shakespeare. Browning has presented something over eighty
memorable characters, of which about thirty are women. These numbers
include not only principals but figures like Gigadibs and Elvire.

7. The Use of Dramatic Monologue Depicted in the Poem

Robert Brownig and the form of poetry known as “dramatic
monologue” inevitaby go togather. It is alredy known that dramatic
monologue is essentially a narrative spoken by a single character. It gains
added effect and dimension through the character‟s comments on his own
story and the circumtances in which he speaks. It is through the single
character‟s speech that browning presents the plot, characters and scenes.

8. To Present the Plot

Plot may be defined as a story itself with all the procedures. It deals
with the organization of certain events, situations and episodes in a narrative
or play.In the poem, Browning skillfully makes use dramatic monologue to
present the plot. This poem opens at a section from Andrea‟s life in which
Andrea reveals his own basic weakness. He begs his wife to sit by him for an
evening and bribes her for it.
Sit down and all shall happens as tou wish
You turn your face, but does it bring your heart?
I‟ll work then for your friend‟s friend , never fear
Fix his own time, accept too his own price
And shut the money into this small hand,

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(Lines: 3-8)

From the lines quoted above, it can be seen that Andrea promises to
paint for her “friend” the next day, but her company would inspire him to
paint better so that he can earn more, and give her more money to hand it
over to her “friend” that he might discharge his debts. Whatever money he
gets, he will shut it in her small hand, i.e. he will give the money to her and
she may spend it in the way she likes. The lover is under debts.

9. To Present the Character

Character is a person or a figure, man and woman, in whose life
events and incidents take place. Without character, action cannot proceed,
remain unimportant, be rather meaningless. In Andrea del Sarto, Browning
makes use the dramatic monologue to show andrea as the speaker. It is
through the words of Andrea that the reader can feel the presence of the
listener and other character in the poem.The presence of Lucrezia as the
listener in the poem can be felt at the opening of the poem.

But do not letus quarrel any more

No, my Lucrezia ; bear with me foe once :
“Sit down and all shall happen as you wish
You turn your face, but does it bring your heart?
(Lines: 1-4)

From the lines qouted above, it can be seen that Andrea, the speaker,
addresses his speech to someone named Lucrezia, who become the listener
in the poem. From the first line of the poem: “but do not let us quarrel
anymore”, the reader can see that Andrea has been quarreling with his wife
named Lucrezia, and Andrea asks her to be patient with him and do not

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quarrel anymore. He will do as she wishes if she is ready to sits down beside
him for a while. From the line: “you turn your face, but does it bring your
heart?”, it can also be inferred that Lucrezia responses Andrea‟s request by
turning her face to him. It means that the monologue is clearly seen in the
poem.

10. To Present the Scene

Scene is the structure on which a spectatcle or play is exhibited; the
part of the theatre in which the acting is done, with its adjunct and
decorations; the stage.
From the words of Andrea, the reader can see that the scene is in
Andrea‟s studio in Fiesole in which Andrea asks his wife named Lucrezia to
sit by the window in other that they can enjoy the scenery of fiesole from
their window.
As if-Forgive now – should you let me sit
Here by the window with your hand in mine
And look a half hour fort on Fiesole
Both of one mind, as married people use
Quietly, quietly, the evening through,
(Lines: 13-17)

From the lines quoted above, it can be seen that Andrea request his
wife Lucrezia to sit by the window in his studio in Fiesole, holding with her
hand in his. He would like to spend half an hour or so looking out on the
town of Fiesole in the company of his wife. Fiesole is the name of a small
but famous city of Italy. It is situated on the top of hill, about three miles to
the west of Florence.

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CONCLUSION
The poet has three objects in writing the dramatic monologue in this
poem, i.e. they are to present plot, character and scene in the speech of single
character.We are to imagine it is being listened to but never answered; it is a
dialogue of which we are to hear only one side.The scene in which the story
tajes place is mainly in andrea‟s studio. It is in an autumn evening in Fiesole,
Italy, in King Franci‟s palace, the scene moves to Fontainebleau, in France.

REFERENCE

Abrams, M.H. 2014. A glossary of literary term 11th edition. India: Macmillan
India Limited.

Birch, Dinar and Hooper, Katy. 2013. The Oxford Companion to English
Literature. New York: Oxford University Press.

Bode, Carl. 2003. Highlights of American Literature. Washington DC: USIS.

Cox, James M. 2004. Robert Browning: A collection of critical essays. USA:

Pretentice-hall, Inc.

Sen, S.. 2010. Robert Browning Selected Poem: A Critical Evaluation. India: unique
Publisher.

Tilak, Rughukul. 1993. Robert Browning: studies in Poets. New Delhi. Rama
Brothers.

Wiandari, Fadhillah. 2010. An analysis of the use of dramatic monologuein Robert

Browning’s poem “Andrea del sarto”. Islamic University of North sumatra.

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