![]() ![]() That child, when thou hast done with him, for me! In this way, Browning’s pedagogical activity is different than his peers and even his earlier works of poetry.ĭear and great Angel, wouldst thou only leave In the poem, Browning captures his deep desire to re-engage in a religious appreciation of beauty through his experience of sitting in front of the painting and his prayerful contemplation of it. What is innovative here is Browning’s own personal engagement with the painting. Morrison further explained how the poem does not simply give a description of the painting if the poem were just reduced to an artistic description of what it is physically depicted on the canvas, then it would still remain Guercino’s artistic expression. In the poem, Browning attempts to convey to the reader this spiritual encounter with the painting that occurred apart from rational contemplation of it. Morrison described how for the poet, the painting spoke to his soul before it generated any thought. For Browning, this particular painting struck a chord with him, and he was encouraged by Elizabeth to translate his visual and emotive experience into “song.” What Browning is doing in “The Guardian Angel” poem is translating his idea -his experience -of the painting into a poetic and auditory medium. The poem is largely a story of the relationship between person and object: a story of Browning and his relationship with a painting he viewed in a small church in Fano, Italy. Morrison detailed the history of the poem, the significance it held to Browning, and how Browning refined his sensory alertness to and perceptual engagement with historical materiality. In his lecture, Morrison explained how this poem, one of Browning’s least studied, marked a shift in the poet’s literary approach. His newest book, The Provincial Fiction of Mitford, Gaskell, and Eliot, is set to release this fall. Morrison is also a founder and the current president of the Society for Global Nineteenth-Century Studies as well as the editor of the society’s journal. Morrison’s book explores the links between Victorian material culture and liberal political theory through the study of four Victorian writers, including Robert Browning. His latest book, Victorian Liberalism and Material Culture: Synergies of Thought and Place, was published by the Edinburgh University Pr ess in 2018 and won the 2020 MLA Prize for Independent Scholars. Morrison is a Professor of British Literature at Henan University in Kaifeng, China, and a Visiting Scholar of the Armstrong Browning Library. Morrison, Professor of British Literature at Henan University and ABL Visiting Scholar Excerpt from Robert Browning’s “The Guardian Angel: A Picture at Fano” ![]() I took one thought his picture struck from me,Īnd spread it out, translating it to song. While he was in Fano with Elizabeth, they entered a chapel where a painting entitled L’angelo Custode (The Guardian Angel) by the Italian Baroque painter Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (known as Guercino) was on display.Īnd drink his beauty to our soul’s contentįor dear Guercino’s fame (to which in powerĪnd glory comes this picture for a dower,Īt all times, and has else endured some wrong. The poem’s inspiration came to Browning after traveling to the small town of Fano, Italy, located on the Adriatic coast. Kevin Morrison’s presentation was based on Robert Browning’s 1855 poem, “The Guardian Angel: A Picture at Fano.” This poem was the first that Robert Browning wrote after his marriage to Elizabeth Barrett Browning and their relocation to Italy. This year’s Browning Day lecture, “Translated into Song: Robert Browning and A Picture at Fano,” explored the connections between sensory and perceptual experience of material culture and the written word. Morrison in the Hankamer Treasure Room on April 27th. By Anna Clark, Master’s Student in History and Armstrong Browning Library Graduate Research AssistantĮvery spring, the Armstrong Browning Library hosts a guest lecturer for its annual Browning Day which commemorates the legacy of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |