Reading the text right: Robert Browning and iconoclasm

Abstract

This thesis explores Robert Browning's revolutionary, iconoclastic poetry. Browning utilizes revisionist methodology to approach individualistic truth. Using the idols Francis Bacon outlines in 'Novum Organum' as a means by which to assess Browning's iconoclasm, the paper is organized according to the 'Idols of the Theatre, ' philosophical iconoclasm; 'Idols of the Cave, ' cultural iconoclasm; 'Idols of the Market-Place, ' linguistic iconoclasm; and 'Idols of the Tribe, ' perceptual iconoclasm. It includes analysis of Browning's philosophical iconoclasm in Paracelsus and 'Fra Lippo Lippi;' his cultural iconoclasm in 'Statue and the Bust, ' 'Bishop Blougram's Apology, ' and 'Saul'; his linguistic iconoclasm in 'An Epistle ... of Karshish, the Arab Physician' and 'A Death in the Desert'; and his perceptual iconoclasm in 'Caliban upon Setebos.' Browning, while not overtly political, was revolutionary-minded in the way he viewed his art and the world. Breaking apart the idols of his readers, Browning incites the individual to revolution.