Analysis of Andrea Del Sarto

Andrea Del Sarto, is a dramatic monologue, where the speaker himself describes about his own misfortune that he only brought for himself. The poem is written by Robert Browning, who was unlike his contemporary writers opted to write on real facts and their characters. Both the poems Andrea Del Sarto and Soliloquy of ‘The Spanish Cloister’ he actually depicted two different characters with personalities from deep inside. The proficiency of the writer is well comprehensible from these two literary works of him.

‘Andrea Del Sarto’ the speaker expresses his grief for being careless to his own self and his ability to draw faultless sketches. His blind love for his wife Lucrezia, urged him to steal money from the king of France, who had immense trust upon him. Andrea Del Sarto, was given a large amount of money, as advance payment for his painting and also to buy sketches from Italy to decorate the palace. But Andrea could not resist on his temptation getting such huge amount of money. In fact it was to please his wife he cheated on the king and made a house for his wife Lucrezia in Italy with that amount.

Despite all his tiresome effort and unconditional love for her; she did not remain faithful to him. She had an extramarital affair and Andera, knowing everything about that felt helpless to his destiny. So the poem mirrors his agitation and grief for his wife, whom he considers as his inspiration to draw better sketch, which in turn could help him earn more money for his wife.

Now when finally he has come to realize the bitter truth of life; he is literally feeling vulnerable because he can sense that unlike Rafael and Agnolo, who were famous for their art too, devoted all their attention to their work to achieve success in life. He, on the other hand despite having flawless artistic ability failed to reach that level due to his own stupidity. He tells his wife that the entire world is longing to draw a faultless sketch like him but none can do so. However, in spite of having such great talent he could not reach the success he deserves. He now feels guilty for his wrongdoing with the king and also with his parents.

As the age engulfed him with a lot more difficulties, he now understands his mistakes. Yet, his love for his wife Lucrezia, is still intact in him and thus, he thinks, which he could not fulfill on the earth, would definitely be accomplished in heaven, where he would meet his contemporaries Rafael and Agnolo, who would not have a wife like him, which is Lucrezia.

The poet, Robert Browning through his work tried put light on the real facts of life. Many of us feel reluctant to pursue our passion on the right time and rather, feel comfortable to do things that actually distract us from our target. And thus, it is quite a useful literary work to make us realize the true value of life and likewise highlighted a few common factors of our lives in his poem, which can be a useful lesson for the readers.