Andrea Del Sarto: A Statement Worthy Of Examination

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meaning. First of course, the
pessimistic mood of the statement must be identified. For to understand
the implications of the quote, the pessimism needs to be understood.
Browning is writing from the point of view of del Sarto, a severely
depressed painter, yet comments like these come from the mind of Browning.
How is Browning to know del Sarto’s particular beliefs? In fact, Browning’
s knowledge of del Sarto is confined to one, single biography of the
painter that Browning read. Andrea del Sarto is as much Browning speaking
as it is del Sarto’s life. This poem, in essence, is a portrait of the
painter with commentary provided by Browning.
Next, the implications of the statement must be firmly understood.
By reading on in the poem, it is inferred that God has the ultimate say in
life. It is His will that ultimately decides the fate of people,
especially artists like del Sarto and Browning and Byron, etc. Browning
writes:

Yet the will’s somewhat-somewhat, too, the ...

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meaning, del Sarto is saying that many artists strive to be as
talented as himself, and try their damnedest, yet never become acclaimed
artists due to the precise reason that they haven’t the talent. Now, this
means that poets, such as Byron and Shelley (to use two easy examples) “
would do it,” yet “cannot” because they are bound by their lack of
resources. The pen and paper is their only weapon, but no real or tangible
power comes with that. Poets try, but they have only words, though
powerful as they are, words fail to move mountains. Hardy and Byron wrote
about this idea in their art.
Shelley wrote extensively about those few who have the resources to
make change and ...

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