Ekphrasis in Robert Browning’s “Fra Lippo Lippi”

As an ekphrastic poem re-created from the painting Coronation of the Virgin,“Fra Lippo Lippi”lacks adequate scrutiny from the perspective of interart poetics.With regards to the core concept of ekphrasis,this paper makes an in-depth analysis of the features and functions of ekphrasis in the poem.The former lie in the poet’s identification with the painter,and his imaginative supplementation in“the verbal representation of visual representation”.The latter are embodied in the revelation of the invisible in the painting,namely,the desires and value of human beings,as well as the power of beauty and truth.Browning enriches the poem with both philosophical and artistic contemplation,thus strongly conveying the thematic implications of“know thyself”and the persistent pursuit of beauty and truth.It is hoped that this study can shed some light on the studies of Robert Browning and the poem itself,and contribute to the development of the interart poetics.