Reading the text right: Robert Browning and iconoclasm

Kasey D. Baker
Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:51:26 PDT

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.