Pippa Passes Robert Browning's Lengthy Term Paper

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What many of these other people have to say about themselves and their situation an about the change of hear they may have now that they have heard Pippa sing could be fodder for a dramatic monologue in the way Browning would later shape that form.

The poem covers an entire day, New Year's Day, a day of remembrance and renewal, a day of change from one year to the next and from one state of mind to another. Significantly, then, Pippa's songs serve as a form of forced New Year's resolution for many of these people, making them rethink their lives and make a decision where before they could not. This story contrasts in some ways with that of Sebold and Ottima. The lovers now are Jules and Phene. Jules is the butt of a cruel joke by his fellow art students. He is inclined to leave Phene and avenge his grievance, but after hearing Pippa's song, he gives up his hatred of the other students and instead accepts his love for Phene. In this case as well, it is Pippa's song that brings about the change and that allows for the fulfillment of love on a different plane. Once more, Pippa brings about this change by her attitude to life and the world and not because she takes any direct action or even recognizes the effect she is having.

This is also the case with the other people she meets in the course of the day. In the evening, she passes Luigi, a man subject to the repressive rule of Austria in northern Italy. Luigi is the champion of liberty who is about to abandon the struggle to remain with his love, Chiara.
He is supposed to go on a mission to Austria, and he finally does jut that after hearing Pippa's song. In the long-term, this leads to his death, though it is now a patriotic death such as he would want.

The last of the stories concerns the Church, specifically the monsignor and how he wants to rise in the hierarchy of the Church and gain money and power. He finally abandons this plan and rejects the blandishments of the Intendant. Again, this comes aobut because of Pippa's song.

The songs sung by Pippa have often been separated from the larger poem and published on their own or in a group of songs. These songs taken alone do not have the dramatic power they have I the larger poem, where they affect others and bring about change in the live of those others. In that context, then, the songs serve a role that would be recognized in the dramatic monologue but which may seem contrived a bit in the context of a longer play. This may be one of the weaknesses of the piece as a play, but it is a poetic expression that works well in a dramatic poem and that might be seen as a symbolic depiction of change and the change role in the context of the poem. "pippa Passes" can be seen as a precursor to the dramatic monologue, at times using some of the conventions that would later infuse that form, and at other times seeming to want to be a stage play. The poem is more successful as a poem made up of separate incidents with a common thread......

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