In both poems, the protagonist must live in forced isolation, either because of vocation (in Fra Lippo Lippi's case) or a curse (in Lady Shallot's case). Robert Browning's Fra Lippo Lippi is an artist-monk who must serve two masters: the Church and Cosimo de Medici, his patron. Fra Lippo Lippi's freedom of movement and association is circumscribed by his Church superiors (who expect him to abide by his vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience) and Medici (who expects him to produce paintings upon demand).
Meanwhile, Lord Alfred Tennyson's Lady of Shalott lives in seclusion because of a curse. Interestingly, Tennyson does not provide a back-story for the curse itself, so the question of how Lady Shallot comes to be cursed is never answered. Nevertheless, both protagonists feel suffocated by the constraints of their isolated lives. In Fra Lippo Lippi's case, however, he is able to contrive matters so that he can leave his "mew" or cage; after being secluded for three weeks painting countless pictures of saints, Fra Lippo Lippi escapes his confinement and joins the Carnival revelers for some rest and entertainment. Of course, he doesn't bother to share his itinerary with his Church superiors or his art patron.
In contrast, the Lady of Shalott must live in utter confinement in her castle; in order to keep the curse at bay, she cannot look out the window or cease her weaving. Her only contact with the outside world is through a magic mirror that allows her to glimpse shadowy images that lead to Camelot. The Lady of Shalott definitely lives a dreary life. While Browning's male protagonist enjoys a measure of personal agency through subtle forms of rebellion, Tennyson's female protagonist must live in abject fear of an unmentionable curse. Additionally, the curse is one that cannot be defeated by subterfuge or physical strength. The Lady of Shalott is isolated both geographically (she lives on an island) and emotionally.
The feminine is portrayed as a subjugated entity in Tennyson's poem, while the masculine is portrayed as an unquenchable force in Browning's poem. Through the masculine voice, Browning presents the idea of art-making as a dichotomy of conflicting forms: aesthetic versus didactic. Fra Lippo Lippi freely paints pictures of everyday people, to the consternation of the Prior. One such painting especially proves worrisome: Fra Lippo Lippi has supposedly painted the Prior's "niece" to look like Herodias, a New Testament figure of female seductiveness. Additionally, she is painted with her bare breasts in full view.
Some literary experts speculate that the "niece" in question is the Prior's mistress and that this is why the painting upsets Fra Lippo Lippi's superior so much. In Browning's poem, the Church and its ecclesiastical leaders are portrayed as hypocrites who demand implicit obedience in public while flouting moral laws in secret. Fra Lippo Lippi argues for realism and honesty in art:
Take the prettiest face,
The Prior's niece . . . patron-saint—is it so pretty
You can't discover if it means hope, fear,
Sorrow or joy? won't beauty go with these?
He questions why beauty cannot co-exist with truth. The Realism art movement in the 19th century rejected the artistic conventions so beloved by the earlier Romanticists. Robert Browning himself lived and worked during this era; however, he used his portrayal of the 15th century Fra Lippo Lippi to give voice to his reservations about the sterility of conventional art. In his poem, Browning questions why realistic art cannot be both aesthetically pleasing as well as instructive.
Browning's depiction of religion and art-making contrasts with Tennyson's. In The Lady of Shalott, art is also potentially a dichotomy of contrasting interests. However, there is an important difference. While Browning presents art as a dichotomy of conflicting styles, Tennyson presents the idea of art as both a freeing and captive endeavor. Tennyson's female protagonist weaves a magical web or tapestry in order to keep an ambiguous curse at bay. While the continued weaving earns the Lady of Shalott temporary reprieve from death, it also imprisons her in a spiritual captivity that enervates her.
So, while Browning's poem focuses on art form and religious dogmatism, Tennyson's poem highlights the experiential and potentially palliative nature of religion and art-making.
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