Filippo Baldinucci on the Privilege of Burial
An uncle warns his nephew against pelting Jews, recalling how a Florentine farmer took money to turn a Marian image away from a Jewish burial ground, then replaced it with a Crucifixion. A bereaved Jewish son buys the painter's oil painting and counters the farmer's assumption of conversion by citing a cardinal's treatment of pagan pictures as art. The uncle deplores the tolerance now required of Christians.
By Robert Browning · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Satirical Poetry, Dramatic Monologue · 5,097 words
First lines
A Reminiscence of A. D. 1676
"No, boy, we must not" -- so began / My Uncle (he's with God long since), / A-petting me, the good old man! / "We must not" -- and he seemed to wince, / And lost that laugh whereto had grown / His chuckle at my piece of news, / How cleverly I aimed my stone -- / "I fear we must not pelt the Jews!
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Filippo Baldinucci on the Privilege of Burial is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Browning, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Robert Browning
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Narrative Poetry, Satirical Poetry, Dramatic Monologue
- Length: 5,097 words
- Structure: 1 section, 59 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for Filippo Baldinucci on the Privilege of Burial by Robert Browning
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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Genres
- Narrative Poetry — Rhymed stanzas tell the successive events of a cemetery dispute, a deceptive bargain and a mourner's response.
- Satirical Poetry — The uncle praises religious harassment, while the mourner exposes the inconsistent treatment of Christian and pagan images.
- Dramatic Monologue — An uncle's extended address to his nephew reveals his prejudice through his account of the farmer, painter and Jewish mourners.
Tags
antisemitism · religious persecution · burial · religious art · hypocrisy · Florence