Cavafy as a Reader of Browning: The Role of Art in Their Poems

In this paper, a comparative analysis of four poems by Robert Browning and C. P. Cavafy will be provided. It first compares ‘Protus’ and ‘Orophernes’, and then analyses ‘My Last Duchess’ and ‘Sculptor from Tyana’ in the same way. Through the analysis, it aims to figure out the role of art in their poems. It discusses how Cavafy is influenced by Browning in this topic, and where he diverges from the predecessor. General TermsLiterature Review, Comparative Literature KeywordsRobert Browning; C. P. Cavafy; Art


INTRODUCTION
The affinity between Cavafy's poems with Robert Browning's has long been discussed. Cavafy's 'Orophernes' (1915) was even criticised by Glafkos as 'nothing more than a weakly imitative epigone of the fertile Englishman' because of its obvious similarity with Browning's 'Protus'. The link between Browning's 'My Last Duchess' and Cavafy's 'Sculptor from Tyana', on the other hand, is difficult to be detected at first glance. Still, there are elements in them that demonstrate that Cavafy is inspired by Browning. This essay compares these two pairs of poems by Browning and Cavafy. It discusses how Cavafy appears as a reader of Browning in the respect of art.

BETWEEN 'PROTUS' AND 'OROPHERNES'
The similar structure and theme of 'Protus' and 'Orophernes' are what first invite readers to speculate that Cavafy has been inspired by Browning's poem. Both poems start and end with a figure on the coin. The speaker in Browning's poem is attracted by the baby face of Protus, a fictional emperor who ends a dynasty. The main body of the poem is a revision of the life of Protus, while the last stanza comes back to the rough-hammered head of John the Smith, who overthrows the reign of Protus. 'Orophernes' employs a same structure. Both the first and last stanza focus on the coin carved with the head of the king of Cappadocia, Orophernes, while the main part revises the life of him. The geographical setting of these two poems may also be the same. Although Browning's Protus is a fictional figure whose background is not clearly stated, the first two lines of the poem, which say '[a]mong these latter busts we count by scores / [h]alf-emperors and quarter-emperors', seem to indicate the Byzantine Empire, where 'there were often two or three emperors in Constantinople' after the fall of the Western empire. Orophernes, the king of Cappadocia, also lived in a similar place in Greek world. Apart from these aspects, the role of artistic works in the two poems is worth observing, as they are both inspired by the coins.

Art as the Storage of History and Beauty
In both poems, art works as a way to store historical memory.

Cavafy's Ionic Idealism
The coin in Cavafy's 'Orophernes' not only stores the beauty of the king, but represents the poet's Ionic idealism.
The beauty of Orophernes is undoubtedly well recorded by the coin, which 'left the grace of his handsome youth, a light shining from his poetic beauty, an aesthetic memory of a lad of Ionia' (46-48). Regardless of his failure in being a king in Cappadocia and in the endeavour to gain the Syrian crown, he is still 'the handsomest' and 'the most ideal' (17) one among the Ionian youths as shown on the coin. What kept in the coin is therefore not only the beauty of Orophernes' face in general sense, but the Ionic beauty which Cavafy appreciates. Ionia in Asia Minor is portrayed by Cavafy as 'almost a paradise on earth' which 'provided the richest soil for the Greek tradition and the Greek way of life before Athens and the mainland came to dominate the world of Hellenism'. As a figure who has been shaped by 'the Hellenism of Ionia' in his 'manners, dress, language, and the erotic technique', Orophernes' Ionic traits would also live with his beautiful face carved on the coin. The sensuous image in 'Orophernes' is where Cavafy diverges from Browning. There is a hint of erotic sense in 'Protus'. In saying '[w]hile young Greek sculptors gazing on the child [b]ecame, with old Greek sculpture, reconciled', Browning implicitly indicates the young emperor's homoerotic attraction, but he then goes on with the history without further discussion on this aspect. Cavafy, on the contrary, develops this theme in his poem and 'explicitly identifies the "Greek way" with an ultimate knowledge of sensual pleasure'. Orophernes is 'decked with turquoise jewellery' and 'odorous with the scent of jasmine' (14)(15). In 'exquisite nights of Ionia', 'fearlessly and in the Greek manner quite', he 'came to know pleasure in its fullness' (9)(10)(11). Even when he has been removed from the throne, he still lives with 'lust and inebriety' (36). Therefore, after the account of his life, the image of Orophernes in the last stanza becomes 'an aesthetic memory of a lad of Ionia' (48), a legacy of the remote Ionic ideal. While the coins in the poems suggest the beauty of the kings, they suggest the viewers to rethink about history at the same time. One is unlikely to blame Protus for 'end[ing] a period [o]f empery beginning with a god' (8)(9) when he sees the baby face on the coin. In this way, this artistic work invites the audience to reread the history, and to consider if he is only a victim of history. In the case of Orophernes, even though his life seems to be a failure through reading the depiction, his image on the tetradrachm is still delicate and with 'poetic beauty'. As shown on the coin, he is more like an embodiment of the Ionic ideal rather than a removed king who has fallen into erotic pleasure. His beauty recorded by the artistic work suggests that even a figure like him who seems to be full of political failure would still have characteristics to be praised in other aspects.

BETWEEN 'MY LAST DUCHESS' AND 'SCULPTOR FROM TYANA'
The affinity between 'My Last Duchess' and 'Sculptor form Tyana' is not as obvious as it is in the first pair. Although both poems are monologues, the setting of 'My Last Duchess' is in the sixteen-century Ferrara, while the monologue by Cavafy takes place in the town of Tyana within the Roman province of Cappadocia. The gap of time and the geographical differences make it difficult for readers to link them together. Still, it can be seen that when the guest in 'Sculptor from Tyana' is introduced to the workshop, Cavafy uses the same technique as Browning does in his poem, that is to '[introduce]' a viewer or a visitor to a place that resembles the room of a museum or private collection and [provide] a guide for it'. The Duke in 'My last Duchess' also introduces the portrait to the visitor in this way. Apart from this technique, the figure Neptune is also mentioned in both poems. The Duke collects a bronze of Neptune, while the sculptor has 'been taken up for quite some time' (15) making the sculpture for the god. As for the role of art in this pair of poems, it is also related to the eternity of beauty. The artistic works here are used to keep beautiful things forever. Furthermore, the relation between patrons and artists, between creators and connoisseurs shown in the two monologues, is worth exploring.

Art Stands for Eternity
As in the first pair, art in 'My Last Duchess' is employed to endow eternity to the beauty of mortals. What is different, though, is that the Duke's intention is to possess the beauty of the Duchess in the portrait, while the Duchess as a living being is not important. Apollonios' choice of 'a gold and ivory statue' in a small temple rather than 'a statue of common clay in a large temple' indicates 'the distinction between the valuable materials of true art, addressed to select audience, and the vulgar stuff of the contemptible works that please the rest of the world'. This idea can be taken to understand the sculptor's effort in the sculptures of Neptune and Mercury. Even if they are not appreciated by the majority of Rome, the great care put into them by the sculptor still makes them true art, and the Greek ideal in them would live forever. The aspect of art that can hardly be seen in the first pair is the role of the artists and creators on the one side, and the patrons and connoisseurs on the other. Duke of Ferrara, whose original is 'a patron of the arts, painting, music, and literature', also appears to be the patron of Fra Pandolf and Claus in the poem, while the sculptor in Cavafy's work is the artist producing sculptures according to the requirements of patrons. Still, it can be seen in the two poems that it is the artist who endows the artistic works life. The patron seems fail to do so even if the work is assigned by him. In 'My Last Duchess', '[w]hereas Browning perceives an antithesis between plastic art and life itself, the Duke of Ferrara projects an analogy'. As a possessive collector, the Duke regards works of art as inanimate objects which are used to satisfy his desire for total control. The artist Fra Pandolf may say that '[p]aint [m]ust never hope to reproduce the faint half-flush that dies along her throat' (17)(18)(19). This statement, from an artist's perspective, may solely indicate that the beauty and liveliness of a life cannot be perfectly expressed by art. For the Duke, however, the saying posts a threat on his property. He therefore chooses to murder the living creature and keep the portrait of her, which he takes as a way to own the beauty forever. What seems ironical here is that while the Duke intends to store the beauty of a life in art and thus possesses it forever, he ends the life of the real person. The Duke's desire for eternity can also be seen in the poem through the emphasis he puts on his 'nine-hundred old name' (33). It is therefore reasonable to consider that the Duke is keen to have an heir for the title. The irony thus appears again when he murders the woman who is capable of giving birth to an heir. This ironical sense is strengthened when one takes his original into consideration.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, art in both the two pairs of poems functions as a way to store beauty eternally. The coins in Browning's 'Protus' and Cavafy's 'Orophernes' let the fictional emperor's baby face and the beautiful face of the king of Cappadocia shine over hundreds of years. They also work as a storage of historical memory. The beauty shown on the coins invite the viewers to reconsider the failure of the kings, and rethink about history. In the second pair, art is employed by Browning's Duke in 'My Last Duchess' to satisfy his possessiveness and own the Duchess as an object forever, while the sculptor in Cavafy's 'Sculptor from Tyana' gives eternity to the Greek culture through putting his great passion and care into the sculptures of Greek figures. As a collector and connoisseur of art, the Duke ironically turns a beautiful life into an inanimate object. His desire for eternity can also be seen in his implicit will for an heir, though he seems to fail in both giving life to art and to his title. The sculptor, on the other hand, achieves to give eternity to the Greek world with his love and passion, even if he is under the pressures of patronage and works for patrons who cannot appreciate the Greek culture. What also appears to be notable in the four poems in question is the erotic element. Browning implicitly indicates Protus' homoerotic attractiveness in saying that the young Greek sculptors 'reconciled' with 'old Greek sculptures' in seeing Protus' beauty. Cavafy, on the other hand, develops this sense in his 'Orophernes', where the king's 'Greek way' of life is detailed. The coin also becomes a storage of this 'Greek way' when the speaker sees 'an allure of his lovely youth' on it. In 'My Last Duchess', the Duke's description of the portrait and the behaviour of the Duchess is erotic. His jealousy is therefore also related to his sexual desire, which leads him to hide the Duchess in the painting behind the curtain. In 'Sculptor from Tyana', the figure Mercury is related to eroticism in Greek mythology, and is therefore a symbol of the Greek way of life. This explains the sculptor's preference for it.