In 1840, Browning published Sordella, a long poem in the style of Dante, that was widely ridiculed. For 15 years after that, Browning was considered a poor poet of little originality. After his elopement with the poet Elizabeth Barrett, Browning left England to reside in Italy and took in the culture there, while helping Elizabeth with her work. Italy inspired him to write about what he saw and read, and he crafted some poems of his own, several of which were lengthy dramatic monologues. These poems, including “Fra Lippo Lippi,” were collected into a volume called Men and Women in 1855. While many reviewers mentioned the strength of the poems in the collection, it didn’t sell well.

In this mid-career period, Browning favored writing such epic narrative poems which gave voice to unusual characters. “Fra Lippo Lippi” is one of the finest examples of Browning’s skill at the dramatic monologue. Fra Lippo Lippi’s concerns about morality and art had resonance for Browning’s Victorian audience, who also faced restrictions on the subject matter for creative work.