130. =Agnolo=. Michael Angelo (1475-1584), one of Italy's greatest
men: famous as sculptor, painter, architect, and poet.
150. =Fontainebleau=. A town southeast of Paris, formerly the
residence of French kings, and still famous for its Renaissance
architecture and for the landscapes around it.
241. =scudi=. The _scudo_ is an Italian silver coin worth about
one dollar.
262. =Leonard=. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), another of Italy's
great men: artist, poet, musician, and scientist.
Construct the scene and action of the poem. How does the coloring
harmonize with the artist's mood? Why is he weary? How does he think
of his art: what merit has it? What does it lack? How does he explain
this lack? What clew to it does his life afford? Is his art soulless
because he has done wrong? Or, do the lack of soul in his painting,
and the wrongdoing, and the infatuation with Lucrezia's beauty, all
arise from the same thing,--the man's own nature? Does he appeal to
your sympathy, or provoke your condemnation? Does he blame himself, or
another, or circumstances?
What idea have you of Lucrezia? What does she think of Andrea? Of his
art? What things does he desire of her?
What problems of life are here presented? Which is principal: the
relation of man and woman, the need of _soul_ for great work,
or the interrelation between character and achievement? Or, is there
something else for which the poem stands?
Can you cite any lines that embody the main idea of the poem? Does
anything in it remind you of _The Grammarian_, or of _Rabbi Ben
Ezra?_