Robert Browning’s poem, “The Bishop Orders His Tomb”, chronicles the sixteenth century narrative of a Bishop on his deathbed and his meticulous and ornate requests for his tomb in Saint Praxed’s Church. Furthermore, the Bishop reveals that his preoccupation with his tomb stems from an old rivalry with a man named Gandolf, who has already died, and the poem concludes with the Bishop doubting his sons will carry out his wishes and instead he continues to contemplate on Gandolf. Throughout the poem, the Bishop mentions a few of his shortcomings, such as his lover and their possible children and his obsession with gaining revenge on Gandolf through material wealth, which are clearly contradictory to his modest, pious priesthood. This conflict is significant because it identifies the Bishop as a hypocrite of his own religion, he is a man who values vanity, competition, and materialism in the face of death instead of preparing his soul for a heavenly afterlife. Through the use of a historicism lens, we can interpret this poem and the character of the Bishop to be a reflection of the corruption and greed of the Catholic Church during the Renaissance. In this paper, I argue that the Bishop’s absurdity and preoccupation with rivalry and materialism reveal his hypocrisy, which is directly reflective of the religious corruption in the sixteenth century.
Through several subtle admissions to sin, we can understand that the Bishop has strayed from his religious purity and is a hypocrite for disobeying his priestly morals. One subtle, or ambiguous, reference to the Bishop’s sin is the suggestion that he has children with his old lover. He first calls to them, “nephews- sons mine … ah God, I know not!” and that “she… would have to be your mother once”, but later he distinctly refers to them as “my sons” (ll. 3- 4, 36). The Bishop continues to say that he has already “bequeathed” all his villas to these men which would imply that they are his sons and rightful heirs to his estate (l. 45). Although we cannot know with certainty if they were his sons, or just some young men that he had close relationships with, even the suggestion of having illegitimate children is lewd. If he did break his celibate covenant and had sex with this lover and produce children, then he has defied one of the most foundational devotions of his priesthood. Another ambiguous reference to immorality is the Bishop’s sexual depictions of women, such as his desire to have a “Pan ready to twitch the Nymph’s last garment off” as a design on his tomb and that the gods will bless his sons with “mistresses with great smooth marbly limbs” (ll. 60- 61, 75). These images of nude or promiscuous women are not appropriate for a priest to be imagining or speaking about out loud. These first two examples portray the Bishop as a hypocrite because he directly defies the covenants of his religion, like celibacy or sexually purity, however their purpose is to support the more important aspect of his hypocrisy: rivalry with Gandolf.
The Bishop’s rivalry with Gandolf exposes his true character as a hypocrite, he is vain, dangerously competitive, and materialist. The Bishop is extremely motivated with revenge towards Gandolf because they both were in the love with the same woman at one time. The Bishop states twice that “Old Gandolf envied me, so fair she was!” which indicates that the Bishop did have a relationship with her and not Gandolf (ll. 5, 124). However, their rivalry continues past death as Gandolf “conzened” the Bishop out his “niche” when he died first and this prompts the Bishop to make his tomb and niche as exquisite and intricate as possible (ll. 16-17). He specifically requests that his tomb be adorned with beautiful gems and stones, such as “peach- blossom marble”, “lapis lazuli”, “jasper”, and “agate” (ll. 29, 42, 68, 97). In addition, he desires that his tomb have illustrations in “bronze” of “Pans and Nymphs”, “the Saviour at his sermon on the mount”, “Saint Praxed in a glory”, and “Moses with the tables” (ll. 56- 62). Although it is not unusual or excessive for the Bishop to want a good- looking tomb adorned with stones and depictions of religious figures, it is meticulous and absurd that he wants rare gems and pictures of nude nymphs. These demands that his tomb be covered with rare gems and absurd illustrations are symbolic for material wealth, since both these items and designs would expensive to produce. The Bishop believes having a grand tomb will make him appear more materially wealthy, which is one of the most important ways he can gain revenge on Gandolf. This revenge further supports that the Bishop is a hypocrite who values wealth, greed, competition, and vanity over all else. However, I argue that the most persuasive evidence of the Bishop’s absurdity and hypocrisy is his eagerness to possess God- like power and glory. He requests that a lump of lapis lazuli be placed in his tomb “between [his] knees, like God the Father’s globe on both His hands” (ll. 47-48). He claims that the presence of an earthly possession in his tomb will be as if he is God holding the world in his hands. Although his religious position as a bishop allows him a special connection with God, it is absurd to want to literally become God and hold all the power of the world in your hands. Overall, the Bishop reveals his hypocrisy through multiple sins, such as sexual impurity with women or an intense rivalry with a dead man, which all distinctly conflict with the religious values of modesty, humility, purity, and sensibility that he should be reflecting. These same conflicts were dramatically apparent in the corruption of the Catholic Church during the Renaissance and that historical context will allow a more complex, in- depth analysis of this poem.
Although the figurative language in the poem affirms that the Bishop is a materialist, vain hypocrite, a historicism interpretation of the text supports this idea and further explains that it is a historical reflection of the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church during the Renaissance. In the sixteenth century, when this poem is set, the Catholic Church was beginning to devolve from the immense power and authority it once held. In European culture, religion was essential to every day life, it permeated their politics, economy, and cultural society. However, a connection between the people and God could only be found through the clergy of the Church. Because religion and theology were largely written and taught in Latin and at academic universities, most common citizens did not have access to read the Bible or learn about religion and thus, they believed and followed the teachings of the Church. This gave the Catholic Church immense supremacy and authority over the people, which throughout time grew to be an empire. However, the Church practiced many corrupt activities, such as accepting money as means to buy a priesthood position, to be christened, and to have sin’s pardoned. Specifically, the practices of indulgences were common, which meant that an individual could pay to have their sin’s forgiven, granted access to heaven, and general spiritual wealth. These greedy practices ensured that the rich would be held in high regard in the Church and supposedly gain entry to heaven. Therefore, this system greatly took advantage of the poor who could not afford these financial offerings but felt obligated to in order to secure their salvation. Eventually, Martin Luther with his 95 Theses, along with other reformists, exposed the Church’s corruption and called for a religious reformation throughout Europe. These themes are apparent in “The Bishop Orders His Tomb” as the main character, a Bishop, is portrayed as greedy for material wealth but expects to be remembered and respected as a great clergyman. The poem directly reflects this historical context of corruption in the Church and is a commentary on how financial, or material, wealth was equated to piety. Overall, this historical lens not only supports the idea of the Bishop as a hypocrite, but also it reveals that he is a symbol for the Church as a whole. The Catholic Church during the Renaissance was corrupt, and like the Bishop, it contained more immorality than piety in some aspects.
Ultimately, I argue that the Bishop’s sins of sexual impurity, materialism, and revenge clearly make him a hypocrite of the modest piety he is supposed to possess as a clergyman. This hypocrisy and greed are directly reflective of the corruption of the Catholic Church during the Renaissance and when the poem was written. The theme of hypocrisy and its historical context of the Renaissance are significant because they identify the dramatic irony of a clergyman, or the Church as a whole, expecting to be worthy of high praise and glory when their actions have proven they are only worthy of judgement and condemnation. The Bishop’s hypocrisy and the Church’s corruption reveal that even institutions of the highest morality are subject to sinfulness and exploitation.