L’offerta di schiavitù: Una Fantasia BDSM (Italian Edition)

Poi il bambino possiamo tenerlo noi, un po' per uno. Markus avrebbe voluto intervenire, ma non ne ebbe il coraggio. Voleva dire a quelle donne che se veramente volevano bene a Ughino, l'ultima cosa a cui dovevano pensare era di togliergli la vista della madre.

Occorreva trovare una soluzione. Nel frattempo Ughino era uscito dal negozio e stava caricando le buste sul carrello. I due si avviarono lentamente verso l'uscita dal paese, affiancati. Mi sono svegliato presto e non riuscivo a riaddormentarmi, avevo avuto troppi sogni e molto strani. Ma lo chiamano dottor Draconis, e qualcuno dice che sia stato un medico. Mi accompagneresti una volta da lui a chiedere consiglio? Hai sentito cosa si racconta di lui in tutti i paesi delle colline qui intorno? Allora fammi sapere quando vuoi andare.

Ora devo scappare a casa. Viveva da solo insieme al suo gatto Bastet in un casolare molto malandato, disperso in un piccolo bosco tra il paesino di Sugano e Orvieto. Il casolare non aveva un bell'aspetto e sicuramente non induceva il passante a un sorriso: Talvolta, nelle giornate di mercato, qualcuno lo intravedeva spuntare attraverso le bancarelle. D'inverno vestiva sempre un lungo pastrano nero e un cappellaccio dalle falde ricurve verso il basso, mentre d'estate inaspettatamente appariva con gli abiti completamente bianchi: Quando scendeva al paese, si rivolgeva sempre con estrema cortesia ai suoi interlocutori, proferendo spesso un forbito linguaggio non comune in quelle zone.

Solo una volta — ci sono testimonianze — lo udirono parlare in pubblico. La donna lo picchiava sulla schiena mentre urlava: Oltre alla figura che hai fatto, pure le bugie! A quel punto Draconis si frappose tra la donna e il bambino, dicendo: Draconis non usava mezzi di locomozione di alcun tipo. Era insignito del titolo di dottore da parte della popolazione del posto in quanto si diceva avesse svolto in passato la professione del medico. Si diceva di lui che non avesse figli e che si fosse trasferito in quel casolare tanti anni fa, in seguito alla prematura morte della giovane moglie che lui — medico — non era riuscito evidentemente a curare.

Da allora era sempre chiuso in quella casa, da cui non si udivano uscire altri suoni se non quello del malinconico clarinetto. La grande riservatezza con cui viveva il dottor Draconis in quella zona, aveva fatto fiorire la nascita spontanea di racconti, testimonianze, favole sul suo conto. La gente non riusciva a tollerare il fatto di non sapere chi fosse o cosa facesse quello strano personaggio.

Una delle novelle che si raccontavano su Draconis dalle parti di San Quirico era questa: Il ragno la morse e lei cadde a terra, morendo in pochi minuti. A questa storia, gli abitanti di Porano aggiunsero un'appendice: C'era anche chi sosteneva di averlo visto di notte immergersi nel pozzo davanti all'ingresso del suo casolare e riapparire solo al mattino. Nessuno poteva dire quanto queste storie fossero vere o partorite dall'immaginazione popolare. Markus aveva un rapporto molto sincero e aperto con il padre e spesso ne condivideva gli interessi scartabellando fra le sue carte, gli articoli e i libri.

In tutta la delicata fase del trasloco della famiglia in Italia, Josh era stato molto vicino al figlio cercando per quanto possibile di offrirgli un saldo e fermo appoggio in un momento di grande incertezza. Mentre imboccavano la statale si trovarono di fronte Ughino che stava entrando sulla strada verso casa Allen sul suo triciclo da consegna. Ci vediamo qui da me alle sei. Markus sapeva quanto Josh tenesse a quel bambino. Anche se aveva voluto mantenere l'anonimato, il ragazzo aveva scoperto che era stato proprio suo padre a far consegnare a casa Stoppa il letto e l'armadio nuovo per la cameretta di Ughino, all'inizio dell'inverno scorso.

Ma sai che spesso ci penso e mi viene voglia di andarlo a trovare per scrivere un articolo? Poi Mary mi scoraggia sempre Ma d'altronde nemmeno Melampo sapeva di esserlo! Lo sai che mi piace quando mi racconti della mitologia! Aspetta, fammi ricordare la storia L'uomo era malato sin da fanciullo, da quando aveva assistito al sacrificio di due arieti da parte del padre e lo vide avanzare con il coltello sporco di sangue.

E che c'entra Melampo con Draconis? Erano giunti nel frattempo nel parcheggio sotterraneo dentro la rupe di Orvieto. Scesi dall'auto, i due s'incamminarono verso le scale mobili che salivano dentro la collina come un bruco nella mela; tutto intorno erano circondati dal colore di nocciole tostate delle pareti di tufo della galleria che saliva ripida fino a sbucare vicino piazza Ranieri. Usciti dalle scale mobili, i due si diressero subito a destra verso via Loggia dei Mercanti e quando furono davanti all'hotel Piccolomini dovettero appiattirsi contro il muro per far passare un'auto di grossa cilindrata che stava arrivando lungo il vicolo.

Markus conosceva quella vettura.

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• Minds and Bodies: An Introduction with Readings (Philosophy and the Human Situation).
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• Le rire (Annoté) (French Edition)!

E dal momento che ora il comune ci ha concesso la licenza, sarebbe molto utile se lei scrivesse un articolo per i suoi editori americani. D'altronde penso che i turisti sarebbero ben felici di sapere che qui potranno trovare gli stessi sapori di casa loro! I piccoli occhi nascosti dal grasso delle guance e il naso schiacciato sopra alle tumide labbra ne facevano una maschera ripugnante.

Gli hai pure promesso che gli scriverai l'articolo? Markus, soddisfatto della risposta del padre, gli mise una mano sulla spalla e proseguirono fino alla libreria. Dopo aver ritirato i volumi che avevano ordinato, si fermarono a un bar su corso Cavour. Venite, sedetevi un momento con noi!

Teresa ti trovo in forma smagliante. Si scambiarono i saluti e mentre gli adulti iniziavano a parlare delle loro cose, Markus fece un cenno ad Angela e i due si allontanarono dal tavolino dei genitori. Josh stava alzandosi per andare via e fece un cenno a Markus che si avvicinava. Allora Angela si rivolse alla madre, dicendo: Comincia a far caldo anche qui, vero?

Sono arrivati anche Fausto e la Teresa, che ti salutano tanto. Le ho sempre curate, sai, proprio come facevi tu e mi sono ricordata che a novembre occorre potare solo i rami che non hanno fiorito quella stagione, lasciando invece il fiore seccare da solo sugli altri. Mi ha detto che dopo l'estate lei e la Giovanna andranno al comune per convincerli a far accogliere quella poveretta di Paola Stoppa in un istituto, garantendo loro per l'assistenza di Ughino. Povera donna, non ce l'ho con lei! Sembra come cercare compagnia. Sai che viene a piedi da Sugano?

Paola passeggiava accanto alle sepolture e per ciascuna faceva un leggero cenno di saluto rivolto alla fotografia. Teneva in mano un mazzetto di piccoli fiori di campo che aveva presumibilmente raccolto lungo la strada e di tanto in tanto ne metteva uno dentro ai vasi dei loculi. Se avesse potuto, la fotografia di Anselmo avrebbe alzato gli occhi al cielo, in segno di raccomandazione divina. Poi, visto che la donna lo guardava interrogativa, aggiunse: La donna, senza distogliere lo sguardo dalla strada di fronte a lei, disse: Mentre percorrevano la piccola strada bianca di accesso al casolare Allen, notarono lo strano triciclo di Ughino parcheggiato di fianco al portone di ingresso.

Io vado su, divertitevi e Angela li precedeva e Ughino, dritto in piedi nella scatola metallica fra le due ruote posteriori, si teneva stretto alle spalle di Markus. Appena giunti sulla strada statale, l'attraversarono per entrare in un viottolo di fronte che percorreva il perimetro di un bosco ceduo. L'altro lato della stradina era delimitato da campi erbosi che scendevano lungo il fianco della collina; l'erba era molto alta e in gran parte secca. Ora erano giunti nelle vicinanze del punto in cui avrebbero dovuto deviare verso l'interno del bosco.

Arrivarono anche loro alla curva e voltarono, ma Markus dovette frenare bruscamente per evitare la bicicletta di Angela che era poggiata a terra. Lei era in piedi sulla strada e guardava verso un albero. Stavamo quasi per venirti addosso! Era fermo in mezzo alla strada e non andava via Poi ha aperto la bocca e Ma non ho capito Aveva in mano una ghianda e I tre alzarono lo sguardo verso le chiome della quercia e videro quattro scoiattoli in fila su un ramo sopra di loro, ciascuno che teneva stretto qualcosa fra le zampe anteriori.

Angela prendi la bici, via! I ragazzi presero a pedalare forte verso il bosco per evitare le ghiande, e anche quando ormai erano decisamente fuori tiro, continuarono a correre per il viottolo attraverso gli alberi, senza sosta. Angela era seduta a terra e guardava in alto verso le fronde degli alberi, in tutte le direzioni. Ma cosa avevano quegli scoiattoli? Il sentiero in cui si era avviato Ughino era molto stretto e impervio. Con le biciclette sarebbe stato quasi impossibile percorrerlo. Mentre camminavano si cominciava a udire il suono del clarinetto di Draconis.

Note inaspettate, dal grave pesante al leggerissimo trillo acuto, galleggiavano attraverso la vegetazione fino alle orecchie dei ragazzi. Adesso riuscivano anche a vedere il recinto intorno alla casa, una bassa staccionata di paletti quasi tutti completamente avvolti dai rampicanti del bosco. Due piccoli cespugli di bacche rosse, simili a ossute mani sanguinanti, segnavano l'ingresso al giardino.

Se non fosse stato per i suoni nasali del clarinetto che uscivano dalle finestre, si sarebbe detto un rudere deserto. Angela e Markus continuavano con cautela ad avvicinarsi al portone della casa, ma si accorsero che Ughino stava dirigendosi verso il pozzo. Non si vedeva il fondo, ma sul fianco correva una lunga scala metallica agganciata a una pietra d'orlo. Mi sembrava ci fosse qualcuno Markus, ma questo c'era anche l'altra volta? Ughino lo osservava carezzando le pietre lisce e levigate , senza staccare gli occhi pensierosi dal fondo.

Si misero in fila indiana davanti alla porta, mentre il clarinetto stava eseguendo una lamentosa scala diminuita. Rumori di sedie e di oggetti spostati arrivarono ai ragazzi dal piano superiore insieme a pesanti passi su una scala di legno accompagnati da un sordo borbottio. Sull'uscio apparve la figura alta e allampanata di Draconis, vestito con una larga tunica bianca di lino e i capelli raccolti in una coda che gli pendeva sulle spalle.

Teneva in mano un lungo e stupendo clarinetto d'ebano come fosse una mazza e fra i piedi — infilati in due sandali di cuoio — stava dritto un gatto grigio dal pelo di velluto, che li osservava con aria infastidita. Gli occhi di Draconis erano nascosti dalle profonde fosse che li custodivano ma l'espressione che stava assumendo in volto era sufficiente a terrorizzare i tre ragazzi. Mentre parlava, Draconis avanzava e i tre ragazzi indietreggiavano di conseguenza. Ci sono tanti sapienti in giro, chiedete a loro.

E adesso andate via! Mi avete interrotto, ho molto da fare. Mentre saliva le scale, si sentiva borbottare: E pochi istanti dopo il clarinetto riprese a suonare. Se ne stava in disparte, continuando a fissare la porta chiusa senza parlare. Vedrai che riusciremo a trovare un'altra soluzione. Questo Draconis non mi sembra una persona che possa aiutarci. Poi riprese a camminare dietro agli amici, con gli occhi bassi, mentre il cielo diventava rosso e gli animali notturni cominciavano pigramente a sbadigliare, svegliandosi.

Persino l'udito abbassava la sua soglia e potevano essere percepiti rumori che di giorno rimanevano mestamente avvolti nel disatteso sottofondo acustico: Ma per Ughino quella non era una notte di quiete. Continuava a rigirarsi nel letto senza sosta, farfugliando parole nel sonno agitato, mentre gli tornavano sempre alla mente le immagini di una fredda scala arrugginita che scendeva verso il fondo di un pozzo. Nelle orecchie gli risuonava costante un rumore metallico, forse un oggetto che batteva sui pioli della scala. La luce della luna illuminava tutto lo specchio della piccola finestra, a cui erano applicate delle grate metalliche.

Un grosso barbagianni era ritto in piedi sulla soglia e ritmicamente colpiva con il becco la grata metallica. Il barbagianni aveva parlato! La sua voce era simile a quella di un anziano brontolone colto da un improvviso disappunto. Ho un sacco di cose da fare stanotte e devo ancora cenare!

Io non ho tempo da perdere. Il bambino lentamente si sedette sul bordo del letto. Doveva scendere per quella scala? Non ne era affatto entusiasta, ma il barbagianni era stato chiaro. Ma poi, doveva forse fidarsi di un uccello notturno che parlava come un vecchio borbottone? Ma forse era stato solo un sogno, vediamo. No, vicino a una grata c'era ancora una piuma grigia. Lo avrebbero mai creduto? Per fortuna avrebbe potuto portare anche Markus e Angela, senza di loro sarebbe stato un vero problema.

Helios in his chariot pulled by four winged horses. The woman walked with her back curved and head bent low, grazing the walls of the old buildings that bordered the narrow alley of the village of Sugano. Her unsettled steps were accentuated by the sound of her torn plastic slippers and covered feet that, despite the look of her clothes revealed great poverty, were meticulously cared for, as were the nails on her bony hands.

As she walked, an inaudible whisper came from between her lips. Every so often she lifted her head to find her way through the alleys, and then resumed her walk. Arriving at an open doorway along the road, she stopped right in front of it and waited, staring inside. The noises that came from the house were those typical of food preparations from a kitchen: You know he doesn't want this, right?

What do you do, instead? When are you planning to stop? This is the last one! I don't want to see you around here any more! Then she continued on to the city gate and settled herself on a low stone wall. The wall bordered the road that looked on to a wooded area right below. The woman kept holding the bottle that had been given to her, tight to her chest. Her head hurt, as if something was pressing on her temples.

She knew that when she had this feeling, it was because they were coming, which was why she had gone to beg for the wine. They constantly tormented her, and for years had never left her in peace. Every time she began to feel the atrocious pressure in her head, she had to endure them again. She could feel them. The foliage of the trees on the hillside below her slowly began to change shape.

Maria Burnett Italian-English literary translator

The branches extended and broke from underneath the foliage, transforming into large hands stretched towards the sky. At the same moment, the vegetation below her joined together, forming a dark, waving, slimy sea. The woman looked at the sight without interest and with resignation. Suddenly a voice spoke from the street behind her, calling her attention. The one that had spoken was a small clown, which skipped playfully around the other two people: The clown continued to speak: Don't you recognize them? The masked female figure appeared to bring her hands close, and then bent in a loving pose.

Meanwhile the clown sang: The woman removed the cork off the bottle. Immediately the two masked figures jumped, and the clown turned to them: The two bodies started to cover with green scales, and slowly settled to the earth rolling about, while the long hands of the trees behind the woman reached out and grabbed her by the waist.

She screamed and immediately lifted the bottle to her mouth, gulping down a huge mouthful of wine. At that moment, the nightmare disappeared and everything was back to the way it was before. Meanwhile a boy coming down the street on his bicycle witnessed her eager drinking. She gazed at the boy without answering. Don't you recognize me? Come on, I'll take you home. As she walked, her gaze remained fixed in front of her and she continued to repeat: They wanted me to believe Markus opened it, motioning the woman to enter. The woman turned to him and said: Were your parents serpents too?

His sideburns also appeared to extend down his face, because of a light, unusual hair growth that had started to appear on this face. In the morning he looked at himself in the mirror for a longtime, every time with the fear of waking up and not being able to recognize himself. He was not awaiting nor had asked for all these body changes. Because of them, he felt submersed in a fog of confusion and doubts. He had been able to surround himself with things and actions that made him feel serene and hopeful. His physical appearance was one of them.

His black curly hair falling on his white forehead, his red lips framed under a small straight nose and his prominent eyebrows framing a lively but intense look, created an image from the past, right out of a Caravaggio painting. This look he felt comfortable with made him feel safe. As a result, these morning inspections in front of the mirror revealed a frowning forehead that revealed preoccupation and disappointment. He had been living with his parents in a small, isolated house on the Umbrian hills surrounding Orvieto since he was five, since — that is — his father Josh he had ruined his life in that crazy merry-go-round that is New York City.

He had then bravely chosen to move, in agreement with his wife Mary. Both had been pondering that possibility for years and every detail had been taken care of with extreme care. Josh wrote articles on Italian customs, traditions and culture for the American market, while Mary worked in photography. Markus was not enthusiastic about their choice, even if he was familiar with those places since he was very young, as he had been vacationing there in the summer every year.

He realized he was going to lose all his friends to find himself in a completely new place, without anything familiar to refer to. The family would talk about it at length in the evening. In the end, he accepted the move, even if his decision was prompted more by his desire to make his parents happy, than to make himself happy. When the world turns upside down, the only way to remain strong is to lean against recognizable stable pillars.

His family, his room, his bicycle and his first true friends were pillars of strength to Ughino. Three years went by before he could give up the New York Yankees poster hanging in front of his bed, to make room for a poster of an Italian soccer team. He had learned to speak Italian perfectly and he attended the local middle school with notable success.

Despite some initial difficulties, he was immediately cheerfully accepted by all his schoolmates and teachers. The small realities of both the province and the country luckily did not destroy human relationships like urban centers do, revolting anonymous machines that they are. Markus then became friends with everybody, despite his initial distrust. Among all his friends though, there was one special friend, a girl: Unfortunately, destiny made this friendship hard for the boy, for Angela lived in Rome and only during the summer, and sometimes during some holidays, she would vacation with her parents where Markus lived and where her parents owned a small house inherited from an elderly aunt.

Angela was a year younger than Markus and they had become friends before he left New York, since both families had chosen the same place to vacation at. It was because of his great friendship with Angela that Markus learned to speak Italian quickly. For a couple of years, Markus and Angela had been enjoying more freedom with the permission of their parents. As a result, they would spend their days on the hills, biking along the wooded paths, looking for small animals and climbing trees, looking for hideouts. Angela was a lively, blond girl, always ready for any adventure Markus would suggest.

She was slim and agile like a gazelle in the fields and a squirrel on the trees. He never thought about the difference of the sexes too much, nor was this bothering him in any way. All this, up to that year when — in summer — Angela went back to the village again. Like Markus, she was growing and physically changing and Markus was aware of all these changes. The once-bold little girl had gotten taller, her hair was styled differently and had a different shine, and her clothes did no longer disguise the flat and dry figure of years past.

Her look had also changed and become so piercing it went right through you like a dagger. Markus was thinking about this, while hesitating for quite a few minutes in front of the mirror… Suddenly he heard someone knocking at the bathroom door. I will be back tonight. Your father is up in his den, writing. She would leave early in the morning with all her photo equipment and spend the whole day traveling through the hills and bordering villages.

At night, she would come back with a good number of pictures, which, through the night, she would examine and make changes to. Hidden in his den, he would write all-day long and send his work to editors by e-mail. After breakfast, Markus went into the garden, making his way towards the back of the garage, where Josh had set up a basketball court for him, using one of the garage walls.

The boy would spend a lot of time bouncing the ball on the pavement, then throwing the ball into the basket. All this physical activity calmed him down. As he was slowly swirling around, dragging behind him the ball bouncing on the pavement, that morning he thought of his friend Ughino, with all the problems his image would conjure up. So intent was his thought, that Markus stopped the ball with his hands and stood for a moment looking at the climbing roses that were decorating the garage door.

Markus turned around and his face lit up. She threw it on the ground and they hugged happily, transported by the spontaneity of a gesture they were accustomed to since they were five. Markus though realized he had perhaps been too spontaneous. He pulled away immediately, blushing. His face beamed with delight. Cheerful, playful and full of life.

He was greeting everybody loudly But his mother has gotten worse. He told me himself and I actually saw it for myself. He said there is very little that could be done since she is mentally sick. They suddenly heard a loud noise of metal, stones and wheels coming from the access road to the village house. The two got up and moved towards the lane that led to the main entrance. When they got to the corner of the garage, they had to move back to make room for a boy who was riding a strange three-wheel vehicle with great speed.

Then he addressed both of them: I am very happy. Ughino started to get off the bike and then hesitated. Would you like some juice?

He looked at Markus and said: I have to continue my deliveries I just wanted to say hello. He looked at Angela, trying to let her know. She understood immediately and said: I have to go help my parents get set up. Then Ughino got off his bike, stopped pretending he was happy and hugged Markus.

Then Markus pulled his bicycle out of the garage and pointing to the road said: He was ten years old, but because of the emotions and the grief that life had reserved for him, he could teach good judgment and maturity to his fifteen-year-old friends. The engineers of the municipality had tried various times to have the two legally evicted, as the dwelling was considered not desirable for health reasons, but every time, independent groups of people had dissuaded them and convinced them to defer action.

Paola, the mother, was still young, but she looked like an elderly woman. She was afflicted by many ailments and when she was able to rustle up a little alms money, she would always go home with a bottle of wine in her hands. Paola was an orphan and she had never known her parents. She grew up in a convent and when she was twenty she had gone to work as an attendant at a summer camp for children on the Emilia Romagna coast, where she had met her first and last love. Salvatore, a tourist traveling in that area, invited her to dinner and they stayed together until morning, when Paola had to go back to work.

The following days she waited for him in vain on the beach where they had met. She looked for him in a futile search throughout the whole city, only to realize the only thing she knew about him was his first name. Salvatore had left her, much like her mother had done.

At the end of the season, she returned to the village pregnant with Ughino, her mind totally empty. As the baby was getting bigger, the mother was withering away. Her body slowly sagged like a bamboo whipped by the wind and only alcohol could make her bear the eternal grief of life.

Ughino understood immediately, since he was very small, that he had to take care of himself, as well as his mother. So he would go to school and after school he would take care of the house, helping Paola as if she were a little girl. Despite his sad destiny, Ughino smiled all the time and he would play with his friends, who loved him a lot, any chance he got. The boy did not want his friends to pity him because of his condition, so often he would tell innocent lies to mask his meager truth.

Sometimes, he was invited to lunch by families of friends, and was served with wonderful dishes of Umbrian tradition. He would then thank the hostess by saying: Just the way my mom fixes it! Things were different with him. He spent a lot of time with him and thought of him as an older brother. Once, when school let out, a couple of older boys arrogantly stopped Ughino. It was Giovanni Montaldi and Piero De Lisis, sons of two wealthy businesspeople from Orvieto, dressed from top to bottom in fashionable clothes.

They did not have many friends at school, but their private alliance seemed to satisfy them and they did not feel they had to be friendly to other people. Always bold and arrogant, they had several times shown lack of courage in their actions. Therefore, they usually would bother the younger and the weaker kids. Ughino was one of them. One time, Giovanni and Piero started making fun of him because of his older shoes with holes, shoving him around as they spoke, while he was trying to resolve the situation with a smile.

Suddenly Piero kicked him and his backpack filled with his school notebooks fell in the sand. Then Ughino turned and saw the boy turning red, because an arm, behind him, was grabbing him by the neck. With a yank, Piero fell on the ground and immediately Markus was on top of him, beating him up, while a couple of friends were holding Giovanni back.

During the summer, Ughino helped Mario, the manager of the only food store in the village, with deliveries to clients. Since during the summer holidays the number of people increased because of the arrival of all the people who owned a country cottage, the need for deliveries increased, as the store was getting bigger and acquired more clients. So, Mario had given Ughino a bicycle he had modified for small deliveries: Little Ugo felt mighty proud when he was riding this unique vehicle and often he would come back from his deliveries full speed, doing acrobatics on two wheels. But when he went home, he left his cheerfulness outside the door, like a coat hanging from the door.

The boy would put his love and patience clothes on and cross the door bravely. His mother would usually sit by the window, crossing her legs, with her foot constantly moving up and down. Her gaze was lost in empty infinity and nearly always she did not even know her son had come back. Ughino thought his mother was the most beautiful woman in the world and he hoped every day that she would heal quickly. His continuous care and attention was not enough, he thought. Maybe he should take her to the hospital. But how could he love her more? He loved her more than himself!

Every day he tried to be more affectionate. His heart would break, for he could not see any improvement. He would cook for her, talk to her, he cared for her hands and feet, and he would tell her about what was happening in school, but she would rarely answer, and when she did, only in monosyllables. He would then go in the bathroom, turn on the faucet and cry his heart out, hitting his head with all his strength, crying rivers of steaming tears into the basin, clutching his heart because of the pain.

She is completely mad. I met her yesterday and took her home. He tried to change the topic: Do you want to go to the beach with us? Do you remember the last time, when she fled at night and we found her on the bridge? Who gets to the square first decides the punishment! Markus looked at him straight in the eyes and said: Let us through, I have to go to the store! Piero did not move. The left window of the car was lowered and a voice screamed from inside: Giovanni grabbed his bike and started pedaling towards the descent.

But he did not need to; he already knew it was a heavy person with white withered skin, with his head dripping with sweat and black sun glasses perennially resting on his forehead. Not because of you. Ughino got off his tricycle and said: He enjoyed watching the women in and out of the store, chatting, with bags filled with heads of lettuce and loaves of bread. Those images were engraved in his mind since he was small, even though they were not keepsakes from his own land. He only remembered a lot of confusion and the icy cold of the huge supermarket in the city where he was born.

The younger told the oldest: You see how nice and polite he is? Despite all the bad things that happened to him Just yesterday, I found his mother at my front door. She had finished the wine. Once in a while she comes over to my house too. But what should I do? I would feel like I did Ughino wrong. But now we have to do something. And we can take turns caring for the boy. How much trouble can that polite boy be? I know he takes care of all the housework, he could even help me! He wanted to tell those women that if they really loved Ughino, the last thing to do was to separate him from his mother.

He had to find a solution. Meanwhile, Ughino had left the store and was loading the bags on the cart. When they were alone again on the road, Ughino continued: Tell me about your idea. But we know nothing about him; he has been living there by himself for years, since he first came to the area! But they call him Doctor Draconis, and I heard that he was a doctor. He may be able to help me. How did you come to think of him?

Maybe because I heard he was a doctor, and maybe because nobody can help mom. What do you say? Would you go see him with me, and ask for his advice? Are you aware of what everybody around here says about him? There is just one thing She is a friend of mine and you can trust her. Let me know when you intend to go. I have to go home now. Markus was happy to see him like that, even if deep inside he was doubtful of the decision he had made. He lived with his cat, Bastet, in a decrepit house, lost in a small wooded area between the villages of Sugano and Orvieto.

Nobody knew what he did all-day, but if you walked along the house you could nearly always hear the sound of a clarinet, which — from the windows up high — would meander up to the top of leafy trees. It was not a pretty house and it certainly did not bring a smile to the people passing by. The window shutters were hanging down like the eyebrows of sad eyes. The outside walls served as a perennial bed to the gigantic climbing vegetation and even the main front door was so misshapen that it appeared to be grinning with contempt and grief.

In winter, he would always wear a long, black overcoat and a large hat with brims curved towards the bottom, while in summer, he would dress entirely in white. Shirt and pants were so big that his thin, tall figure would appear ghostly. His face was thin and sunken under his cheek bones and his eyes were set deep and overshadowed by his sockets, blocked and hidden from any observer.

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His hair was long and smooth, down to his shoulders, by now partially grey, even though the age of the doctor was a mystery. When he would go to the village, he would speak to people in a very polite manner, often speaking in a polished style, not characteristic of that area. His speech was concise, just what was necessary and no more.

Under no circumstances he had appeared hesitant when starting a conversation with unknown people. He was heard talking in public only once. It was when, at the market, a mother was screaming to her son, who apparently had stolen a pen from a man who sold stationary. The woman hit him on the back, as she was screaming: I am hitting you also for having lied, for saying you did not steal that pen! Hermes was the one who told him to lie.

And who is this Er When they found out, the young Hermes denied it repeatedly; he lied with strength and courage to the God who was accusing him. Faced by such impertinence, Apollo started to laugh and forgave him. Children must lie, Hermes tells them to.

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When he would leave the house to do some shopping, he would walk on foot through the wooded area, dragging behind him a small four-wheel wooden cart on which he would load his supplies. The title of doctor had been given to him by the inhabitants of the village, as it looked like in the past he had practiced medicine.

No one knew, however, what kind of medicine, nor if he ever had taken care of, or healed anybody. The elderly ladies were very suspicious and if they happened to meet him, they preferred to go another way. Talk had it that he did not have any children and that he had moved to his house a long time before, following the untimely death of his young wife, whom, as a doctor, he apparently had not been able to save… Since then, he had been a recluse in his own house, a house where the only sound was that coming from his sad clarinet.

Doctor Draconis lived in that area in great privacy and this had created stories, testimonies and fairy tales about him. One of the stories about Draconis around San Quirico was that while he was travelling around the world looking for answers to his questions, young Doctor Draconis met and fell in love with Suseri, a Japanese girl. Once, unbeknown to him- he hid a poisonous spider in the pocket of a jacket hanging in the closet.

As fate would have it, that morning, Draconis did not wear it when he left. The spider bit her and she fell on the ground, where she died after a few minutes. When Draconis returned home, he found her on the ground and tried to save her, unsuccessfully. Word has it, that the grief was of such magnitude that the doctor from that day onward became a loner. The inhabitants of Porano had an addition to the story: Draconis would communicate with the spirit of the young Suseri through the sound of the clarinet. Someone also said he had seen him at night go down the well in front of his house and come out only in the morning.

No one could tell if the stories were true or born from the imagination of the people. The truth of the matter is that Draconis was, by then, an integral part of that environment, just like the woods, the houses, the vineyards and the vegetable gardens. That afternoon he was going with him to the Orvieto library to pick up some books Josh had ordered the week before. He climbed on the seat of the jeep that was already in motion and they took off on the white road leading to the highway.

Markus had an open and sincere rapport with his father and often shared his interests leafing through his papers, articles and books. When the family moved to Italy, through the whole delicate moving phase, Josh had been very close to his son, trying his best to offer him a strong and firm support at a time of great uncertainty.

As they were getting onto the highway, they met Ughino who was entering the road, going towards the Allen residence on his delivery tricycle. I have to ask Ughino something. I will be right back. I can come by around six. Be at my house at six. Markus was lost in thought. I often think about him and I am tempted to go visit him to write an article. But Mary discourages me all the time On the other hand, not even Melampus was aware he was one! He was the first mortal granted divine powers by the gods. You know I love it when you tell me mythic stories! It was as if there was a universal mould for every occasion.

Wait; let me think about the story He would understand the language of birds and insects because it seemed that two serpents, grateful for a favor, licked his ears. The man had been sick since he was a young boy, ever since he had witnessed the sacrifice of two rams by his father, when he saw him walking holding a knife covered with blood. That sight made Ificlus sick, but no one understood that, with the exception of the two birds of prey that witnessed the fact.

He ran to get the old knife that was still stuck in the trunk of a tree and made Ificlus drink the rust formed by the blood of the ram, dissolved in a little water. Somehow, he had to get rid of that terrible image from his childhood, and perhaps the blood of the ram reminded him of that. And what does Melampus have to do with Draconis? It was just to show you that Melampus was a doctor without knowing it.

They got out of the car and started walking towards the escalators that were climbing inside the hill like a worm making its way upwards inside an apple. All around, they were surrounded by the tuff walls of the gallery, the color of toasted hazelnuts. The gallery was a steep climb, until it exited near Piazza Raineri. When they got off the escalators, the two turned to the right towards via Loggia dei Mercanti and when they stopped in front of the Piccolomini Hotel, they had to flatten against the wall to make room for a car with a powerful engine that was coming down the alleyway.

Markus was familiar with that car. I am happy to see you. And since city hall gave us the license, it would be very useful if you could write an article for your American editors. And the tourists would be very happy to know that here they could find the same food they eat in their own country! His small eyes hidden by the fat of his cheeks and his nose, flat above his swollen lips, made him truly grotesque. They said goodbye and as soon as the car was gone, Markus vented his disappointment: You even promised him you would write him an article?

But I did not tell him what I will write in the article! As they were paying for their snack, Josh heard someone calling him: Come sit with us for a little while! I find you very well. Looking towards the display case of the news vendor, Markus said: He said he is going to be at my house at six. We'll go there together.

He motioned Markus who was approaching them. Then Angela turned to her mother saying: I will see you later, at home. Matilde used to go to the cemetery every week. She would clean and shine up the marble slab that had been guarding the memory of Anselmo, hear husband, for over ten years.

To her, that visit was a pleasurable break from her daily monotony and after having taken care of the flowers, changed the water and washed the marble, she would sit on the stool she brought from home, and chat peacefully with Anselmo's smiling picture. At the village, nothing new, except the seasonal tourists are coming and at least there is someone on the road. Fausto and Teresa are here too, and they say hello. I have always taken care of them you know, just like you used to do, and I remembered that in November you prune only the stems that didn't bloom during the season, leaving only the flowers dry on the other stems.

Next spring you will have hydrangeas as large as watermelons! The lavender bush has grown a lot too. This time though, I am going to take all the branches off and make them into scented laundry baskets like my mother used to do when she was alive. She told me that after the summer, Giovanna and she are going to city hall to convince them to put Paola Stoppa, that poor soul, in an institution, while Ughino is taken care of.

Life was unkind to her since her birth, but now Ughino needs a normal life with a normal family. He needs someone to take care of him. This is another one of her lunacies: Did you know she comes on foot from Sugano? She never takes the bus and the road is very long! She was holding a bunch of small wild flowers she had likely picked up along the way and from time to time, she would put one in the vases of the loculus. What are you saying? We give her wine, anytime she wants it! In the meantime, Paola seemed happy with her visit and she started moving towards the exit of the cemetery, lazily dragging her feet on the stone pavement.

When she reached the large entrance gate, she turned towards the tombs one more time and observed them, turning her head from right to left in a collegiate greeting and exited towards the road. From the back seat, Angela pointed to the woman and said: He then stopped in an open space. Markus got out of the car and moved towards the woman. Then, running, he caught up with her. After they left, Josh asked: Do you have someone there? Markus helped the woman get out of the car and accompanied her inside. On the way home, Josh — deep in thoughts — could only say: He was trying to shoot a basketball, but he was probably too short for that.

He waved cheerfully to all of them and Josh stopped the jeep. I am going in, have fun and Ughino placed the ball on the ground, tucked his shirt inside his pants and said: As soon as they reached the highway, they crossed it, entering an alley in the front that ran along the perimeter of a thicket. The other side of the road was delimited by grassy fields that sloped along the side of the hill; the grass was very tall and, for the most part, dry.

We have to leave our bicycles next to the large oak tree. Then, they had left, for they thought they heard some steps coming down the stairs. Markus remembered that day well, because it was very cold and on the way back home it had started to rain cats and dogs. They arrived in the vicinity of the turn to the inside of the wooded area.

The pair on the tricycle was moving slower and at every pothole Ughino would jump really high, almost falling to the ground. She was standing by the road, looking in the direction of a tree. We almost hit you! She turned towards them, her mouth open and in disbelief, pointing to the tree. It was standing still in the middle of the road and would not move Then it opened his mouth and I thought it was about to speak! It had an acorn in its paw and Then it retreated to the tree Markus bent down and grabbed an acorn in his hand.

Suddenly acorns began to pour from the tree, hitting the children from up high, nonstop, as a thick hailstorm. As they stopped, Angela slid on the leaves and fell right next to the trunk of the big chestnut tree. Angela was sitting on the ground, looking up high towards the top of the trees, in all directions. But what was wrong with those squirrels? It would have been impossible to use the bicycles. Unexpected notes, from very heavy to very light acute trills, the notes floated through the vegetation, to the ears of the children.

Two small bushes of red berries, like bony, bleeding hands marked the entrance to the garden. The three crossed the threshold of the fence, and found themselves in the green area in front of the house. The house seemed abandoned, as did everything else around it. In the middle of the area in front of the house, there was an old well made of rock stone, which brightly stood out against the green.

Angela and Markus kept approaching the front door of the house cautiously, when they realized that Ughino was moving towards the well. I want to see. You could not see the bottom, but along the side there was a long metallic ladder hooked onto a border stone. I thought there was some one Markus, was this here when we were here before? I remember it very well. Markus, you go ahead. Markus looked at his friends, sighed and lifted his hand to knock. He knocked three times.

The music stopped immediately and a cat meowed. The children heard noises of chairs and moved objects coming from the first floor, along with heavy steps on a wooden ladder and a muffled grumble. Appropriately, given the structure of the Furioso itself, St. John cites examples from epic literature. In this famous and much-debated pas- sage, St. Greece was van- quished, Troy triumphant, and Penelope a whore"; John's monologue is preceded by praise of Ariosto's patron, juxta- posed with the lunar mound of burst crickets that represent, no less, poet- ry in praise of patrons.

But this passage also brings us face to face with the question of the value of language — do the signs on the earth used by poets lead us to a higher truth? Or do the poets "lie" without a higher purpose? These issues lie at the heart of both the Furioso and the life of its creator. On the moon, Ariosto connects poets to the earth by linking poetry and history.

Ascoli reads this passage as bringing the level of the Bible down to that of poetic lies For Quint, finding meaning in the world itself is not possible when the text, the instrument of meaning, points only to the "higher truth" that poets lie Cozzarelli is demonstrating the fact that poetry can create its own history. The ancient heroes are such because of the poet, and the original reality no longer matters. Poetry creates reality and shapes the world. Paradoxically, however, it is also true that Ariosto is constantly remind- ing us of poetry's fictionality and telling us to explore beneath the veil.

Routinely, the narrator interjects to assert the truthfulness of some charac- ter or event in his text, most often when presenting us with scenes that exceed the bounds of credibility. This technique adds to the humour of the text while simultaneously warning readers to be conscious of what they are reading. The questions of poetic language and its relationship to truth again recall Landino and his discussion of Dante's Commedia. Ariosto evokes Dante's ideas on language that converge in the figure of Ulysses in Inferno 26 by including a Homeric reference in the centre of his discussion on poetry.

Ariosto also brings his characters to the moon in the chariot of Elijah, which figures in Dante's passage. John's eyes, "flame-like" during his monologue, recall the tongues of flame enveloping Ulysses that illus- trated the deceptive potential of language. In this passage, however, Ariosto is not recalling only Dante; he is also evoking Landino, the Dante scholar. Landino was a great proponent of the idea of the divinely inspired poet, as was Ficino in his more formal philo- sophical discussions. She reads Ariosto's text as an invitation to interpretation, rather than embodying one underlying truth.

Carroll, also, uses the moon scene to posit Ariosto's irony as a criticism not of all literature, but of overly literal interpretations of texts For Dante and Landino the creative poet- ic imagination, the Hnk between reason and the passions, is the very foun- dation of knowledge. He presented the imagination as the means to the highest of goals, while also acknowledging its perils and its appar- ently irreconcilable double nature.

Landino, instead, does not dwell on the dangerous side of the imagination. For him, there is an ethics of the cre- ative imagination, as is apparent in his commentary on Ulysses' "folle volo," where he notes Ulysses' artifice and his consequent condemnation to Hell in the circle of fraud It is wrong, however, to assume that simply because Landino is aware of rhetoric's ability to lead astray this also means that he is portraying the poetic imagination as doing the same. Landino makes it quite clear that rhetoric is not to be confused as being the equivalent of poetry.

For Landino, poetry is an encyclopaedic form of the creative imagination; it is higher than, and encompasses all the other "human" arts. Although Landino is forced to admit that artifice does exist, he is very reluctant to condemn the fraudulent side of the imagination when it is involved in the poetic process. The creative imagination, in poetic form, is capable of transcendent vision.

For Landino, Ulysses' voyage fails because he has no poetic vision. He attempts to reach knowledge-the vision of Purgatory — but he is not capable of finding the hidden truth. He has rhetoric, but he does not have the divine gift of poetry. He moves beyond the limits of his inborn ingegno and so fails in his quest. In his ethics of the creative imagination, Landino reiterates the prima- cy of the search for knowledge.

Ingegno not only prefigures, but shapes the voyage itself, leading the traveller into a realm of seeing beyond rational capabilities. See in particular pp. Landino reiterates this in the Prolusione Dantesca: Although Landino clearly values the creative imagination, he lauds it not as a sign of a unique individual human mind, but as a gift selected and granted sole- ly by God. For Landino, however, the imagination that is not divinely inspired is limited by personal experience and ability, and this, in turn, limits the voyage towards knowledge. Ariosto seems to address Landino's concerns about poetry and divinity by having St.

John posit Astolfo's voyage to the moon, and his desire for knowledge itself, as being inspired by God. For Landino, it was not the voyage of the imagination itself that leads one astray-it was how the creative person employs the will in selecting the direction of its path that leads either to condemnation or to praise. There are other aspects of Ariosto's discussion of poetry that recall both Landino and Ficino. Poetic madness and contemplation, like the double flame in Inferno 26, illustrate the close connection between rhetoric and prophecy. Landino stresses the divinity of the poet, and Ficino, too, discusses the poet as being divinely inspired.

Landino's and Ficino's con- ceptions of the creative imagination can be seen as confronting two alter- nate ways of seeing: The prophet speaks from exile, but the words spoken are directed towards the human world. Divine fury makes Landino's poet prophetic, for the language of the poet- ic flight is distant from the human world and surpasses all human arts.

But the poet is able to speak to the people and to lead them towards knowledge also through his divine experiences. Ficino mediates between prophecy and mysticism and collapses their boundaries. In the Theologia platonica, he places the poet second after the philosopher among those who separate themselves from their bodies while in this life bk 13, ch 2. It is contemplation that creates this common activity. Ficino is aware of the mystical aspect of contemplation, but we have seen how he also warns of the dangers of such self- alienation and iso- lation.

If this separation is car- ried too far, the thinker will lose contact with himself as well as with the human world. Ficino roots poetic and prophetic divine fury into a medicinal frame- work, joining the Platonic abstraction to the condition of human flesh and to the madness of the lover. The danger of the boundlessness of the flight of the imagination is not just a philosophical danger, but a physical one as well. While Ficino understands the value of inner contemplation, he is still too closely linked with the human realm and with the process of living to allow the contemplator to disconnect permanently from that world.

Nonetheless, the imagination plays a large role in the Neoplatonic search- es for knowledge: Throughout Ariosto's epic we have seen the warnings and demonstra- tions of the danger of separating from the self, especially through love and its resulting madness and loss of reason. In this regard, Axiosto's poet seems less akin to Landino's divine poet than to the poet tied to the black bile of Ficino's De vita.

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Like Ficino, Ariosto moves towards a tone of acceptance of the dangers and duality of the imagination. In his Platonic works Ficino emphasizes imagination's negative pole, but still asserts the superiority of philosophy. Ariosto reworks these ideas within his own context and plays upon them, preserving some of their meaning while also parodying them. In the Furioso there is a fundamental sense that poetry has great value, even though its divinity is parodied. But the idea of divinely inspired creativity is downplayed while, instead, the effects of love's passion on the poet are highlighted.

In this sense, Ariosto shadows Ficino's genius, for he empha- sizes his own humanity. Lie is aware of the fact that melancholy is a part of the human being and a necessary ingredient in creation. Ariosto's work takes Landino's assertion that poetry leads to knowledge as a point of departure. But instead of Landino's knowledge of the divine, what is ultimately emphasized in the Furioso is Ficino's concept of the importance of knowing one's human limitations.

For Ariosto, Landino's assertion that poetry leads to knowledge is eclipsed by Ficino's concept of the importance of knowledge of the self Moreover, this self-knowledge, which allows the poet to manage his passions as best he can, leads to greater poetic ability. For although poetry may lead to truth, the clearest truth Ariosto is cele- brating in the Furioso is his very own human poetic skill and his ability to use it to dazzle the reader.

The narrator's self-reflexive comments serve not only to call attention to the fact that we are reading a poem, but also, and more importandy, to call attention to the poet's creative skill and to his control of the story. While he is professing to be "one of us" by constantly acknowledging his own weakness in the struggle against madness, he is actually placing himself above the text and in control of the reader's desires and thoughts. While the beauty of the text may spark the reader's desire to read on, the path has been chosen by Ariosto.

The poet resembles Astolfo, soaring above us on the shimmering wings of his creation. But this is not an uncomplicated act. Like Ficino's poet, as well as his critic, Ariosto's genius is a struggling, human genius — one who not only knows the depths of suffering and depression, but must also accept that sadness and the downward flight of the imagination as indispensable elements of the genius with which one is gifted. Through melancholy, the poet and his creation are intimately linked to love's passion.

Ariosto uses this concept to illustrate the close connection between reason and love's madness not only in human life, but also in the workings of the imagination. He does this in order to place the poetic imagination above all else. Mazzotta successfully posits the perspective of the narrator, who is both inside and outside the work, as demonstrating the poet's "play of the poetic imagination, whereby the poet confronts and is enmeshed by the ambiguities of all values but transcends them" "Power," Both Astolfo and the poet work from a point of relative detachment, for they are able to see themselves and the world as the comedy it really is.

Orlando, however, is not a poetic creator but a passive reader and so he plunges into madness because of the shattering of his fictional image through the truth that was contained in the poetry of Medoro. Johnson Haddad uses the imagery of Orlando reading the poem to connect him with Medusa, Perseus and Narcissus, representing the dark side of self-con- frontation and poetry, for it can lead to creative failure and madness Masciandaro also connects Orlando to Narcissus in that he is unable to accept the fact that Angelica is the other, not shaped by his own image of her As Mazzotta has noted, Orlando's madness lacks the fluency of language, which needs to be retrieved by the imagina- tion "Power," The irony may be that while poetry and the imagina- tion make Orlando insane, his senses are restored thanks to Astolfo's flight of poetic imagination.

What in particular Astolfo brings to Orlando is the ability for a critical reading of creativity and poetry — he should be aware that it is human-made and be able to read beneath its apparent reality. In the Furioso, the culmination of the themes of reason, love, madness and imagination converge with Astolfo's restoration of Orlando's senses. At the same moment, Orlan- do is also "cured" of his love-sickness-although this is probably not a per- manent cure, Astolfo and the narrator will both lose themselves in love again The lovers in Ariosto's world display many conflicting aspects of human nature.

The imagination of desire and poetry's flight demonstrate that when the balance between these faculties is lost, black bile's melan- choly takes over and madness and loss of self results. Paradoxically, melan- choly both works through the imagination and depresses its creative work- ings, which can also lead to madness. This potential for madness, howev- er, is necessary for life, love and poetic creation, so the poet must accept the reality that the passions are part of us and are capable of ruling us.

There is a basic dichotomy underlying the Furioso; as in Ficino's text, you cannot remove the passions from the self, but the hope is that through rea- son you may also come to know yourself and so be capable of checking pas- sion's destructive power. While love and the imagination drive the poem and Orlando, and, ultimately, lead to the demise of both, it is the imagi- nation and love that also shape them and give them life. And it is the col- lapse or the deliberate discarding of desire that ends the imaginative move- ment of the poem. The paradox is that if passion and the potential for madness are eliminated, art also fades: Ariosto's Orlando furioso shows that imagination is the focal point of the limitless activities that distinguish human beings from other living creatures, as well as from each other.

Orlando's madness tied to the hori- zontal nature of love's imagination and Astolfo's voyage to the moon con- nected to the vertical movement of the creative imagination's poetry are at opposite poles. Yet, behind these issues of love, insanity, and the thirst for — 25 — Julia M. Cozzarelli knowledge lies the very basic notion of language as the basis for all human reality. The very different, yet ever fluctuating ties that these two charac- ters share with the creative imagination support their roles as personifica- tions of different approaches to language and life.

As perceived by Ficino, these poles are, however, inseparable one from the other. There is no one figure in Ariosto's text that can be used as a key to unlock the door to earth- ly happiness; all the individual portraits must be gathered together into one unified frame that illustrates the complexity of human nature and of what has often been considered its distinguishing feature-the creative and poet- ic imagination. Oxford University Press, Orlando Furioso. Crisis and Evasion in the Italian Renaissance. Princeton University Press, The Book of Memory: A Study of Memory in Medieval Culture.

The Case of Rodamonte. De Panizza Lorch, Maristella. Three Books on Life. Carol Kaske and John Clark. State University of New York at Binghamton, Marsilio Ficino and the Phaedran Charioteer. University of California Press, The Earthly Paradise and the Renaissance Epic. The Poetics of Self-Confrontation. La fantasia e la memoria: Magic in Boiardo and Ariosto. Battista and Bernardo Sessa, Scritti critici e teorici. Romance Epic Narrative in the Italian Renaissance. Wayne State University Press, University of Missouri Press, Notes on Orlando's Folly," pp.

Dante Vision and the Circle of Knowledge. Ronald Bogue and Mihai I. State University of New York Press, On the Latin Language De lingua latina. Harvard University Press, Stocker, Judit Sexual Warrior. Vorrei esprimere la mia profonda gratitudine a Laura Sanguineti White e ad Andrea Baldi, del dipartimento d'Italiano di Rutgers, per l'incoraggiamento e il sostegno offertomi nelle ricerche su questo soggetto. Alla dinamica che contrappone le figure dei consiglieri nelle tragedie dellavalliane allude Sanguineti White, Dal detto alla figura, Lo scontro, che in entrambe le tragedie oppone l'eroina al consigliere fraudolen- to e i servi fedeli ai servi malvagi, ha sempre per oggetto le emozioni e le passioni del sovrano.

La figura di Judit esempla in maniera particolarmente riuscita i dilemmi posti dal complesso rapporto fra la dimensione etica dell'agire umano e la sua efficacia concreta. Per l'appunto, non simula, dissimula. Della Valle, dal suo osservatorio di piccolo funzionario soggetto alla ruota della fortuna, assolve e giustifica l'utilizzo dell'unico strumento a dispo- sizione dei sottoposti per conservare un margine d'intervento autonomo nei confronti tanto del potere politico quanto della Chiesa. In Tasso l'opposta valu- tazione delle due giovani donne si basa sull'antitesi dei fini perseguiti ed esula da ogni considerazione intorno al mezzo adottato.

Della Valle ha ben presente la percezione sociale del ruolo, del com- portamento e persino del corpo della donna. Judit, in particolare, viene evocata nel prologo in termini di suprema bellezza: L'origine controriformista della lettura di Judit quale figura della Vergine e le imprevedibili conseguenze di tale accosta- mento vengono sondate nel saggio di Pietropaolo, "ludit, Femme Fatale of the Baroque Stage. La descrizione della bellezza delle eroine, l'attenzione al loro abbigliarsi e le scene di seduzione sono da ricondurre a quest'ottica, prima che ad una specifica intenzione edonistica o voyeuristica dell'autore.

Tuttavia, il suo invito ad Aman rappresenta per lui un'ascesa in termini di prestigio e di potere: Le due regine della terza tragedia. Isabella e Maria, sono invece delle vere sovrane, le cui caratteristiche saranno da esaminare insieme a quelle degli altri monarchi delle tragedie di Della Valle. E il potere dato loro dalla bellezza, che seduce e innamora, legando il volere dell'uomo ai loro disegni. La protagonista tace a tutti i suoi progetti, persino alla serva Abra, alla quale pure mostra un animo coraggioso ed ispirato, che confida nella grazia e nella misericordia divina.

L'eroina ebrea lascia agli interlocutori il compito di interpretare i suoi pensieri, senza svelarsi, a differenza del verboso Oloferne, che indulge ad una con- tinua, e forse compiaciuta, autoanalisi". Non abbiamo una descrizione caratterizzante di Judit; la sua avvenenza, ripetutamente menzionata e cele- brata, resta priva di connotati precisi. Di lei conosciamo solo il colore dora- si veda in proposito l'analisi di Sanguineti White, Dal detto alla figura, Sotto le vesti di donna imbelle, timorosa e compiacente, combatte la propria guerra per la salvezza della patria, facendo leva, scientemente, sulle aspettative maschili.

Vagao vede in lei un'umile prigioniera, desiderabile agli occhi del condottiero e dunque capace di guadagnare al servo-con- sigliere un insperato controllo sul proprio capo. Si tratta di un episodio centrale per importanza e incidenza strutturale, dove alle lusinghe dei sensi si somma la fascinazione della parola, capace di legare e avvincere. Il ruolo chiave rivestito dalla parola rende questa scena di seduzione particolarmente suggestiva dal punto di vista metatestuale.

E possibile infatti riconoscere in questi versi una riflessione sul potere persuasivo della parola e dell'immagine, elementi costitutivi di ogni opera teatrale. Fra 1 molti possibili esempi si veda, in particular modo, la risposta di Oloferne alle pressioni di Arimaspe, ai w. Per un diverso giudizio sulla ricezione di Judit tramite gli epiteti usati dai suoi interlocutori si veda Sanguineti White, Dal detto alla figura. Nel trasformare la rhesis in ekphrasis Della Valle aggiunge un ulteriore livello al proprio intervento metatestuale.

L'autore intrec- cia questa indagine conoscitiva ad un'analisi sui rapporti tra parola e immagine, condotta facendo continuo ricorso al campo metaforico della visione come pittura interiore, operazione che incoraggia la lettura della scena della toletta di Judit quale intenzionale presa di posizione all'interno del dibattito sui rapporti tra poesia e pittura. Attraverso la sua dettagliata descrizione dello svestirsi e del successivo abbigliarsi dell'eroina, Vagao lusinga la fantasia del padrone sulle gioie del- l'eros che questi si attende e ne accarezza il desiderio, rispondendo appieno all'invito di Oloferne che lo esorta ad un resoconto minuzioso: Tutto di', nulla lascia.

Tessari rilegge la natura obliqua della seduzione di Oloferne entro il "dramma cosmico" che a suo avviso strut- tura l'intera tragedia. La forza d'attrazione della bellezza, possibile strada di accesso a Dio, diviene fonte di labirintico smarrimento per il principio maschile rappresentato dal comandante assiro. Questo motivo viene sviluppato nel successivo intervento di Oloferne, che, interrompendo la narrazione del servo, esclama: Vaga figura formi a l'alma, del ver piena. Viene qui rapidamente delineata una vera e pro- pria teoria della ricezione: A differenza dei suoi interlocutori, Oloferne non sa misurare il potere della parola come arma di offesa e di difesa, ma rimane prigioniero di una con- cezione materialistica ed elementare dei conflitti.

Tale consapevolezza affiora invece nei commenti del coro, che, a con- clusione del racconto di Vagao, approfondisce l'analisi dei rapporti tra parola e immagine segnalando le differenze tra i due strumenti e decretan- do il trionfo della resa verbale, ovvero della poesia: Smuove, travolve, accende, e contra lei un cuor mal si difende.

In questo passo, il coro si sofferma sugli effetti della parola e dell'immagine, insistendo sull'uso manipolatorio a cui questi mezzi possono essere piegati. Della Valle, dunque, non solo interviene nel se- colare dibattito sul rapporto tra pittura e poesia, ma assegna alla propria indagine un valore conoscitivo ed etico in sintonia col tema fondamental- mente politico delle sue tragedie.

La censura morale del coro assume, quindi, valore di ammoni- mento per gli spettatori, sottoposti, nel quotidiano, a sollecitazioni simili. Al tempo stesso, in un'ulteriore torsione cognitiva, la tragedia cerca, a sua volta, di 'sedurli' proprio nel momento in cui svela i meccanismi della per- suasione. Dopo questa premessa sull'insidia di un discorso congegnato ad arte, inteso a soggiogare il destinatario, il coro passa ad una notazione sul potere dell'immagine e della parola: Il primato della parola viene sancito dal ritratto — in versi — che Vagao delinea per il proprio signore.

La rhesis del mezzano si trasforma in ekphrasis, descrivendo un vero e proprio quadro, anzi un dittico, in quan- to comprende anche la tavola elaborata dall'eroina. Dapprima sembra che sia Vagao inconsapevole stru- mento divino a gestire le passioni del capo assiro. Vagao premette, infatti, al pro- prio racconto la sintesi dei pregi di Judit: Accecato da un pregiudizio misogino, Vagao non riconosce nella "vaga favella" della sua interlocutrice la stessa arma manipolatrice di cui egli si serve nei confronti del proprio signore.

Nel costruire il proprio quadro, il servo dedica ampio spazio all'evo- cazione degli apparati fastosi che fanno da sfondo alla toletta della bella ebrea cfr. L'eroina accetta la sfida e si mostra in tutto il suo splendore. La sua bellezza e il suo fascino sono le armi con cui assume il controllo della situazione fino a capovolgerla, facen- do del voyeur un proprio strumento tramite il quale inebriare e confondere Oloferne: Bisogna tuttavia prestar fede solo in parte a tale strategia di autorappresentazione: Nella descrizione della Judit Della Valle sembra aderire alle teorie di Castiglione, solo che qui l'eroina non mostra una mano o un piede, ma tutte le sue grazie segrete.

L'eroina persegue, infatti, i propri scopi senza mentire. Le basta tacere, senza dover accettare, ad esempio, il fine che implicitamente le attribuisce Vagao: Judit non simula, ma dissimula "onestamente": L'eroina ebrea vince la sua battaglia con le proprie armi, rima- nendo fedele a se stessa e alla sua causa fino alla fine. Tutte le sue parole suggeriscono un'attesa fervida, ma pudica, della notte in arrivo: E come se l'ebrea volesse dichiaratamente prendere le distanze dalla hyhris colpevole degli Assiri.

A questo punto la protagonista passa alla controffensiva, invitando Vagao ad assistere a quel che resta della sua toletta: Questa scena costituisce il secondo pannello del dittico w. Davanti al servo di Oloferne, e quindi per suo tramite nell'immaginazione del duce assiro, ella non a caso si riveste. Judit costruisce se stessa come opera d'arte, orientando tramite una "divina favella" la percezione visiva della propria bellezza.

Raffaelli, Semantica tragica, L'eroina finisce col gestire il gioco, sovvertendo dall'interno le regole imposte dagli avversari. La scena dell'abluzione costituisce il momento chiave di questa dis- simulata esibizione. L'eroina mostra al mezzano l'origine naturale del pro- prio fascino, in un passo di ricercata fattura: L'analogia con la pit- tura viene introdotta dall'eroina nel momento in cui assume un ruolo atti- vo nel definire la propria immagine.

Vagao, in veste di poeta, sottolinea gli effetti del rituale di Judit: Judit raffina la propria bellezza servendosi di mezzi puri e legittimi. Nel primo quadro, infatti, la protagonista, ignara dello sguardo del servo, si spoglia, divenendo emblema della naturalezza che seduce nel suo manifestarsi, mentre nel secondo, tracciato consapevolmente da Judit, l'eroina si riveste, arricchendo il proprio fascino tramite l'artificio. Se, infatti, la rhesis di Vagao ampli- fica la messa in scena dell'uso strumentale della retorica e delle arti visive, costruendo una rappresentazione della lotta controriformistica per il con- trollo delle coscienze, tale figurazione si colloca all'interno di un discorso di carattere etico sul mondo, come illustrano i commenti del coro.

La diversa statura morale dei due antago- nisti si associa, infatti, a due differenti strategie di comportamento. Vagao mente, si mostra servile e adulatore nei confronti di Oloferne e, se neces- sario, nei confronti di Judit, sebbene manipoli l'uno per brama di potere e disprezzi l'altra come prigioniera di guerra. Le figure femminili, in particolar modo, sembrano le depositarie privilegiate della misteriosa e imperscrutabile azione divina, proprio grazie alla posizione marginale in cui vorrebbe confinarle lo sguardo maschile.

Rutgers University Opere citate Accetto, Torquato. A cura di Salvatore Nigro. The Invention of the Renaissance Woman. Pennsylvania State UP, Introduzione di Amedeo Quondam, note di Nicola Longo. A cura di Adriano Prosperi. Perspectives on Gender and the Italian Renaissance. A cura di Marylyn Migiel e Juliana Schiesari. Cornell Univesity Press, La Nuova Italia, European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages.

Esemplari di tipologie femminili dalla letteratura europea. A cura di Vanna Gentili. Storia e Letteratura, A cura di Andrea GarefiPi. I La scena del testo. A cura di Carlo Ossola. Centro studi sul teatro medioevale e rinascimentale, Retorica e drammaturgia secentesche. The Essays of Joan Kelly. Chicago University Press, Women of the Renaissance. A cura di Enrico Cernili et al. Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Eemme Fatale of the Baroque Stage" pp.

Women in Italian Culture. A cura di Ada Testaferri. Semantica tragica di Federico Della Valle. Dal detto alla figura. Le tragedie di Federico Della Valle. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, Pitture di sperati diletti" pp. Tragedie, commedie, pastorali nella drammaturgia europea fra ' e ' A cura di Silvia Carandini. Despite his acknowledgement of the possible religious symbolism in the poem and his recognition of parallels between this episode and Marino's Dicerie sacre, Giovanni Pozzi reads the scene as a sign of Marino's acknowledgement of the debate between different poetic styles and his defence of his own new style.

Much of the passage's difficulty lies in deciphering the meaning of the nightingale, both as a symbol in Marino's time and as a specific entit ' with- in Marino's poem. Giannantonio, "Natura e arte, This interpretation, while interesting, fails to take into account the musician's regretful attitude toward the dead bird, his blaming him- self for the death, and his burial of the nightingale. Mussio tion of the musician's song, an essentially positive, negative, or neutral and naturai figure?

The musician's grief at its death may be explained without recourse to allegory, but his enigmatic gesture of burying the bird within his lute cannot. The nightingale's large role in both the religious and secular literary traditions also makes it a rather charged figure. In troubadour poetry the nightingale served a variety of functions; it was a marker of the natural as opposed to the human; it also represent- ed springtime, sexuality, and a renewal of life;5 it was a companion to the mournful lover or one that disputed with the lover.

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Marino's reliance on Famiano Strada's Prolusiones academicae for the nightingale scene. Imitating the style of Claudianus, Castiglione recounts a story in which a lute player, toward sunset, finds shade beneath All translations from Marino's texts cited are my own. Coelho offers a translation of 52 of Strada's 58 lines, omitting a translation of the final four lines describing the nightingale's death and lines Coelho, "The Lutenist," Then the nightin- gale of the neighouring wood, called the muse of the place, the harmless "inoxia" siren, hears him and comes near him, and resting on the branch- es just above him, sings back to itself whatever the musician plays.

Strada's version, written in Latin, continues to emphasize the competition between the two — the musician exploring all the potential of sound of his instru- ment and the nightingale replying until its voice cannot match the great- ness expressed by the musician. At this point the nightingale dies. Coehlo and Pozzi have analyzed to a certain extent the differences between Marino's version and his source text. Yet there remains much to be explored in the comparison. Influenced in part by Petrarch's nightingale poems,ii Marino alters radically the situation of the episode, redefining the two cen- tral characters of the scene and the relationship between them.

One of the principal ways in which Marino's version departs from its source text is that it makes explicit that amatory situation of the musician. In contrast, Marino emphasizes the amatory quality of the lute player's music: The musician himself is described as a "solitario amante" VII, The flight of Marino's lover recalls the speaker in Petrarch's sonnet 10 who runs toward nature and away from the "palazzi," "reatri" and "logge" and the temptations to virtue that these locations in the city imply.

The "shade" of night is less shelter from the sun than a flight from the psychological reality of the Marino, L'Adone e Commento, Pozzi cites Petrarch's sonnets 10 and 31 1. For other examples of theme of the lover's flight to woods see Petrarch's , , , , in the Rime sparse. The double covering of the thick forest and the dark sky stresses the lover's entrance into a pristine natural world in which the lover's imagination mingles: Because this world is closed off from the one he flees, the lover hopes to find consolation in it.

His arrival at the forest is a purposeful flight from something, not as in Strada's episode, a fortuitous opportunity to escape the day's heat. By emphasizing the amatory situation of the musician Marino directs our attention to the lute player's emotional state and mutes the theme of competition so important in Strada's version. In Marino's version the nightingale is felt to be more an intrusion upon the solitary lover than a mere competitor for musical supremacy. While Strada and Marino both feature the increasing frustration of the musician at hearing his music repeated, Marino stresses throughout the emotional quality of the lute player's song.

As soon as the musician hears his notes repeated. Strada has him increase the level of difficulty, without any reference to the music's emotional colouring: As in Petrarch's sonnet , where one finds the grieving lover that is accompanied throughout the night by the nightingale, "et tutta notte par che m'accompagne" "and all night it seems to accompany me" , here the "miser rossignuol" VII, Although Marino's lover will soon lose his focus on his love and turn toward defeating the nightin- gale, this space allows Marino to establish a more complex relationship between the lover and the bird.

The redefinition of the singer as lover prepares for Marino's most important manipulation of Strada's text — the deepening of the relationship between the nightingale and the man. While Strada describes the bird coming near to the musician, Marino stresses its wilful descent from high in the trees, and while Strada has it rest on the branches, Marino has the nightingale come to rest on the singer's head.

Neither Strada's verses, nor Petrarch's two "nightingale" poems can be sources for the nightingale's actions in this scene. While in sonnets 10 and the nightingale's lament is a reminder of the speaker's deeper cares and a spur to virtue, these poems depict a rather loose relationship between the lover and the nightingale. Both figures are absorbed in their own sorrows, and there is no indication that the nightingale has any deeper interest in the lover than in using his music as a catalyst for the expression of its own song.

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In contrast, in Marino's version the nightingale is pushed to the centre of the scene — no longer is it merely part of the landscape, as in Petrarch's "nightingale" son- nets. No longer is it a separate, solitary mourner that only casually affects the soul of the lover. No longer can it be merely a reflection of the poet in love. Now it is an active participant in the other's sorrow. It descends, lamenting and repeating to itself the lover's sorrowful words, having inter- rupted its own sweet murmuring in its own language to investigate the intrusion of the lover's words VII, The bird descends to the low- est branches as it listens and repeats the words of the lover, until it rests on the head of the lover VII, Interpreting Nightingales, I have not found such an instance.

Mussio descending and slowly but continually drawing near the lover: The descent of the nightingale to the top the lover's head appears forced and unnatur- al. Pozzi explains it as Marino's evocation of an allegorical icon of Music, which featured a nightingale upon the head of a human figure.

More likely, this physical closeness signals its emotional closeness to the musi- cian, its deep participation in his sorrow, and its ptirity of motivation. It does not seem poised for a normal competition, for it does not take the normal opposing position and attitude of one entering into an agon with another. Its descent to the head of the musician is both a bold and inno- cent gesture. If this is to be a "pugna," as Marino's language at several points seems to demand, then it will be a competition of a different type.

Marino mitigates the competitive aspect of the scene further by stress- ing the nightingale's desire merely to repeat, imitate, and emulate the singer. The nightingale's efforts are evident throughout its interaction with the singer. As it descends to the head of the musician, it repeats his notes: Pozzi notes that other allegorical figures in these cantos, however, have their sources in Poliziano and Claudianus Marino, L'Adone e Commento, Colombo notes how Marino manipulates the images to his own purposes, often transposing features of one of Ripa's icons onto another Colombo, Cultura e tradizione, The accompaniment of the nightingale to the lover found in the lyric tradition is intensified to a degree not found else- where.

The connection between the nightingale's sympathy and its repeti- tion is felt in Marino's phrasing which describes the repetition as occurring even as the nightingale nears the lover: The simultaneous movement toward the lover and the repetition of his words suggests that the imitation is no mere disinterested echo. Indeed, Marino seems to reinvest the sonic repetition with Echo's desire for contact with her beloved. In any case, in this passage the imitation assumes a positive valence that is absent in Strada's version. For Strada, the nightin- gale's imitation is marked by its virtuosity and garrulousness, not by any sympathy with the musician.

As Coehlo points out, Strada's nightingale often seeks to outdo the musician, extending its responses beyond the imi- tation of the musician. Indeed, Marino never gives the bird the ostentation that would border on hubris suggested in Strada's version. Rather, its per- sistence is defined by its nearly servile and tireless — "infaticabile" VII, 46, 7; untiring — repetition of the musician. Mussio "al paragon sovrasti" VII, Marino's use of diminu- tives throughout the scene to describe the nightingale "augellin" VII, In order to dramatize this sympathetic attitude of the nightingale with the man, Marino displaces most descriptions of technical virtuosity in the scene itself from the nightingale onto the singer.

This marks a departure from Strada's version, which describes in detail the nightingale's responses. Strada reports the nightingale's third response to the musician in this way: Now [the nightingale] varies the song in short phrases and clips it with minute mea- sures, and responds with a tremulous mouth. One imagines a brief and controlled variation on the player's theme, not an extended improvisation, as in Strada's scene.

And if the nightingale surpasses the song of the musician, one imagines that it does so in more perfectly singing the musician's lament. Marino places the detailed description of the nightingale's virtuosity in the stanzas preceding the account of the competition, a strategy that pre- serves the purity of the nightingale's attitude toward the singer. In Mercury's preface to the account, Marino rehearses the well-known tech- nical virtuosity of the nightingale, borrowed from Strada and, most likely, Pliny as well.

Marino, L'Adone e Commento, The text in italics is my addition to the Coehlo translation, which does not account for these lines in Strada's Latin text as cited by Pozzi. It has a "gola lusinghiera" VII, This description encourages one to read this nightingale as slightly different from the one in the story, even though there are some textual connections between the two. For instance, Mercury is prompted to recount the story by the nightingales "canto" VII, In the account of the competition Mercury also notes the nightingale's "garrula e faconda" VII, If Mercury's story exemplifies the technical virtuosity of the nightingale's song in general, it more forcefully describes a unique instance in which this virtuosity is linked to humility and purity.

Even the adjectives "garrula" and "lascivetto" do not have a strongly negative quality. The description of the nightingale's sadness and solitariness seems to outweigh the sexual and capricious qualities implied in the scene. Before the lover enters the wood the nightingale is described as alone, attentively awaiting the coming of dawn: This, too, is a detail not in Strada's account. The beech tree was used by Petrarch as a general sign for the purity of the solitary woods and the springtime. The sadness of the bird recalls the mythological element, which is tied closely to the nightingale's radical solitude and separateness.

Its await- ing the day and attending to the sun were part of the lyric repertory, but this detail also stresses the darkness in which the bird is shrouded. In Bembo's lyrics, too, the beech is figure in the ideal landscape, as in sonnet 46 Bembo, Prose e rime. This act is even more notable for its contrast with the birds described in Venus' garden VII, Here, through Mercury, Marino points to the paradoxical state of the birds, that they are essentially solitary, though not alone, as they sing hidden amid the trees.

They are engaged in various dialogues with other birds, yet they remain apart and essentially solitary. This idea is evoked clearly in the account of the mourning dove, which Marino calls "solitaria, non sola" VII, The "tortorella" here, in contrast to the traditional portrait, does not descend from its branch to the ruin of the fallen elm tree as it mourns the loss of its spouse: Orfano tronco in secca piaggia aprica d'olmo tocco dal ciel la tortorella non cerca no, ma sovra verde pianta solitaria, non sola, e vive e canta VII, Rather, like the other birds, it will remain hidden and alone.

Such a portrait of "normal" birds makes the nightingale's descent in Mercury's account remarkable. Indeed, even the nightingale of Venus' garden is hid- den and separate as Adonis listens to it. The purity and humility of the engaging nightingale contrasts with the scornful resistance of the lover to its accompaniment. This exaggerated reaction points to the imbal- ance in the lover.

His flawed relation to the nightingale is part of this larg- er problem, and this is reflected in his intrusion into the space of the for- est. In contrast to the nightingale, which sings its gentle laments "dolcissi- mamente" VII, Thus, the lover "trafitto d'Amor" VII, 42, 8; "pierced by Amor" , as he strikes the air and infects it with his laments, seems out of harmony with the world, sick, and in need of correction. In Part I of the Lira, Marino emphasizes the night's horror of the lover's anguished "stridi: The nightingale brings a sweetness that calms the lover, returns nature to its proper state.

This is seen in the contrast between the effect of the lover singing alone, whose song keeps even "Sonno" VII, Now the song seems to be in harmony with the sleep that is fit for the night time. This participation and correction, with its Orphic over- tones, however, will be short-lived because of the lover's growing resistance. In general Marino follows Strada in noting the singer's resistance to the nightingale's participation in his song. After a series of exchanges, both ver- sions reach a similar turning point in the contest when the musician decides that he will win or break his instrument.

Yet, while both versions conclude by attributing the failure of the nightingale to its smallness and its simplicity and naturalness, Marino's manipulation of the stages of the contest gives greater prominence to the bird's opposition to war and vio- lence. In Strada's version, when the musician produces warlike sounds the nightingale betrays no difficulty in matching this martial quality: Only after the musician raises his technique does he silence the bird.

While there are hints of martial sounds in some words in the lute player's final passage, such as "strepit" 47; "he clamours", my translation , one feels the stress on the musician's increased work: In contrast, in Marino's text when the singer begins to imitate the movements of a "fier conflitto" "fierce conflict" and a "confuso assalto" "confused assault" and the "bellicosi strepiti del'armi" "warlike clanging of arms"; VII, The deleterious effects of war and violence on music in general is indicated shortly later in the canto when Mars is predicted to cause the ruin of both sisters of Poetry and Music VII, The "timpani" recall the bacchanalian rage described in the idyll on Orpheus in La Sampogna, published in Just as Orpheus brings all of nature under his spell except for a violent human element, so here the nightingale gains the sympathy of the world except for the musician's.

Just as the madness of the ecstatic women drowns out Orpheus' verses, the enraged musician overwhelms the nightingale. Indeed, Marino stresses the nightingale's victimization by the musician's violence and rage. In both Strada's and Marino's versions the musician's resistance to the nightingale's counterpoint is negative, but in Marino's episode the resis- tance is more pronounced.

Marino emphasizes the musician's anger by having his last passage, the one after the direct challenge to the nightingale, extend to three and a half stanzas VII, , compared with the several short exchanges with the bird up to that point. Marino notes that now the musician does not stop to wait for the nightingale's response: Rather, he will try to overwhelm the other, severely misreading the intent of the simple and natural creature and revealing an emotional element not found in Strada's passage.

Indeed, it is difficult to accept that the resistance in Marino's text derives simply from the musician's pride in his technique. Marino's careful situating of the scene in a lyric setting helps define the peculiarity of the musician's strong resistance. While the lyric tradition has the lover inviting the nightingale to mourn with him, this lover guards his solitude.

Marino himself offers a more traditional view of the lover- nightingale relationship in a poem from the first part of his Lira, in which he writes of his grief at the death of a nightingale, a companion to his sor- row: And, at a certain point, he no longer defends the singularity of his love, but rather his solitude itself.

Marino, Rime boscherecce, The musician is changed, as if shaken out of a violent rage, and repentant, he blames him- self for the death. Indeed, the concurrence of the return of the day with the death of the bird and the musician's grief emphasizes this return to ratio- nality. No such crisis of conscience is found in Strada's episode. Nor does Strada's musician assume an active role in the mourning or in the burial of the bird within his instrument. In contrast, the death of the nightingale deeply impresses itself upon Marino's lover, but not, as in the poem from the Lira cited above, because he loses a companion to his sorrow.

The musician's sorrow here is less well defined, though there is a strong sense of regret and guilt in him: The musician perceives clear- ly that the death of the nightingale is no longer a purely natural event, but rather the result of its interaction with him. The acts of burying the nightingale within his instrument and becoming a witness to its story are tinged with repentance and conviction about the nightingale's heroism.

This act of writing with the treasured feather of the nightingale is not merely a gratuitous detail, but points out the deep irony of the victory of the musician, that though he promised to give up his instrument if he did not win, he renounces it anyway. The burial of the bird within the instru- ment implies the destruction of the instrument.

His desired solitude has been converted into a need to bear testimony to another. The way in which Marino alters Strada's description of the nightin- gale's death itself ennobles it. Pliny may be the source of both Strada's and Marino's text, at least in regard to the death of the nightingale. Pliny writes that nightingales often competed in singing with each other to the death. As it tires in the long struggle, it is called "povero augel" VII, Its "dilicato spirito" is released from its "lingua," thus imply- ing the nobility of its human-like soul.

Mussio recalls the nightingale's heroic constancy and strength, even as it dies: Its will remains unconquered-only the frailty of its body succumbs. The positive valence of "generoso" stresses the nightin- gale's desire to serve, seen in the earlier part of the passage. What emerges from this close analysis of Marino's redaction of Stradas text is that while Strada is concerned primarily with a competition in musi- cal technique, Marino imbues the story with pathos. In Marino's version the musician is much more than a technician, and the nightingale becomes a heroic figure.

Clearly, the passage bears more than the influence of Strada and Pliny alone. Petrarch's nightingale poems figure here, but Marino's episode seems to transform the nightingale of the lyric tradition into some- thing more noble, perhaps even akin to Petrarch's phoenix. Marino's "nightingale" poems in the first part of his Lira, published in , describe the bird in the traditional way: Still, some of the lan- guage in these lyrics anticipates the passage in L'Adone. In sonnet 4, the nightingale is said to call back the dawn as in VII, 42, ; in the same poem Marino refers to its "infaticabil canto" "tireless singing" , which cor- responds to "infaticabile mostro" VII, The themes of competition in song, imitation, and death are also found in these early poems relating to the nightingale.

I suggest that Marino's nightingale here is strongly coloured by the "I have argued elsewhere that while the phoenix generally symbolizes Laura, in Petrarch's canzone it must signify something greater than Laura, Christ; see Mussio, "The Phoenix Narrative". Okubo cites a religious poem of the thirteenth century that conflates the nightingale with the phoenix "Le rossignol," In sonnet 3 the song of the nightingale is imitated by Eco herself The smallness of the bird is evoked in "picciola piuma" in sonnet 4.

The idea of danger and the threat of death are pre- sent in both sonnets 2 and 5. In the former the nightingale chastises from with- in the forest the hunter's "inganni. Indeed, his new nightingale recalls his treatment of Christ as "musico" in the second part of the Dicerie sacre. The cantos of the "delizie" clearly return to the material that Marino had treated in the Dicerie sacre published in