ITALIAN R5B Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Roman Art, Close Reading, Gothic Fiction
21 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
#1 1/19 Friday
Assigned reading: The Assignation, Edgar Allan Poe
● The Stranger is very loosely based on the Poet Lord Byron (a British romantic poet who
lived in Italy and notorious for having love affairs with young women who were married to
older men).
● Dense references to classical themes produces confusion
● This is an early tale by Poe, and very different from his other works
Plot
The narrator is in a Gondola, going down a canal, hears a scream, sees the Marchesa
Aphrodite standing, looking beautiful and servants looking for her child who fell in the water. The
servants begin to give up, but a cloaked man dived into the canal and re-emerged with the child.
He hands the child to a servant, and the Marchesa tells him to meet her an hour after dawn. The
Stranger seems to be looking for a Gondola, so the narrator offered his and dropped him off at
the Stranger’s apartment. The Stranger tells the narrator to meet him early the next morning at
his apartment. The narrator arrives in the morning, astonished by the luxury of the Stranger’s
apartment and they talk about art. The Stranger shows the narrator a painting of the Marchesa
Aphrodite. The stranger is talkative, and suggest they drink wine. The stranger falls asleep on
the couch, and at an hour past dawn, a servant of the Marchesa bursts through the door and
says the Marchesa has been poisoned. The narrator tries to wake the Stranger, but found him
also poisoned.
Confusion/Ambiguity
How the reader is confused
Confusing points:
● Lack of names
● The child falling in the water
● References to art
● How long were the Marchesa and the Stranger lovers
● Why an hour after sunrise?
How does the tale thematize confusion (of the narrator/language)?
● Limit of knowledge, characters have faith to have a rational understanding, that faith is
met with challenge after challenge.
● This tale was first published in The Tales of the Grotesque and the Arabesques.
Grotesques are a type of Roman art that includes florals, skulls, and monsters within a
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
The stranger is very loosely based on the poet lord byron (a british romantic poet who lived in italy and notorious for having love affairs with young women who were married to older men). Dense references to classical themes produces confusion. This is an early tale by poe, and very different from his other works. The narrator is in a gondola, going down a canal, hears a scream, sees the marchesa. Aphrodite standing, looking beautiful and servants looking for her child who fell in the water. The servants begin to give up, but a cloaked man dived into the canal and re-emerged with the child. He hands the child to a servant, and the marchesa tells him to meet her an hour after dawn. Stranger seems to be looking for a gondola, so the narrator offered his and dropped him off at the stranger"s apartment. The stranger tells the narrator to meet him early the next morning at his apartment.
