"me just met you / this is crazy / but you got cookie / so share it maybe"

[larryhammer]

It occurs to me that if you claim to be writing about events that no one has attempted to set down in neither prose nor poetry, you cannot also claim that it's all absolutely true because everything's taken from Turpin's contemporary account (with occasional additions gleaned from later historians).

This is not Ariosto's only rhetorical foul, nor even the worst* -- it warrants a free kick, perhaps, but not a yellow card. But it stands out, given the first claim is right up there in the second stanza of Orlando Furioso. It's like a bad tackle on the first pass of the game.


* I'm more than a little pissed about what Ricardetto did to Fiordespina -- that Ianthe wanted Iphis herorhimself, not Iphis's identical twin brother substituted in like instant coffee.

---L.

Comments

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

From my memory of Orlando Furioso, I'd venture that there may be a few more whoppers hidden away in there.

[larryhammer]

Indubidably. He's shell-gaming the narrative like mad, all in the interests of being entertaining about how the ideals of chivalry are just ridiculous when taken to logical conclusions.

---L.

[gillpolack.livejournal.com]

But you can! Turpin was dead when he wrote his account, you see.... At least, this is my theory. I apply it to the Pseudo-TUrpin chronicle all the time. The reason it doesn't work for Ariosto, of course, is because he's Arthurianising everything and so Turpin doesn't die at Roncesvalles and so nothing works. This means to me that he's simply indicating that he's inventing everything and we will be kind enough to believe it, please, but if we need reasons, here are some nice standard ones.

[larryhammer]

So this is his nudge-nudge-wink?

---L.