My Ariosto Project

The More I learn, the Less I Know

My Ariosto Project

The masterpiece of Ludovico Ariosto (1474-1533) and one of the glories of Italian renaissance poetry is the Orlando Furioso, published in three editions between 1516 and 1532. Its over 35,000 lines, dozens of characters, and intricate plotting may make reading it a daunting journey for some. Fortunately, there are now two excellent verse translations, one by R. S. Kline available for free download from www.poetryintranslation.com. But for those who wish to get an idea of the breadth and intricacy of the poem without (or in preparation for) reading the whole thing in the original or in translation, I have prepared a crutch that might be useful.

The results of two years or more spent with the Furioso, I have published in digital and paper format a detailed synopsis, actually a stanza-by-stanza summary/paraphrase that attempts to convey more of the flavor of the original than a usual plot summary without pretending to be a full translation. The book includes a comprehensive list of names of persons active or mentioned in the Furioso with brief identifications and the canto and stanza where they first appear. Omitted are mythological figures and names of actual persons mentioned in the various disquisitions on future events. Reading Orlando Furioso is over 500 pages in printed form and you can buy it from Amazon.

Not included in the book is a poster-size chart, which you can view on your computer screen by following the links below.

As an accompaniment to the text or as an aid to study, I have compiled a chronology or set of timelines of the principal characters. These I have attempted to synchronize in the form of an enormous Excel spreadsheet, which you can download here. Incidents in each timeline are briefly identified with canto and stanza numbers and placed in order in parallel columns. With some practice navigating around the document, you can quickly find where in the poem events occur and how they may correspond in time to other events. Of course, this is all conjectural, but I find it useful. The introductory essay explains in more detail how the material is presented, what some of the issues are, and how I have tried to resolve them.

Use this link to view or download the brief Introduction to the Chronological Summary/Index:

Use this link to open the spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel:
Furioso Chronology LV.xlsx

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