The Cloven Viscount

The Cloven Viscount

"The Cloven Viscount" (Italian: "Il visconte dimezzato") is a fantasy novel written by Italo Calvino. It was first published by Einaudi (Turin) in 1952 and in English in 1962 by William Collins Sons & Company (New York), with a translation by Archibald Colquhoun.

Plot summary

The Viscount Medardo of Terralba, and his squire Kurt, ride across the plague-ravaged plain of Bohemia en route to join the Christian army in the Turkish wars of the seventeenth century. On the first day of fighting, a Turkish scimitar unhorses the inexperienced Viscount. Fearless, he scrambles over the battlefield with sword bared, and is sundered in two by a cannonball hitting him square in the chest. But field doctors - aided by Medardo's "strong Terralba constitution" - manage a stitching miracle and the following day, the Viscount is “alive and cloven.” [Calvino, Italo, 'The Cloven Viscount' in "Our Ancestors" (London: Vintage, 1998), p. 10.] With one eye and a dilated single nostril, he returns to Terralba, twisting the half mouth of his half face into a scissors-like half smile.

Characters

* Medardo, the Viscount of Terralba
* The narrator, Medardo’s young nephew
* Dr. Trelawney, the English court physician
* Pamela, the shepherdess
* Sebastiana, faithful nurse to the Viscount
* Pietrochiodo, the court carpenter
* Ezekiel, leader of a Huguenot colony
* Esau, Ezekiel’s son
* Ariolfo, the former Viscount of Terralba, Medardo’s father
* Kurt, Medardo’s squire

Notes

References

* Bloom, Harold (ed.). "Bloom's Major Short Story Writers: Italo Calvino." Broomall, Pennsylvania: Chelsea House Publishers, 2002.
* Calvino, Italo. "Our Ancestors": "The Cloven Viscount", "The Baron in the Trees", "The Nonexistent Knight". Trans. Archibald Colquhoun. London: Vintage, 1998.
* Carter III, Albert Howard. "Italo Calvino: Metamorphoses of Fantasy." Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Research Press, 1987.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Baron in the Trees — (Italian: ll Barone Rampante ) is a novel written by Italo Calvino. Calvino writes that, “Finding the right distance to be present and at the same time detached: that was the problem of The Baron in the Trees (Italo Calvino, Hermit in Paris ,… …   Wikipedia

  • The Nonexistent Knight — (Italian: Il cavaliere inesistente ) is an allegorical fantasy novel by Italo Calvino, first published in Italian 1959 and in English translation in 1962. The novel tells the story of Agilulf, a medieval knight who perfectly exemplifies chivalry …   Wikipedia

  • Lords of the Nine Hells — The Lords of the Nine Hells are fictional characters in the Dungeons Dragons roleplaying game. The lords outlined in this article are the highest ranking devils in the Nine Hells of Baator. They include the Dark Eight the eight generals of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Calvino, Italo — born Oct. 15, 1923, Santiago de las Vegas, Cuba died Sept. 19, 1985, Siena, Italy Cuban born Italian writer. After early works inspired by his involvement with the Italian Resistance in World War II, he turned decisively to fantasy and allegory… …   Universalium

  • Italo Calvino — Infobox Writer name = Italo Calvino caption = Italo Calvino, on the cover of Lezioni americane: Sei proposte per il prossimo millennio birthdate = birth date|1923|10|15|mf=y birthplace = Santiago de Las Vegas, Cuba deathdate = death date and… …   Wikipedia

  • Our Ancestors — (Italian: I Nostri Antenati) is the name of Italo Calvino s heraldic trilogy that comprises The Cloven Viscount (1952), The Baron in the Trees (1957), and The Nonexistent Knight (1959) …   Wikipedia

  • Treasure Island — For other uses, see Treasure Island (disambiguation). Treasure Island   …   Wikipedia

  • List of fantasy novels — This page lists a broad variety of fantasy novels (and novel series) some old, some new; some famous, some obscure; some well written, some ill written and so may be considered a representative slice of the field. The books appear in alphabetical …   Wikipedia

  • Italian literature — Introduction       the body of written works produced in the Italian language that had its beginnings in the 13th century. Until that time nearly all literary work composed in the Middle Ages was written in Latin. Moreover, it was predominantly… …   Universalium

  • Cosmicomics —   …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”