La Pazzia di Orlando - Ludovico Ariosto

Guerra Edizioni, Letture Graduate per Stranieri, Italian Graded Readers

La pazzia di Orlando è uno degli episodi principali del celebre poema cavalleresco di Ludovico Ariosto. Si narrano le gesta del paladino Orlando che, a causa dell'amore per la bella Angelica, perde la ragione. Rivedendo, infatti, la sua amata in terra di Spagna, accecato dalla brama di possederla, la scambia per la puledra su cui la donna cavalcava. L'eroe rinsavisce solo dopo che Astolfo, in sella all'Ippogrifo, recupera il senno di Orlando.

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The action takes place against the background of the war between Charlemagne's Christian paladins and the Saracen army that has invaded Europe and is attempting to overthrow the Christian empire. The poem is about war and love and the romantic ideal of chivalry. It mixes realism and fantasy, humor and tragedy. The stage is the entire world, plus a trip to the moon. The large cast of characters features Christians and Saracens, soldiers and sorcerers, and fantastic creatures including a gigantic sea monster called the orc and a flying horse called the hippogriff. Many themes are interwoven in its complicated episodic structure, but the most important are the paladin Orlando's unrequited love for the pagan princess Angelica, which drives him mad; the love between the female Christian warrior Bradamante and the Saracen Ruggiero, who are supposed to be the ancestors of Ariosto's patrons, the d'Este family of Ferrara; and the war between Christian and Infidel.