
John William Waterhouse, “Tristan and Isolde Sharing the Potion,” 1916
4,526 words
From D’Annunzio’s novel Il trionfo della morte (The Triumph of Death
, 1894)
Translated by V. M. Crawford
Giorgio Aurispa had not forgotten a single episode of his first religious pilgrimage towards the Ideal Theatre; he could recall every instant of his extraordinary emotion in that hour when he had first seen on the fair hillside, at the further extremity of a long leafy avenue, the building dedicated to the supreme festival of Art; he could reconstruct the amphitheater in its solemn vastness, girdled by columns and arches, the mystery of the Mystical Gulf. (more…)