Guido Colonna, the commander of Pisa's tired and depleted garrison, has just received the demands of the Florentine army surrounding the city: hand over his wife, Lady Giovanna, for one night. If Guido refuses, they will kill him, Monna Vanna, and Pisa's thirty-thousand citizens at dawn.
WHY I LOVE IT
This 3-act, 100-page play surges forward at a terrific pace, continuously ratcheting up the tension between Guido, Monna Vanna, and Prinzivalle, the Florentine army's commander; his initial demand — and the major characters' choices to accept or reject it — become complicated as we learn the circumstances behind the demand, of the marriage of Vanna and Guido, and of the war itself.
I don't want to give anything more away in terms of plot, but I loved Maeterlinck's ability to transform a traditional love triangle into a web of interconnected motives, ambitions, and choices — all resolved via a satisfying climax. {JG}
I don't want to give anything more away in terms of plot, but I loved Maeterlinck's ability to transform a traditional love triangle into a web of interconnected motives, ambitions, and choices — all resolved via a satisfying climax. {JG}
FAVORITE QUOTES
{ * } "I come as you have willed." — Monna Vanna, Act II
{ * } "I am but a poor wretch whose eyes rest for one moment on the goal of his whole life."
— Prinzivalle, Act II
{ * } "It is all over now—all shall be forgotten in our splendid vengeance...'Twas but an evil dream."
— Guido, Act III
{ * } "I am but a poor wretch whose eyes rest for one moment on the goal of his whole life."
— Prinzivalle, Act II
{ * } "It is all over now—all shall be forgotten in our splendid vengeance...'Twas but an evil dream."
— Guido, Act III
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I haven't read any other works by the Belgian poet and playwright Maurice Maeterlinck, but some of his best-known works include The Life of the Bee, a fable-essay that explores the society of bees and its grand achievements in architecture and self-sacrifice. Another play I've seen recommended is The Blue Bird, a fairy-tale-like play involving two poor and unloved children trying to understand the luxury and happiness around them in the city. Will be sure to report back in the coming weeks.
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{ * } The Winslow Boy by Terence Rattigan
{ * } L'Aiglon by Edmond Rostand
{ * } Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
{ * } Chantecler by Edmond Rostand
{ * } The Winslow Boy by Terence Rattigan
{ * } L'Aiglon by Edmond Rostand
{ * } Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
{ * } Chantecler by Edmond Rostand