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tiful forms which inspire end sustain his efforts in a work which is singularly representative of the spirit of the Renaissance, reaincarnated in a priceless epoch of knight errants who live a life of fantastically imaginative adventure. The whole is provided with a constant supply, of Ariosto's fine theatrical scenery, for in " Orlando ", words create pictures.
With this technique and this art of a truly paradoxical genius, Ariosto, showing consummate ability as a producer and man of the theatre and as an imaginative painter, gives himself over to fantasy, working in dazzling colours on a backing of canvas, legends and traditions which have come down to him, interspersed with scenic actions treated apart, without any worry about deepening his knowledge of the romances of chivalry and the Round Table with a deal of pedantry.
Two painters can try and paint the same apple : it is the personal vision of the artist that matters, not the object represented. It is for that reason that Ariosto, although he treats matter that is far from new, deriving from Boiardo, obtains characteristically novel effects and that on account of his cinematic mentality. We know what that means !
•In this connection we must remember, amongst the happiest natural talents of Ariosto, his consuming passion for the theatre, his undeniable talent in his laborious re-writing and his classical comedies and above all his ability as director of production, particularly noticeable when he was superintendant of the court theatre, a charge given him by Duke Alfonso 1 st after he had quarreled with Cardinal Hyppohte d'Este in refusing to accompany the latter to Hungary.
The fact that he directed, some even say constructed, a permanent theatre in the Ducal Palace, confirms us in the idea gleaned from the perusal of the poem, that Ariosto was a naturally and marvellously gifted man of the theatre, of the modern theatre, full of action and colour.
For that matter the originality of the Hendecasyllabics, accented on the antipenultimate syllable, the metre used by Ariosto in his comedies, the happy portrayal of characters sometimes brought to life by a trait of vibrant humanity, the liveliness of the dialogue, the clever arrangement of the scenes, his decided taste for dramatic discoveries and the most startling situations generally, his qualities of an accomplished actor, all these indicate a certain basic mastery of the theatre and its effects.
The whole drama of Orlando reveals in a higher plane his qualities of theatrical technician and producer : he is the marvellous and magic creator of hallucinations and dreams, a daringly fantastic cineist.