Manuscript No. I explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Love and Desire

  The chapter explores the power of love through the mariners' tales and Leonardo's lament, showing love's ability to both ennoble and enslave.

• Fate and Divine Providence

  The text debates the role of fortune and destiny, questioning whether human affairs are governed by chance or divine will, and ultimately affirming a providential order.

• Imperialism and Conquest

  Bacchus's plot against the Portuguese reflects the resistance to their imperial expansion, while the historical references to battles and conquests highlight the theme of empire-building.

• The Power of Poetry

  The chapter includes a passage on how poetry elevates even those of base birth, as seen in the reference to Homer and Orpheus, and the narrator's own ambition to tell of love's power.

Characters to notice

• Bacchus

  Descends to Earth in disguise to sow discord against the Portuguese, appearing as a Moor to the Shaykh.

• Venus

  Mentioned as the one who presents the 'guerdon' (reward) after the storm, calming the seas.

• Fernam Velloso

  Encourages the telling of love tales during the watch, showing his interest in love and storytelling.

• The Captain

  Implied as the leader of the Portuguese fleet, facing the storm and later receiving Venus's favor.

• Neptune

  Referenced as the Sea-god whose tenement is the ocean's middle site, and whose wrath is invoked.

• Aeolus

  Mentioned in a prayer for protection from the rage of Aeolus and Tethys' wrath.

• Thetis

  Mentioned alongside Aeolus as a force of nature to be feared during the storm.

• Leonardo

  A mariner who tells a tale of love, lamenting his own suffering from Cupid's arrows.

Key passages

• “What boots recounting feats and gestes notorious Of cel'ebrate Capitaynes and grand campaigns... Let it be mine (if worlds will hear) to tell How by a pair of eyes' mere force I fell.”

  Why recount the famous deeds of great captains and wars? Let me instead tell how I was conquered by the mere power of a pair of eyes.

  This passage emphasizes the theme of love's power over martial glory.

• “Fortune, who vaunteth o'er the world her might Already drave me far from Fatherland... Yes, free I lived; yet nought astounds my sprite Save that my freedom I could not command, But changed for prison, since mine every thought, Would I or nould I, boon of Love besought.”

  Fortune, which boasts of its power over the world, drove me far from my homeland. I lived free, but I could not command my own freedom, for my thoughts were imprisoned by love, whether I wanted it or not.

  Leonardo's tale illustrates the theme of love as a force that overcomes even fortune and freedom.

• “Such dreadful storm the Portingalls tormented, All were assurèd life was surely lost; Sudden it passèd and to them presented Venus the guerdon which they yearned for most.”

  The Portuguese were tormented by such a dreadful storm that they were sure they would die; but it suddenly passed, and Venus presented them with the reward they most desired.

  This passage shows the divine intervention of Venus in calming the storm, reflecting the theme of fate and divine providence.

• “Homer and Orpheus, eke, of birth were base, The pair by Po'etry raised to such degree; And they, the Sires of that Imperial race, Who founded Troy and Rome for Italy.”

  Homer and Orpheus were of low birth, but poetry raised them to such a high degree; they were the fathers of the imperial race that founded Troy and Rome.

  This passage highlights the power of poetry to elevate individuals and shape history.