R clipped

Burbank perceives Venice, symbolised by the winged lion of St. Mark, with clipped wings, a flea'd rump, and pared claws. The idea is that Venice has been dressed up and domesticised, as for a cat-show, an image Eliot may have gotten from Théophile Gautier (Italia). Burbank here wonders who has curtailed Venice's strength and ambition.

reference topics

Venice indirectly
Venice misrepresented
Romance vs Realism
the first draft
structural analysis
clipped St. Mark & Winged Lion  
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