Carnival in Venice has always exhibited a uniquely European panache that has been canonized in the literary tradition innumerable times; most notably by writers such as Byron, Dumas, and Poe. In his short story, The Cask of Amontillado, Poe uses the extravagance of the festival as the backdrop to a revenge killing. In the poem below, Byron reminisces about his illustrious misadventures into the Venetian brothel scene. And it is where Dumas’ hero, Edmond Dontes, in The Count of Monte Cristo first meets his son, Viscount Albert de Morcerf.
O, we'll go no more a-roving
So late into the night,
Though the heart be still as loving,
And the moon be still as bright.
For the sword outwears its sheath,
And the soul wears out the breast,
And the heart must pause to breathe,
And love itself have a rest.
Though the night was made for loving,
And the day returns too soon,
Yet we'll go no more a-roving
By the light of the moon.
So late into the night,
Though the heart be still as loving,
And the moon be still as bright.
For the sword outwears its sheath,
And the soul wears out the breast,
And the heart must pause to breathe,
And love itself have a rest.
Though the night was made for loving,
And the day returns too soon,
Yet we'll go no more a-roving
By the light of the moon.
~ Lord Byron
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