72 pages 2 hours read

Ludovico Ariosto

Orlando Furioso

Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | Adult | Published in 1532

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Cantos 11-20Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Canto 11 Summary

The narrator includes an introduction about the power of lust. For instance, now Ruggiero has forgotten Bradamant due to Angelica’s nakedness.

As Ruggiero takes off his armor, Angelica notices that the magic ring he gave her actually used to be hers. She recalls that Brunello stole the ring for Agramant. Angelica puts the ring in her mouth and disappears. As Ruggiero gropes the air, she walks off, disguises herself in rustic clothes, and considers going back east. Ruggiero eventually gives up looking for her, and finds that the hippogryph escaped. In the forest, he sees a knight fighting a giant. Realizing that the knight is Bradamant, Ruggiero steps in to help. However, the giant picks up Bradamant and runs off with her. Ruggiero can’t keep up and loses them.

The narrator returns to Orlando, who has just thrown Cimosco’s gun in water. Before carrying on with the story, the narrator rants about guns—condemning their creation and use. On island of Ebuda, Orlando sees a naked woman tied to a tree-trunk on the sea. When a monster appears, Orlando puts his boat and the ship’s anchor into the monster’s mouth to keep it from closing.