lion's wings

The original draft read lion's mane, and wings was suggested by Pound. The winged lion is the symbol of St. Mark and hence of Venice, of whom St. Mark was the patron saint. 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).

reference topics

Venice indirectly
Venice misrepresented
Romance vs Realism
structural analysis
St. Mark & Lion, Venice 1988
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