From the two talks we had with the audience (after Petőfi Irodalmi Múzeum and Shiraz Perzsa Étterem performances) and the notes and messages that many members of the audience sent us, we have selected these comments that we show anonymously and that we honestly think provide an overview of the general reaction that the play provoked. This contact with the audience has been very helpful and we'd like to take this opportunity to thank all who participated by generously sharing their opinions. We plan and hope that these meetings became a habit in the frame of our work, because we give a great importance to the audience feedback, which is for whom we work. Each and every one of your contributions help us to go ahead and feed the approach of what we do, especially in this case that we consider a work in progress. Much of what has been said will be useful to outline clearly the show both in its new version in Spanish and in its upcoming performance in Hungarian.

Well, it was certainly very... philosophical. Contemporary. Provocative and at the same time funny. It makes you think. Somehow it's also a mirror of society.

Congratulations on your yesterday performance! It was great, I liked it very much! Such a crazy character yours! I hope to see more of your theater in the future.

The time and effort you've put into this show are undoubtedly admirable. Go ahead with your work!

Congratulations to all for the success of yesterday, the theatre was crowded! Your interpretation, Carlos, was impressive. Such a great artist you are! Please tell us about the next opportunities, I will not miss one.

After the show I couldn't wait to talk with you... As it wasn't possible, obviously we went for a drink to your health.

It looks like everything went smoothly. Congratulations! You don't know how happy I am! Take a short walk in the Spanish stages, so that we could see you.

Congratulations on your show! The choice of subject was surprising, the execution was perfect, the character was enormeous. The experience is unforgettable!

You did a great job, we really enjoyed it!

Great! Although I would not commit a murder to give material to the philosophers.

The text and the character were so demanding... I could hardly pay atention to anything else!

I've never seen a play like that... The subject is disturbing and is treated in a very original way. I hope to see you soon in Hungary in one of the theaters in Budapest.

Such a provocative character! It made me think a lot after the show.

I loved the atmosphere that you have achieved with so few elements. Perhaps the audience members sitting on the table, with their daily clothes, broke a little this atmosphere. But the venue, the music, how you display the subtitles and... Well, that character so unpleasant and so provocative, everything was very successful and well done. And your acting was fantastic!

This in Spain would be a hit!

You have managed to totally make me forget about reality and enter absolutely into your world.

Despite the grotesque style and ghostly world you have created everything was perfectly credible. For sure there are people like that somewhere. It's scary!

Listen, the adaptation was really great. I read the novel and while I was there It came all this world at once. It was a very different feeling from the one you have as a reader. I think it's great to bring things like that to the theatre.

I think you've been very daring to relate art with murder. Fine arts only? What about the other?

The text is superb. Such an effort to memorize it!

It's the ideal type of play for these days. I wish you good luck with your work.

I love the dumb character, the waiter, and how you have include him into the story. The relationship between the two characters is sinister... very funny!

It is unclear whether this play is a comedy or a tragedy. People next to me did not know whether to laugh or... It seemed like they were afraid to make fun of such a serious issue.

The character was disgusting, but more surprising is that at certain times and in the end, I felt pity on him. You succeed in bringing humanity to someone so repulsive, cynical and defending those ideas about the murder. It's amazing!

You got us all into your world. We really enjoy being members of that macabre Association... For a while we ceased to be audience and we felt a little like actors. I was waiting for the dessert. Congratulations!

The task now is to educate the audience to enjoy such plays.

We find interesting material and your idea to continue working on this is very motivating. Good luck!

This is the kind of humor I like. Ironic and intelligent. Black humor. It's very Hungarian!

This work must be seen without subtitles and phocus the most on the text and interpretation.

Brutal!

Well, I thought it was terrible ... I do not think that the issue of murder is funny...

But where do you inspired to do this work?! I think it's necessary to have more pieces like this in our theatres.

Your character was sinister, repulsive, pedantic, funny, tender, grotesque, charismatic... That contradictory and yet was logical! We did spend a great time and felt many different things.

To us who were sitting with you at the table, we found an amazing experience. We had never seen a play from so close. We were totally submerged. Let us know when you do it again!

After the play one is left stunned. We took home a lot of feelings and a lot to think about.

Who said that the theater that makes you think is boring? If anyone doubt it I'll recommend him to see your work.

Due to many colleagues and friends who could not come to the performances of the play we did in the end of January have encouraged us to show it once more, we finally will. With the support of our colleagues from Spanyol Portal. It is likely the last chance to see it in Spanish here in Budapest. It will be a special performance in a small restaurant in the city center, where you have the possibility, in addition to seeing the play, if you feel like, to enjoy a tasty dinner of Persian cuisine and chat with members of the company after the show with a drink to share your impressions. We hope you are interested in the proposal and ... because it is a small place get your tickets as soon as possible!

Muchos de los compañeros y amigos que no pudieron asistir a las funciones que hicimos de la obra a finales de enero nos han animado a presentarla una vez más. Con el apoyo de nuestros colegas de Spanyol Portál. Es muy probable que esta sea la última posibilidad de verla en español aquí en Budapest. Será una función especial, en un pequeño restaurante en el centro de la ciudad, donde tendréis la posibilidad, además de ver la obra, si os apetece, de disfrutar de una sabrosa cena de gastronomía persa y charlar con los miembros de la compañía con una copa para compartir vuestras impresiones. Esperamos que os interese la propuesta y… ya que es un lugar pequeño ¡Conseguid vuestra entrada cuanto antes!

Januári bemutatónkra sok barátunk és ismerősünk nem jutott el, ezért most az ő kifejezett kérésükre lépünk fel a Spanyol Portál dolgozóinak közreműködésével. Valószínűleg ez lesz az utolsó alkalom, hogy  spanyol nyelven adjuk elő a darabot itt, Budapesten. Ezúttal egy igazán különleges előadásról van szó, amire a belváros egyik éttermében kerül sor, ahol lehetőségetek nyílik, az előadás megtekintése mellett, egy ízletes perzsa vacsora elfogyasztására, valamint a társulat tagjaival való beszélgetésre is. Reméljük kellőképpen felkeltettük figyelmeteket, és hogy minél hamarabb beszerzitek a belépőjegyeket, mivel azok száma korlátozott!

Detailed information

¿Cómo negarlo? En este mundo todo tiene dos lados. El asesinato, por ejemplo, puede tomarse por su lado moral y, lo confieso, ése es su lado malo, o bien cabe tratarlo estéticamente, o sea en relación con el buen gusto. (…) La finalidad última del asesinato considerado como una de las bellas artes es, precisamente, la misma que Aristóteles asigna a la tragedia, o sea «purificar el corazón mediante la compasión y el terror».

Thomas de Quincey, Del asesinato considerado como una de las Bellas Artes (1827)

MISERO PROSPERO Project

Presenta

Del asesinato considerado como una de las Bellas Artes

Carlos Rodero

A partir del texto de Thomas de Quincey

Intérpretes: Carlos Rodero y Pipó László

Iluminación, Vestuario y Caracterización: Carmen Gonzalo

Música: Macbeth de Giuseppe Verdi

Cartel y Diseño Gráfico: Strategias Design & Edition

Ilustración: La muerte de Marat (1793) de Jacques-Louis David

Asistente de Dirección y Subtítulos: Magos Eszter

Dirección: Carlos Rodero y Bakucz Dóra

Con el apoyo de la Embajada de España en Budapest

Petőfi Irodalmi Múzeum

1053 Budapest, Károlyi Mihály utca 16.

plano

Viernes y Sábado 27 y 28 de enero de 2012

A las 20,00 de la tarde

Duración: 60 minutos

Espectáculo en Español con subtítulos en Húngaro

Entrada: 1200 HUF

Aforo limitado

Información

Tel: (36-1) 317-3611, (36-1) 317-3450

Fax: (36-1) 317-1722

muzeuminf@pim.hu

www.pim.hu

Algunas palabras sobre el proyecto

Por primera vez, desde la creación de MISERO PROSPERO Project, presentamos un texto teatral en lengua castellana en Budapest. A primera vista puede parecer una excentricidad y, tal vez lo sea. Pero sabemos que, a parte de una sólida comunidad de hispanos, existe en Hungría un gran interés por lo español y muchos húngaros estudian y hablan castellano, llegando algunos de ellos incluso a dominarlo de forma ejemplar. Serán, claro, dos funciones minoritarias para un público reducido que, sin embargo, no tiene muchas oportunidades de escuchar un texto en castellano. Contamos con la ayuda de los subtítulos, aunque esta haya sido una decisión difícil de tomar dadas las circunstancias de la puesta en escena. Pero estamos convencidos de que esto animará a muchos a compartir esta experiencia con nosotros.

Nos planteamos este proyecto, para qué negarlo, como un pequeño experimento. Quizá esta presentación sea una semilla, un caldo de cultivo para seguir adelante y mostrar nuestro trabajo en países de habla hispana o también, por qué no, para presentarlo aquí de nuevo en una versión en húngaro. Es un ejercicio dramatúrgico, de interpretación y puesta en escena abierto a múltiples revisiones en el futuro próximo. 

MISERO PROSPERO Project está en un momento de cambio. Con este proyecto volvemos al teatro de texto. Pero esto no significa que la labor que hemos venido realizando hasta ahora quede al margen. Nos proponemos seguir trabajando variadas propuestas, como iremos demostrando poco a poco.

Falso elogio del Asesinato

Del Asesinato considerado como una de las Bellas Artes es un texto que habla de la indignante hipocresía de algunos a la hora de tratar con la violencia. Especialmente de aquellos que esconden su ambigüedad e irresolución en artificiosos argumentos intelectuales. Este tema está tratado con un espléndido sentido del humor y la ironía. En nuestra trayectoria hemos demostrado más de una vez que la risa es un arma poderosa en el teatro. Y ahora, una vez más, queremos hace reír. Y que la risa sea el catalizador de la reflexión. El discurso del Vicepresidente de la Fundación de Expertos Conocedores del Asesinato, un personaje con tintes grotescos y sutil dimensión dickensiana, que se dirige a los miembros de la Fundación al terminar la tradicional cena anual en la sede de dicha institución, es un excitante e inteligente despropósito que irá poniendo en tela de juicio todos aquellos principios que parece defender.  

La dramaturgia y el texto: un trabajo de síntesis

El texto original, la breve narración de Thomas de Quincey, es tan rico en su contenido y está tan plagado de propuestas para su puesta en escena que se imponía, obviamente, un forzoso y descorazonador trabajo de síntesis para convertirlo en un espectáculo teatral de una hora de duración. Es un texto, además, claramente discursivo, que muestra la erudición y pedantería del personaje. Por lo tanto, la dramaturgia debía preocuparse de enmarcarlo en la acción teatral. Esto lo hemos hecho a través de la evolución del personaje en escena y de una escritura paralela que potencia dicha acción con la ayuda de un personaje mudo, el camarero que atiende a los comensales. En consecuencia, a pesar de que, sí, sólo habla el personaje principal, no podemos calificarlo de monólogo. Otro de nuestros intentos ha sido acercar este texto al mundo contemporáneo. Su vigencia sigue siendo más aterradora que nunca.

La puesta en escena: si las paredes de un museo hablaran

Presentamos este espectáculo en un espacio no convencional: una de las salas del Museo de Literatura Petőfi. El público formará parte del mundo del personaje, creando un vínculo de proximidad con él. Por eso no nos convenía la clásica distancia que se crea entre el público y los actores en un teatro al uso. Una puesta en escena sobria, como ya es costumbre en nuestros montajes, una caracterización esmerada de los actores y un texto que, al mismo tiempo que parodia comportamientos totalitarios, ofrece asimismo claves para la reflexión y el debate a partir de un juego escénico creado para el disfrute y placer del espectador inquieto e inteligente.

Queremos terminar estas líneas expresando nuestro sincero agradecimiento a todos aquellos que se han aventurado con nosotros en la fabricación de este juguete de forma absolutamente desinteresada. Y agradecer también, como no, toda la ayuda prestada por el equipo del museo y de la Embajada de España en Budapest que nos ha dado la oportunidad de presentar esta propuesta.

But what then? Everything in this world has two handles. Murder, for instance, may be laid hold of by its moral handle, and that, I confess, is its weak side; or it may also be treated aesthetically, that is, in relation to good taste. (…) For the final purpose of murder, considered as a fine art, is precisely the same as that of tragedy in Aristotle's account of it; viz "to cleanse the heart by means of pity and terror."

Thomas de Quincey, Murder considered as one of the Fine Arts (1827)

MISERO PROSPERO Project

Presents

Murder considered as one of the Fine Arts 

Carlos Rodero

Based on the text by Thomas de Quincey

Performers: Carlos Rodero and László Pipó

Lighting, Costumes and Characterization: Carmen Gonzalo

Music: Giuseppe Verdi's Macbeth

Poster and Graphic Design: Strategies Design & Edition

Illustration: The Death of Marat (1793) by Jacques-Louis David

Assistant and Subtitles: Magos Eszter

Direction: Carlos Rodero and Bakucz Dóra

With the support of the Spanish Embassy in Budapest

Petőfi Irodalmi Múzeum

1053 Budapest, Mihály utca Károlyi 16.

map

Friday and Saturday, January 27-28

At 20.00 pm

Length: 60 minutes

Performance in Spanish with Subtitles in Hungarian

Ticket: 1200 HUF

Limited Seating

Information

Tel: (36-1) 317-3611, (36-1) 317-3450

Fax: (36-1) 317-1722

muzeuminf@pim.hu

www.pim.hu

Some words about the project

For the first time since the creation of MISERO PROSPERO Project, we present a play in Spanish here in Budapest. At first sight it may seem eccentric and, perhaps it is. But we know that, besides a solid Hispanic community, in Hungary there is great interest in Spain and many Hungarians study and speak Spanish, even some of them dominate it already in an exemplary manner. They will be, of course, two performances for a small minority that, however, does not have many opportunities to listen a theatrical text in Spanish. We count on the help of subtitles in Hungarian, although this has been a difficult decision given the circumstances of the putting on the stage. But we are sure that this will encourage many people to share this experience with us.

We start out this project, why deny it, as a little experiment. Perhaps this presentation is a seed, a breeding ground to move forward and show our work in Spanish speaking countries and also, why not, present it here again in a Hungarian version. It is a dramaturgical, acting and staging exercise, open to multiple revisions in the near future.

MISERO PROSPERO Project is in a period of changes. With this project we come back to text-based theatre. But this does not mean that we had left out the work we have been doing so far. We intend to continue working on various proposals, as we will show step by step.

A False Praise of Murder

Murder considered as one of the Fine Arts is a text that speaks about the outrageous hypocrisy of some at the time of dealing with violence. Especially those who hide their ambiguity and irresolution in affected intellectual arguments. This subject is treated with a gorgeous sense of humor and irony. In our path we have shown more than once that laugh is a powerful weapon in the theater. And now, once again, we’d like to make them laugh. And that laugh might be the catalyst for reflection. The speech of the Vice-President of the Foundation for Expert Connoisseurs of Murder, a character with grotesque tones and a subtle Dickensian dimension, which is addressed to the members of the Foundation at the end of the traditional annual dinner at the headquarters of the institution, is an exciting and intelligent nonsense that will put into question all those principles which he seem to defend.

The dramaturgic and the text: a work of synthesis

The original text, the brief narration by Thomas de Quincey, is so rich in content and so full of suggestions for staging that it was imposed, obviously, a compulsory and heartbreaking work of synthesis to convert it into a play of one hour length. It was also clearly discursive, showing the erudition and pedantry of the character. Therefore, the dramaturgic should worry about framing it into the theatrical action. We have done this through the evolution of the character on stage and a parallel writing that impulse such action with the help of a mute character, the waiter who serves the guests at the dinner. Consequently, even though, yes, only the main character speaks, we cannot call it a monologue. Another of our efforts has been to bring this text to the contemporary world. Its validity is still more terrifying than ever.

The putting on the stage: If the walls of a museum had ears

We present this show in a non-conventional space: one of the venues of Petofi Museum of Literature. The audience will take part of the world of the character, creating a close bond with him. That’s why the classic distance created between the audience and actors in a traditional theater was not convenient for us. A sober staging as usual in our performances, a careful characterization of the actors and a text that, while parodies totalitarian behavior, also provides clues for reflection and debate from a stage game created for enjoyment and pleasure of the inquiring and intelligent audience.

We’d like to finish these lines expressing our sincere thanks to all those selfless colleagues who have ventured with us in creating this toy. And thanks also, of course, to all the assistance provided by the museum staff and the Embassy of Spain in Budapest that has given us the opportunity to show this proposal.

Miért is tagadnánk? Világunkban minden kétféleképpen értelmezhető. A gyilkosságot például vizsgálhatjuk egyrészt erkölcsi szempontból, ebben az esetben kénytelen vagyok beismerni, hogy elítélendő cselekedetről van szó, illetve az esztétika nezőpontjából, azaz a jóízlés szemszögéből nézve. A Gyilkosság, mint  szépművészet vegső célja pontosan ugyanaz, mint az arisztoltelészi tragédiáé: “Megtisztítani a szívet a szánalom és a félelem által”

Thomas de Quincey: A gyilkosság, mint szépművészet (1827)

2012 január 27-én és 28-án (pénteken és szombaton), este 20.00 órai kezdettel

a Petőfi Irodalmi Múzeumban

1053 Budapest, Károlyi Mihály utca 16

térkép

a MISERO PROSPERO Project bemutatja:

 “A gyilkosság, mint  szépművészet” című darabot.

Del asesinato considerado como una de las Bellas Artes

Thomas de Quincey szövege alapján írta: Carlos Rodero

Előadók: Carlos Rodero és Pipó László

Fény-látvány, jelmez, karakterizáció: Carmen Gonzalo

Zene: Giuseppe Verdi: Macbeth

Plakát és Graphic Design: Strategias Design & Edition

Illusztráció: Jacques-Louis David: Marat halála (1793)

Rendezőasszisztens és feliratszerkesztés: Magos Eszter

Rendezte: Carlos Rodero és Bakucz Dóra

A Magyarországi Spanyol Nagykövetség támogatásával

Időtartam: 60 perc

Spanyol nyelvű előadás magyar felirattal

Belépő: 1200 Ft. (A jegyek korlátozott számban kaphatók!)

Bővebb információ: 

Tel: (36-1) 317-3611, (36-1) 317-3450

Fax: (36-1) 317-1722

muzeuminf@pim.hu

www.pim.hu

Pár szóban a projektről

A MISERO PROSPERO Project megalakulása óta ez alkalommal mutatunk be először színházi szöveget spanyol nyelven, Budapesten. Első pillantásra furcsa párosításnak tűnhet, és talán az is, mégis úgy gondoljuk, létezik olyan közönség, amelynek az érdeklődésére számot tarthatunk. Egyrészt van Magyarországon egy szilárd hispán közösség, másrészt nagyon sok olyan magyar anyanyelvűvel is találkozhazunk, aki példátlan precizitással beszéli a spanyol nyelvet, és a spanyol kultúra iránt is érdeklődik. A budapesti színházi életben nem sok olyan alkalom adódik, amikor eredeti spanyol nyelvű előadást láthatunk.

Ez a projekt számunkra tagadhatatlanul egyfajta kísérlet. Mint egy elvetett mag, amely remélhetőleg szárba szökken és kivirágzik. Esetünkben ez azt jelenti, hogy az előadást talán spanyol nyelvterületre is továbbvihetjük, vagy esetleg egy magyar nyelvű változatot is színre viszünk a későbbiekben.

A MISERO PROSPERO Project fordulóponthoz érkezett: ezzel a projekttel visszatérünk a szövegszínházhoz, ez azonban nem jelenti azt, hogy felhagynánk a korábbi gyakorlattal és ne állna szándékunkban továbbra is változatos ötletekkel dolgozni.

A Gyilkosság álmagasztalása

A Gyilkosság, mint szépművészet arról a felháborító képmutatásról szól, amelyet gyakran megfigyelhetünk, amikor az erőszakról esik szó. Sokan mesterkélt értelmiségi érvek mögé rejtik képmutatásukat és tétova semmittevésüket, ilyen emberekről szól ez a darab, káprázatos humorral és iróniával fűszerezve.

Pályafutásunk során sokszor meggyőződtünk arról, hogy a nevetés nagyon hatásos eszköz a színházban. Ezúttal mi is mosolyt szeretnénk csalni nézőink ajkára, de célunk nem az öncélú nevettetés, hanem az, hogy a nevetés által a közönségben gondolatok ébredjenek. A “Gyilkosság Szakértői” Alapítvány alelnökének – aki egy groteszk, enyhe dickensi beütésekkel rendelkező alak – beszédét hallgathatjuk végig a hagyományos, minden évben megrendezett alapítványi vacsorát követően. A társaság tagjaihoz intézett beszéd felettébb izgalmas és intelligens zagyvaság, melyet a legkülönbözőbb érvekkel próbál alátámasztani.

Dramaturgia és szöveg:  szintézis

Az eredeti szövegnek, Thomas de Quincey rövid elbeszélésének tartalmi gazdagsága nagy mértékben nehezítette a feladatot, hogy színdarabbá alakítsuk, keserves munkával azonban sikerült egyórás előadássá formálni az értekező jellegű szöveget. A főszereplő műveltségének fitogtatása és fontoskodása jelenti tulajdonképpen a színházi cselekményt, illetve az a folyamat, amely az ő idegállapotának változását mutatja be. A színész játékát az asztaltársaságot kiszolgáló néma pincért alakító mellékszereplő segíti, következésképpen tehát –  annak ellenére, hogy valójában csak a főszereplő beszél –  mégsem minősíthetjük a darabot monológnak. Véleményünk szerint a szöveg ma is megdöbbentően aktuális, éppen ezért igyekeztünk a cselekményt kortárs közegbe helyezni.

Színrevitel: ha a múzeum falai beszélni tudnának

Az előadásra nem túl megszokott környezetben, a Petőfi Irodalmi Múzeum dísztermében kerül sor. A közönség a főszereplő világának részévé válik, közeli kapcsolatot alakítva ki vele.  Ez a magyarázat arra, miért is fordítottunk hátat a klasszikus, hagyományos színházi közegnek, mely éppenhogy az előadók és néző közti távolság kialakítását szolgálja. Ahogy azt már a közönségünk megszokhatta, célunk most is a letisztult színrevitel és a kidolgozott színészi alakítás.  A szöveg a parancsuralmi magatartásformákat parodizálja, a témát a kifejező színpadi szerepjáték teszi kézzelfoghatóbbá, ugyanakkor a befogadáshoz művelt, és lelkes publikumra is szükség van.

Szeretnénk őszintén köszönetet mondani mindazoknak, akik  önzetlen segítségükkel hozzájárultak az előadáshoz. Kiemelkedő támogatást nyújtottak a múzeum munkatársai, valamint a Magyarországi Spanyol Nagykövetség, nekik köszönhetjük, hogy a darabot bemutathatjuk.

Three books, not especially thick, that could certainly be described as exemplary —Confessions of an English Opium Eater (1821), Suspiria de Profundis (1845) and Autobiographical Sketches (1853)— seem to offer first-hand information about who was Thomas de Quincey. He himself said they were autobiographical and as it happens with all literary autobiographies they are full of traps. With a sinuous narrative, he speaks of himself in a not at all complacent mood, but the way in which he exposes his personal calamities makes us mistrust of what he is telling at the same time we enjoy his sarcasm.

He speaks about his elitist and strict education that provided him a deep knowledge of Greco-Roman culture (he granted mythical dimension to the prosaic news published at those times by the press when he translated into Classic Greek); his escape from a home where nothing was missing; his survival under a savior-minded prostitute who perhaps sensed in him the dilettante who began his life journey with a Greek grammar; his prolific opium addiction —legally allowed in whole Europe at that time— to fight, he says, against neuralgia, or to exorcise his deepest nightmares, he insinuates; his intimacy with Coleridge to whom seemed to admire and detest in equal measure; his fickle raids into the circle of Lake Poets; his productive partnership with Margaret Simpson with whom he had eight children and his exhausting work as a journalist, editor, columnist, critic, short story writer to feed them in a more than ever Dickensian London, in where his contemporary Swift proposed to eat one’s children as a solution to the problems of overcrowding; the years, well, he hid from a crowd of creditors to finally give them the pleasure of die in the most desolate poverty.

The bourgeois’ logic and common sense constantly threatened by his subversive fantasy did not show enough interest for his originality, rather eccentric at that time, although perhaps somehow eccentric for ours. 

Probably he was an inappropriate man in the literary salons in which serious men sipped unthinkable amounts of tea and towered authors almost always equipped with a superb intellectual mediocrity to which the devastating spiral of history has not done much to remember.

And almost, we also forget Thomas de Quincey.

His quite obsessive concern for erudition frustrated his chances to become a writer, though to write perhaps was not ever his true vocation. Some pennies per page, and the enormous task of feeding his offspring, a situation, by the way, that closely resembles Dickens’ one, although, of course, he never shared the enthusiasm of the great storyteller who, luckily, often forgot the reason for which he wrote that much. But, of course, he had, as everyone else, an impossible dream: the unrealizable composition of a "History of England" opus magnum in twelve volumes which he carefully planned but wrote only a few chapters.

His intelligence necessarily had to be bored seeking refuge in the delirium of opium, which he defends and censure with the unmistakable ambiguity that drives his writing, spleen and risky experimentation that inspire, how could it be otherwise, Baudelaire, perhaps his most devoted admirer, although his sharp and somehow sickly artistic sensibility also influenced on Edgar Allan Poe and the standard-bearers of Decadent Movement, for he was something like a guru, standing at the epicenter of nineteenth-century literature.

He had a critic personality, a bit melancholic and dark, which its best weapons were sarcasm and an elegant irony in the best British tradition. He pass from literary criticism to a description of the mechanisms of the mind in the world of nightmares with a stunning naturalness. These delicious nightmares that are staging his fears and unspeakable fears and that ask the contemporary reader a key to be reinterpreted.

He wrote a lot and not published that much, his works are scattered in the usual serials of numerous newspapers and magazines. We have left little gems such as mentioned Confessions of an English Opium Eater (1821), Suspiria de Profundis (1845), and Revolt of the Tartars (1837), The Spanish Military Nun (1847) and, of course, Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts (1827).

As noted by Jean Cocteau, another prestigious junkie, "After each opium addict lie hidden a problem."

Even imperfection itself may have its ideal or perfect state.

Solitude, though it may be silent as light, is like light, the mightiest of agencies; for solitude is essential to man. All men come into this world alone and leave it alone.

The public is a bad guesser.

Thomas de Quincey

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