Ann Radcliffe's Writing Style In “The Italian“

The first chapter makes us start to wonder right away about the man in the church. We went over in class that the Englishman gets some information from someone else which makes him inquire as to what is going on. "'He [the assassin] sought sanctuary here', replied the friar; 'within these walls he may not be hurt'"(2). Now obviously that entire sentence is intriguing in itself. What the story will play out like is only touched on to the point where we must read on, or choose to stay up all night thinking about it.

Why is it that the English guy’s friend wants to send him a written explanation of what occurred in the church instead of meeting at the shop on the street? It’s hard to understand why that part ends so suddenly, but of course we believe that we will eventually find out.

Radcliffe makes us get inside the heads of her characters, feel what they feel, see what they see. She uses the characters views and emotion to leave the reader wondering, yet in tune with what is going on.

Vivaldi seems to enjoy harsh conditions and dangerous situations because he keeps going after it. He makes a lot of trips to the “arch” to see the monk many times even though he knows that it is a potentially dangerous situation as usual.

he reader’s emotions as much as possible, almost in a “how far can I take them” manner. Just when we think we are about to find out something that has been poking us in the ribs, she makes it take another twist. She makes us engaged, but also a little annoyed at what interesting, yet sparse amount of information she gives us.

Some topics in this essay:
Vivaldi Paolo, Ann Radcliffe’s, Basically Radcliffe, Ellena Spalatro, , radcliffe makes, makes characters, “the italian”,