Poetry · Chapter
Lune de Miel explained
A couple returns from the Netherlands to Terre Haute, stopping in Ravenna for a night plagued by heat, insects, and discomfort.
What happens
A couple returns from the Netherlands to Terre Haute, stopping in Ravenna for a night plagued by heat, insects, and discomfort. They visit the basilica of Saint Apollinaire in Classe, known for its acanthus capitals, before continuing their miserable journey by train to Milan. The speaker reflects on the decaying church as a disused factory of God, still preserving the precise form of Byzantium.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
The emotional and psychological peak occurs when the speaker, having been devoured and reduced to dry bones, e…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Spiritual Crisis and Desolation
Saint Apollinaire is described as a 'raide et ascétique' and 'vieille usine désaffectée de Dieu,' evoking a sense of abandoned faith and spiritual decay.
- Fragmentation and Modernity
The couple's disjointed journey, the juxtaposition of sacred architecture with mundane discomforts, and the fragmented imagery reflect modern dislocation.
Characters to notice
- Unknown Narrator
The narrator observes the couple's journey and reflects on the state of Saint Apollinaire.
Key passages
“Ils ont vu les Pays-Bas, ils rentrent à Terre Haute; Mais une nuit d’été, les voici à Ravenne, A l’aise entre deux draps, chez deux centaines de punaises;”
They have seen the Netherlands and are returning to Terre Haute, but one summer night they find themselves in Ravenna, uncomfortably between sheets infested with bedbugs.
The opening lines establish the couple's weary travel and the squalid conditions of their stopover.
“Et Saint Apollinaire, raide et ascétique, Vieille usine désaffectée de Dieu, tient encore Dans ses pierres ècroulantes la forme precise de Byzance.”
And Saint Apollinaire, stiff and ascetic, an old decommissioned factory of God, still holds in its crumbling stones the precise form of Byzantium.
The church is portrayed as a relic of a lost spiritual and artistic era, its decay mirroring the decline of faith.
