The Lamp and the Bell by Edna St. Vincent Millay
In the palace garden at Fiori, four years after their meeting, Princess Beatrice ("Rose-Red") and her devoted companion Bianca ("Snow-White") share an unbreakable friendship, watched over by the sharp-tongued lady Carlotta, the fool Fidelio, and the ladies Laura and Francesca. Queen Octavia, Beatrice's mother, disapproves of the girls' closeness and plans to send Bianca away. The Duke Guido secretly loves Beatrice, though she rejects him; he has been carrying on an affair with Francesca, who loves him desperately and whom he treats cruelly. Young King Mario of Lagoverde visits the court, courting Beatrice, but he and Bianca fall in love instead. Beatrice nobly steps aside, telling Mario she never truly loved him and urging him toward Bianca, while concealing her own feelings even from Bianca. Guido, scheming for power, suggests to Octavia that Bianca be married off to the King quickly. Bianca and Mario wed in a lavish court ceremony; during the wedding dance, Beatrice's father, King Lorenzo, dies suddenly in his chair. Years later, Beatrice is now Queen. While riding with her guard near Lagoverde, she is ambushed by brigands; Mario rides to her aid and is accidentally killed by Beatrice's own sword in the chaotic fighting. Beatrice is grievously wounded and nursed by the fool Fidelio and her nurse Grazia. Villagers report the tragedy and carry the wounded Queen home. Octavia maliciously tells Bianca that Beatrice loved Mario, straining the sisters' bond, but Bianca goes to reconcile. Beatrice, delirious and guilt-stricken, confesses that it was her own hand that killed Mario. Horrified, Bianca flees, and the two women remain estranged for two years, during which Beatrice neglects her horse and her rule, growing dangerously reliant on the common people's love while Guido cultivates enemies against her at court. Octavia has since died. Anselmo and Luigi discuss the political danger to Beatrice's throne, noting Guido's influence and Francesca's continued suffering under his cruelty. In her court of law, Queen Beatrice dispenses compassionate justice to a poor widow accused of gathering deadwood, but the proceeding is interrupted by news that Bianca is dying at Lagoverde and has called for her. As Beatrice tries to leave, she discovers she has been surrounded and arrested by disguised soldiers — a coup orchestrated against her. Imprisoned, she begs Guido to release her to see her dying friend; he agrees only if she will submit to him afterward. She accepts the condition and is freed. At Lagoverde, the dying Bianca waits for Beatrice, sending word through her maid Giulietta that "all is well" between them despite everything, and asking Beatrice to care for her children. Beatrice arrives just in time for Bianca to embrace her and die. Fidelio then brings word that Guido has been murdered (stabbed in the back) and that Francesca has been found drowned; meanwhile the people of Fiori have risen up and overthrown Guido's men, leaving Beatrice's throne restored to her. Giulietta delivers Bianca's final message of reconciliation and forgiveness. Beatrice, comforted that the bond between her and Bianca endures beyond death, resolves with Fidelio to return to Fiori and rebuild.
By Edna St. Vincent Millay · First published 1921 · Genre: Drama, Poetry, Feminist Literature · 19 chapters · 23,888 words
First lines
[SCENE: A garden of the palace at Fiori; four years later.]
[Discovered seated Laura, Francesca and Fidelio, Laura embroidering, / Fidelio strumming his flute, Francesca lost in thought.]
What this Textopian page supports
The Lamp and the Bell is listed on Textopian as a play by Edna St. Vincent Millay, dated 1921 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Play
- Author: Edna St. Vincent Millay
- Date: 1921 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Drama, Poetry, Feminist Literature, LGBTQ+ Literature
- Length: 23,888 words
- Structure: 19 chapters, 822 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)
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- Work identity for The Lamp and the Bell by Edna St. Vincent Millay
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
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Genres
- Drama — The work is a five-act play, a form typically associated with the drama genre.
- Poetry — The text is written in verse, a characteristic of the poetry genre.
- Feminist Literature — The work explores themes of female friendship and independence, common in feminist literature.
- LGBTQ+ Literature — The work contains subtextual lesbian themes, aligning it with the LGBTQ+ literature genre.
Tags
Poetry · Feminist Literature · Autobiographical Elements · Love Poetry · Romanticism · Symbolism · Imagery · Nature Imagery · Spirituality · Mysticism · Personal Reflections · Introspection
Contents
- SCENE 1
- SCENE 2
- SCENE 3
- Four months later
- SCENE 2
- SCENE 3
- The following summer,
- SCENE 2
- SCENE 3
- SCENE 4
- SCENE 5
- Five years later
- SCENE 2
- SCENE 3
- SCENE 1
- SCENE 2
- SCENE 3
- SCENE 4
- SCENE 5
More by Edna St. Vincent Millay
- Renascence and Other Poems (1912)
- Second April: SPRING (1921)
- Second April: CITY TREES (1921)
- Second April: THE BLUE-FLAG IN THE BOG (1921)
- Second April: JOURNEY (1921)
- Second April: EEL-GRASS (1921)
- Second April: ELEGY BEFORE DEATH (1921)
- Second April: THE BEAN-STALK (1921)
- All works by Edna St. Vincent Millay