Death in Venice Analysis

Old world charm, unique architecture, sunny beaches… Venice sounds pretty romantic, right? Well, romantic it may be, but in Death in Venice, the city appears more sinister than we might expect. I...

Death in Venice reads almost like Aschenbach's biography—you know, if he were real. The narrator has access to Aschenbach's inner thoughts, but also has a lot of opinions about him, his genius, a...

The title of this novella helps guide us toward the genre, so let's start there. In Death in Venice, who, or what, dies in Venice? That would have to be Aschenbach, obviously—dude is dead as they...

Ironic Let's be blunt: Death in Venice is a study in irony. We can't emphasize enough how super-duper important it is to be aware of the novella's ironic tone. In "Symbols," we give you a rundown o...

Okay, we know what you're thinking. Decadent—like when you go back for fifths on cheesecake day at the cafeteria. Unfortunately, that's not exactly what we're talking about here. When we say deca...

Death in Venice is a pretty strange title for a work of fiction. Think about it: There's no article at the beginning, nothing to tell us whether it's a death in Venice—the singular death of a sin...

Whew. You made it. You got to the end of this crazy little book. Now, where does that leave us? In the very last scene, Aschenbach is back on the beach, feeling feverish in his beach chair as he wa...

Don't forget your ice pick, because climbing up this mountain is going to take a little time and dedication. But don't let that scare you; we totally think reading Death in Venice is worth the effo...

Being A Genius Is Hard WorkDeath in Venice mostly takes place in, well, Venice. But it's important to keep in mind that it all starts in a little town called Munich. The novella's exposition is fir...

Believe it or not, Mann based the character of Tadzio on a real boy he saw while staying in Lido (Venice) at the Grand Hotel des Bains, where Aschenbach also stays in Death in Venice. The boy was t...

If what you're looking for is sex, then Death in Venice will probably disappoint. What we get instead is lust, desire—okay, and a pretty steamy dream about an orgy. On the most basic level, Death...

Cicero (1.1)Critobulus (3.59) Socrates (First mention 4.9, then throughout) Phaedrus (First mention 4.9, then throughout) The Phaeacians (3.49)Eros (First mention 3.51 and throughout)Helios (4.1)E...