wow this is very helpful i'll definitely try to adapt the lead accordingly i must confess that the importance of the double meaning of dictator had completely eluded me and now that i think about it i do see that it's quite relevant i had also failed to pick up on the i i suppose the article could make this more explicit let me try to summarize your post to see if i indeed understood it the supreme derivates his power from writing dictating unfortunately for him language can just as easily be used by others to oppose him this is exemplified by the pasquinade hence its importance in which his writing and indeed his self character perhaps and ultimately his own authority is usurped by the anonymous writer by making use of francias own game ie writing language so far so good and what about the compiler and roa bastos can the pasquinade be understood as a metaphor for what they are themselves doing to francias writings usurping it questioning the nature of his absolute power and relativizing it or is their relationship more complicated again please don t feel any urgency to get back to me i still have to expand the third paragraph and some assignments due at the end of the month that i should probably work on during the weekend so next week sounds great