The prologue and the digressions of Tristan hold a metapoetic function that aims at assimilating the reader in the process of text construction. While the prologue is developed according to the codes that are proper of the captatio benevolentiae, thereby also retaining a strong pedagogic component close to the ecclesiastic sermon, the digressions have the function to situate the subject matter within the history of its tradition and of clarify for the reader the allegoric meaning of the plot as well as the cultural and ideological relevance of the values at the basis of the work.
