<P> The boy who inspired "Tadzio" was Baron Władysław Moes, whose first name was usually shortened as Władzio or just Adzio . This story was uncovered by Thomas Mann's translator, Andrzej Dołęgowski, around 1964, and was published in the German press in 1965 . Some sources report that Moes himself did not learn of the connection until he saw the 1971 film version of the novel . </P> <P> Władysław Moes was born on November 17, 1900 in Wierbka, the second son and fourth child of Baron Aleksander Juliusz Moes . He was aged 10 when he was in Venice, significantly younger than Tadzio in the novella . Baron Moes died on December 17, 1986 in Warsaw and is interred at the graveyard of Pilica, Silesian Voivodeship . He was the subject of a biography, The Real Tadzio (Short Books, 2001) by Gilbert Adair . </P> <P> The novella was probably first published in English in periodical form in The Dial in 1924 over three issues (vol . LXXVI, March to May, issues #3--5, Camden, NJ, USA), as per an advertisement by Peter Ellis (Bookseller, London, UK) for sale of a copy of those issues (www.abebooks.com, viewed Feb 2, 2011). </P> <P> It was first published in book form in English in 1925 as Death in Venice and Other Stories, translated by Kenneth Burke . W.H. Auden called it the definitive translation . </P>

Who are the characters in the poem a man falls to his death