The Italianate Wordsworth is a study of William Wordsworth's enduring interest in Italian literature and culture -- an important aspect of his intellectual life and creativity to which no previous book has been devoted. Of all the first-generation Romantics, Wordsworth was the most influenced by Italian poetry and aesthetics. The roots of his passion for the Italian language stretch back to the earliest stages of his imaginative development and extend throughout his life. His voluminous reading of and recurrent engagement with Italian texts -- as translator and imitator -- began in the late 1780s, when he was under the tutelage of Agostino Isola at Cambridge University. Wordsworth translated works by Petrarch, the paradigmatic Italian sonneteer, in 1789-90; by Ludovico Ariosto, the master of epic romance, between 1789 and 1795, in 1802, and in 1815; by Pietro Metastasio, author of popular songs and melodramas, in 1802-1803; by Michelangelo Buonarroti, the artist, poet, and polymath, in 1804 and again in 1839-1840; and by Gabriello Chiabrera, the epitaphist, in 1809-10 and 1837. Wordsworth's immersion in Italian culture became complete in 1837 when, at the age of sixty-seven, he made an extended visit to Italy. During the four months of this sojourn he was able, after years of dedicated reading and translation of major Italian texts from the foundational Trecento to the pre-Romantic Enlightenment, to realize fully his connection with Italy. In the period that followed, he composed poems that addressed various aspects of Italian history, politics, and culture; and in the last collection of poetry he published in his lifetime, Poems, Chiefly of Early and Late Years (1842), he included a series of twenty-eight poetic reflections entitled "Memorials of a Tour in Italy." This dissertation sheds light not only on Wordsworth's debt to Italian culture but also on our inherited ideas about the English Romantic relationship to Italy. Given the emphasis traditionally placed on the Italianate leanings of the second-generation Romantics, the impact of Italian literature on the mind and writings of a first-generation poet like Wordsworth has been largely forgotten. Thus the "Italianate Wordsworth" comes as something of a surprise. Time and again, he expresses his veneration for the style and sensibility of Italian poets from Dante to Tasso, often going so far as to emulate their techniques and adopt their cadences in his original English verse. As a poet, scholar, translator, and traveler, he is receptive to all that Italian civilization provides.

This study examines the ways that Dante uses concepts of the masculine in his early work to offer an analysis of the masculine ideals which lie at the basis of Dante's construction of himself as an author in the lyric poems and in his discussions of Latin and Italian. I describe ideals and conceptions of masculinity current in Dante's era, particularly the socially-adjudged behaviors and attitudes that underpin honor-culture, in order to delineate the ways in which Dante uses these conventions in lyric poems to make the poems themselves entries in an honor exchange among men. I also examine the opposed qualities coded as masculine and feminine in the classical literary and philosophical tradition, particularly mutability and constancy, and transmitted as a code of masculine ethical superiority in the Latin pedagogy of Dante's day, to define how masculine ideals determine Dante's initial definition of Latin as the nobler language in Convivio, as well as his reversal of that language hierarchy in De vulgari eloquentia.

This dissertation is organized around main axes: the literary and critical concept of the Double and the analysis of Antonio Fogazzaro’s 1881 novel, Malombra, in which the Double plays a complex thematic role. In the first chapter, I address the concept of the Double as a critical category, assessing its meaning across three different levels of reality: in terms of the cultural specificity of the representation (the 19th century and Romantic literature), in terms of the theoretical approach (whether it is construed as a transcendental figure, as in Freudian theory, or a transgressive figure, as in Jungian theory, etc.) and in terms of its placement relative to the other themes in the text. In the second chapter, I take up the analysis of three Italian texts from the second half of the 19th century which privilege the theme of the Double and invest it with idiosyncratic meaning: Uno spirito in un lampone by Iginio Ugo Tarchetti (1867), Due anime in un corpo by Emilio de Marchi (1877) and Le storie del castello di Trezza by Giovanni Verga (1875). My reading of these texts draw on diverse psychoanalytic perspectives, namely those of Jung, Lacan and Abraham and Torok. In the third chapter, I carry out an extensive analysis of Fogazzaro’s Malombra. The first part of the analysis, which focuses on the novel’s two primary characters, Marina and Silla, shows how these characters’ unconscious conflicts animate the narrative, shape its itinerary and anchor it in a phantasmatic past; the second part examines the ways in which the primary aspects of the plot work in tension with, and are offset by, the novel’s two subplots; the third part looks at points of comparison between Malombra and the three texts discussed in the second chapter, both in relation to the theme of the Double and to more general literary signifiers.

Orientadora: Gabriela Kvacek Betella / Banca: Francisco Claudio Alves Marques / Banca: Altamir Botoso / Resumo: Baseado em O lago dos cisnes, de Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky em 1877, o longa metragem Cisne negro (2010), dirigido por Darren Aronofsky, é a combinação de um drama psicológico com a dramaturgia que atuam reciprocamente na vida da protagonista. O lago dos cisnes, conto escrito pelo alemão Johan Karl August Musäus no século XVIII, ganha vida e potencialidade no filme em uma estrutura que mescla subjetividade e estranhamento, produzindo no espectador os mais variados sentimentos. No que concerne aos estudos literários, o filme é pouco explorado visto que seu maior foco versa sobre a presença psicanalítica à ele empregada. Desse modo, isolando parcialmente a carga psicológica, percebemos a presença de traços literários que se encaixam pertinentemente, construindo uma trama complexa entre os planos da realidade e do psicológico. Tendo como base a literatura do escritor italiano Luigi Pirandello (1867-1936), considerado um dos maiores dramaturgos da literatura mundial, usaremos as obras Seis personagens à procura de um autor (1921) e Assim é (se lhes parece) (1917) para discutir os seguintes pontos: 1) a personagem dramatúrgica pirandelliana e cinematográfica voltando-se para a protagonista Nina; 2) o teatro pirandelliano focado no drama moderno e no conceito de 'teatro no teatro' e como se dão no filme e 3) Cisne negro como tragédia moderna valendo-se de pressupostos teóricos de Aristóteles, Arnold Hauser, Raymond Williams e Luigi Pirandello para exemplificações. No campo teórico, nos apoiaremos também em Antonio Candido, Peter Szondi, Sergei Einsenstein entre outros para a construção de um estudo conciso e objetivo do corpus proposto / Astratto: Basato su Il lago dei cigni, da Piotr IIyich Tchaikovsky nel 1877, il lungometraggio Cigno nero (2010), sulla regia di Darren Aronofsky, è la combinazione di un drama psicologico con la drammaturgia che, allo stesso tempo, fanno parte della vita della protagonista. Il lago dei cigni, racconto scritto dal tedesco Johan Karl August Musäus nel secolo XVIII, aquista vita e potenza nel film componendo una struttura che mescola soggetività e stranezza, provocando molteplice sentieri nello spetattore. Al rispetto degli studi letterari, il film è poco esplorato giacché il suo fuoco maggiore si trova nella presenza psicoanalistica esistente. Così, allontanando parzialmente l'aspetto psicologico, rendiamo conto della presenza di tracce letterari che s'incastrano con pertinenza, construendo una tramma complessa tra le atmosfere della realtà e dello psicologico. Con la conoscenza della letteratura dello scrittore italiano Luigi Pirandello (1867-1936), così detto uno dei maggiori drammaturghi della letteratura mondiale, useremo le opere Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore (1921) e Così è (se vi pare) (1917) per dicutere i punti che seguono: 1) il personaggio della drammaturgia pirandelliana e cinematografica volgendosi alla protagonista Nina; 2) il teatro pirandelliano mettendo a fuoco il dramma moderno e il concetto di teatro nel teatro' e come si trova nel film e 3) Cigno nero come tragedia moderna, utilizzando le teorie di Aristotele, Arnold Hauser, Raymond Wiliams e Pirandello per gli esempi. Nel campo teorico, ci baseremo anche in Antonio Candido, Peter Szondi, Sergei Einsenstein tra gli altri che costruiranno uno studio conciso e oggetivo del corpus proposto / Mestre

Romance inovador, sobretudo graças à incorporação da psicanálise à literatura, La coscienza di Zeno, de Italo Svevo, é também a obra-prima de um autor situado em diversas intersecções: ele escreveu de um local de fronteira entre várias culturas; numa língua que era sua por adoção; na transição entre dois séculos; em meio à alteração das configurações políticas e econômicas da Europa; em um período de intensa transformação das idéias e da forma de narrar. Este estudo busca levantar subsídios para melhor situar o romance em relação a seu tempo e ao complexo ambiente intelectual do fim do século XIX (caracterizado pelo conflito e pela coexistência de cientificismo e irracionalismo, positivismo e pessimismo), bem como em relação à tradição do romance europeu. Para isso, conta com o auxílio da crítica literária e sócio-histórica, além dos artigos e ensaios de Svevo. / A breakthrough novel specially regarding its incorporation of psychoanalysis into literature , La coscienza di Zeno, by Italo Svevo, is also the masterpiece of an author placed in many intersections: he wrote from the boundaries of different cultures; in an adopted language; during the transition of two centuries; amid changes at the political and economical settings of Europe; and through the transformation of ideas and the narrative. This study aims to gather elements to better relate La coscienza to the complex intelectual environment of the late 19th century (marked by the conflict and the coexistence of scientism and irrationalism, positivism and pessimism), as well to the tradition of european novel. To this purpose, it benefits from the literary and sociohistorical criticism, and from Svevos articles and essays.

The translations of Tasso’s Gerusalemme liberata by Richard Carew (1594) and Edward Fairfax (1600) import the hybrid genre of the Italian romance epic into the evolving literary polysystem of the English Renaissance. These two significant translations present an intriguing struggle between fidelity to the source text and freedom, which mirrors the friction between epic and romance at the heart of the Gerusalemme liberata. This friction takes shape most clearly in the treatment of the power dynamics of the crusaders vis-à-vis Godfrey and in the translation of the ‘forma altera’ of Armida. While Carew attempts an ‘epic’ translation conforming to the source text, creating a Gerusalemme conquistata-type of translation, Fairfax submits to the allure of Armida and to the romance of translator errancy. To translate this unique hybrid genre is to encounter translation’s process double; in a fundamental sense, translation is romance, and the romance epic is translation.

Irony: metafiction in Luigi Malerba’s works. In this thesis I examine irony and metafiction in some novels by Italian writer Luigi Malerba (1927-2008). Metafiction characterizes all of Malerba’s works; this dissertation shows how Malerba’s works constantly draw attention to themselves and consequently encourage readers to pose questions about the existing relationship between fiction and reality. Similarly, irony fosters further investigation of language as sign system; through recurrent word games, Malerba removes the certainty of a univocal existing correspondence between signifier and signified. In the first chapter I discuss the very first works by the author: Le lettere di Ottavia, Il serpente, Salto mortale and Il protagonista. The entire chapter revolves around the construction of possible worlds and, therefore, of fictional worlds. Through this analysis the borders between fiction and reality appear to be quite weak; they are indeed proved to be an illusory construction of contemporary human beings who tend to think according to binary oppositions, such as reality and dream, reality and fiction. I proceed by examining Storie dell’anno mille, Il pataffio, I cani di Gerusalemme and Le maschere; these novels are imbued with history. The central theme of the entire chapter is history and fabulation and their relationship to each other. History is shown to be part of human discourse: historical events are made out of pure chronicles by a process called emplotment. The form that the historical narration takes on inevitably influences the meaning of the events narrated. In the third chapter I analyze Le pietre volanti, La superficie di Eliane and Il circolo di Granada. Here I demonstrate how Malerba uses detective novels in a non-canonical way, turning his own works into anti-detective novels. In these works, the investigation does not reach any rewarding ending; even at the conclusion of the story, the detective’s hypothesis cannot be completely ruled out and the reader is left with what Stefano Tani calls a “fiction of possibilities”. Fantasmi romani occupies the whole chapter four. In this final chapter I discuss why this work, the very last one before the author’s death, can be considered his literary testament. In this novel, Malerba’s readers can find all the peculiarities which have distinguished the author’s writing for more than four decades. Along with recognizing his style, readers will appreciate new developments in his narration. This work encourages readers to investigate the consuming relationship which can be established between a writer and his reader. In the end of this thesis, some considerations for further investigation are made; these considerations focus on Luigi Malerba’s writing for children, an area of study that has received little critical attention.

Based on the author's Thesis (Ph. D.). / Includes bibliographical references and index.

<p>This thesis explores the phenomenon of canonical revision by migrant and postcolonial writers in Spain and Italy. By recycling, rewriting or revising canonical works or film movements of the host countries in which they work, these writers call attention to Spain's and Italy's concerted attempts to perform a European identity. In doing so, they simultaneously challenge the literary categories into which they have been inserted, such as "migrant" or "Hispano-African" literatures. Rather, these writers illustrate that these categories, too, work in tandem with other forms of exclusion to buttress, rather than challenge, Spain and Italy's nationalist attempts to overcome their-"South-ness" and perform European-ness.</p><p>The thesis consists of four chapters, each focusing on a different migrant writer. The first chapter examines how Amara Lakhous, an Algerian-Italian writer, models his novels after the film genre of the commedia all'italiana in order to make national and ethnic identity categories look like theater and spectacle. The second chapter analyzes how Najat el-Hachmi, a Catalan writer of Moroccan birth, rewrites a classic of Catalan literature (Mercé Rodoreda's The Time of the Doves) to challenge the oppositions between "immigrant" and "native," while also articulating a transnational, feminist critique of patriarchy. The third chapter studies how Francisco Zamora Loboch, an Equatorial Guinean exile in Spain, re-interprets Don Quijote as an iconically anti-racist text. The fourth chapter studies how Jadelin Mabiala Gangbo, a Congolese-Italian writer, recycles Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet in his novel Rometta e Giulieo in order to challenge the polarized dichotomy of "migrant" and "canonical" writing.</p><p>My work both draws on and critiques several, interrelated fields of scholarship, including Southern European studies, Afro-European studies, Mediterranean studies, migrant literary studies, and postcolonial studies, as well as criticism pertaining to specific canonical works these writers revisit in their works. In doing so, I hope to demonstrate that a critique of racism or xenophobia in contemporary Spain or Italy necessitates not only a critique of the Global South against Eurocentrism, but also a simultaneous critique of Europe's North-South divide.</p> / Dissertation

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