Dialogue is a written text representing an oral exchange between two or more persons; it also includes catechisms and rhetorically formulated series of queries and responses presenting an argument. The purpose of my thesis is to identify the main non-dramatic dialogues published in France and Italy between 1800 and 1914 and--through their discursive analysis--to provide an assessment of their signification and their impact on modern social discourse. / The first part focuses on the general discourse elements of modern dialogue, such as narrativity, rhetorical devices, character definition and function, paratextual structures, etc. / The second part includes a series of text analyses that proposes a study of ideological tendencies of modern social discourse through the most representative dialogues of the age. / Finally, the third part concentrates on the literary value and the build-up of dialogue as an aesthetic structure towards the end of the XIXth century and at the turn of the XXth century.

This dissertation examines Leonardo da Vinci’s literary writings, namely those known as the Bestiario, Favole, Facezie, and Profezia, as compelling expressions of how Leonardo envisioned the role and influence of morality in human life. Through an analysis of these four literary collections from the perspective of their genre history, literariness, and philosophical dimension, it aims to bring to light the depth with which Leonardo reflected upon the human condition. The Bestiario, Favole, Facezie, and Profezia are writings that have considerable literary value in their own right but can also be examined in a wider historical, literary, and philosophical context so as to reveal the ethical ideas that they convey. By studying them from a historical perspective, it is possible to contextualize Leonardo’s four collections within the tradition of their respective genres (the bestiary, fable, facetia, and riddle) and thus recognize their adherence as well as contribution to these traditions. The literary context brings to light Leonardo’s intentionality and ingenuity as a writer who uses generic conventions in order to voice his ethical views. Assessed from a philosophical standpoint, these four literary collections prove to be meaningful reflections on the moral state of humanity, thereby justifying the characterization of Leonardo as a moral philosopher. Current scholarship on the Bestiario, Favole, Facezie, and Profezia generally views these writings as minor Leonardo works and treats them as ancillary parts of his production. This dissertation, conceiving Leonardo as a moral philosopher, provides interpretations that lead to the conclusion that his thought pervades both his major and minor works and that these literary writings must be viewed as an extension (and result) of Leonardo’s greater notions of the world and of how all parts relate to one another. The Bestiario, Favole, Facezie, and Profezia are works that deserve greater attention reflecting as they do the thought of this Renaissance man.

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.

This dissertation examines Leonardo da Vinci’s literary writings, namely those known as the Bestiario, Favole, Facezie, and Profezia, as compelling expressions of how Leonardo envisioned the role and influence of morality in human life. Through an analysis of these four literary collections from the perspective of their genre history, literariness, and philosophical dimension, it aims to bring to light the depth with which Leonardo reflected upon the human condition. The Bestiario, Favole, Facezie, and Profezia are writings that have considerable literary value in their own right but can also be examined in a wider historical, literary, and philosophical context so as to reveal the ethical ideas that they convey. By studying them from a historical perspective, it is possible to contextualize Leonardo’s four collections within the tradition of their respective genres (the bestiary, fable, facetia, and riddle) and thus recognize their adherence as well as contribution to these traditions. The literary context brings to light Leonardo’s intentionality and ingenuity as a writer who uses generic conventions in order to voice his ethical views. Assessed from a philosophical standpoint, these four literary collections prove to be meaningful reflections on the moral state of humanity, thereby justifying the characterization of Leonardo as a moral philosopher. Current scholarship on the Bestiario, Favole, Facezie, and Profezia generally views these writings as minor Leonardo works and treats them as ancillary parts of his production. This dissertation, conceiving Leonardo as a moral philosopher, provides interpretations that lead to the conclusion that his thought pervades both his major and minor works and that these literary writings must be viewed as an extension (and result) of Leonardo’s greater notions of the world and of how all parts relate to one another. The Bestiario, Favole, Facezie, and Profezia are works that deserve greater attention reflecting as they do the thought of this Renaissance man.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2004.

Inaug.-diss.--Munich. / "Die ... arbeit wird als 45. heft der von prof. Breymann und prof. Schick herausgegebenen Münchener beiträge zur romanischen und englischen philologie erscheinen." Lebenslauf. "Benützte literatur": p. [viii]-xii.

Reading the Transformation: The Relationship between Literature and Territory in Contemporary Veneto aims at investigating the interrelation between a geographically defined entity and the literary word. Placed in the context of a broader reflection on the dynamics of such relation, this thesis aims at outlining a specific set of theoretical references in order to analyse the case of contemporary Veneto through a close reading of some particularly relevant works by two authors from this region, Massimo Carlotto and Marco Paolini. Developed from an interest in the literary tradition of Veneto and in the theme of landscape and territory representation in literature, this thesis is comprised of two parts: the first one is dedicated to tracing the theoretical, historical, and literary coordinates that define the scope and frame of reference for the thesis; the second one conducts an in-depth analysis of the context in which the works of Carlotto and Paolini are situated. Drawing on concepts pertaining geography, cultural anthropology, and landscape theory, the premise of this thesis is that territory is a complex geographic, historical, social, economic, and cultural entity of which landscape constitutes the visible stratum. Siding with arguments that sustain the centrality of the role of landscape in the process of formation of people's identity, this thesis adopts such concept and employs it as a key to understand the relation between territory and literature. Through the analysis of La verità dell'Alligatore and Nordest by Carlotto and Il Milione and Bestiario Veneto - Parole mate by Paolini, the objective of this thesis is, on one side, to provide an insight into how the transformation of a territory can shape the formation of a collective identity, on the other side, to shed light on the means through the reflection on territory enters the literary space.

Notre thèse explore la relation entre création littéraire et travail dans les années deux mille. Cet itinéraire de recherche est d’une grande actualité : dans les dernières années nous pouvons signaler la parution d’un grand nombre de livres centrés sur le monde professionnel, si bien que les critiques ont parlé d’une « nouvelle littérature du travail en Italie », après la « littérature industrielle italienne » des années cinquante et soixante. Il s’agit d’œuvres littéraires qui décrivent, avec un grand réalisme, les transformations socio-économiques de notre temps : l’économie néocapitaliste, toujours plus agressive, s’impose à toute la planète, menaçant de faire disparaître les différences culturelles ; la révolution technologique a drastiquement réduit les temps et les coûts de production et a provoqué l’accroissement du chômage ; les nouveaux pauvres poussent pour entrer dans les pays riches, et des nouvelles formes de discrimination et d’esclavage peuvent se vérifier ; dans le marché du travail règnent la flexibilité et la précarité, de sorte que le travailleur de nos jours est investi par une sensation permanente de risque et d’insécurité ; en même temps, les activités de certaines entreprises ont un impact destructeur sur la nature. Les écrivains contemporains ont dénoncé que ces mutations sont à la base d’une logique de surproduction très répandue dans notre société, qui met en danger l’environnement et les droits humains. Ils élaborent alors des formes d’écritures hybrides et novatrices, à travers lesquelles ils visent à fonder une éthique de la terre et des relations humaines. / Our thesis explores the connection between literary creation and work in the 2000’s. It is a very topical research field: the last few years have been full of books focused on the professional world; that’s why critics spoke of “a new work literature in Italy”, after the “Italian industrial literature” of the Fifties and the Sixties. It deals with literary works describing realistically the socio-economic transformations of our time: the aggressive neo-capitalist economy, imposed on the entire world which threatens to get rid of the cultural differences; the technological revolution, which has drastically reduced time and cost of production, provoking further an increase in the unemployment rate; newly poor try to dissolve into the developed countries and, in some cases, they are victims of new forms of discrimination and slavery; in the job market reign precariousness and flexibility, so the current workers are affected by an abiding feeling of risk. At the same time, the activities of some companies are having a worrying effect on the natural environment. Contemporary writers have denounced that these mutations are on the basis of widespread overproduction logic in our society that endangers the environment and human rights. They then develop innovative forms of hybrid writings, through which they aim to establish a new ethic of the earth and human relations.

The subject of this degree paper is the comedies of Angelo Beolco. The introductory part is focused mainly at the life and work of Angelo Beolco. Following this there is an introduction to the comedy genre in 16th century in Italy and the characteristics of erudite comedy, its authors and the change from the erudite comedy to the comedy dell'arte. A further part is given over to an analysis of his comedies La Pastoral (Pastoral), Il Reduce (Returnee) - Primo dialogo: Parlamento de Ruzante che iera vegnú de campo (First dialogue: What said Ruzante when he came back from the battlefield) and Secondo dialogo: Bilora (Second dialogue: Bilora).

The following thesis addresses the theme of puberty through three Italian novels: Agostino by Alberto Moravia, Ernesto by Umberto Saba, and Dietro la porta by Giorgio Bassani. The introduction outlines the history of the children's and adolescents' protagonism in literature since the beginning. One chapter is dedicated to each author, his biographic data and generic work. The analyzed novels are then formally presented whose contents reveal a prevalence of the puberty theme. The authors' life journeys and unique youthful traumas are clearly projected in each novel. We can find the reflection of complicated family relationships, first sexual experiences, and initial problems of adult life in the stories of the young protagonists. Finally, the difference between the characters and their authors is shown with a brief comparison.