The Italian Romance Epic in the Age of Humanism: The Matter of Italy and the World of Rome - Rilegato

Everson, Jane E.

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0198160151 ISBN 13: 9780198160151

Casa editrice: OUP Oxford, 2001

Riassunto

The immense success of the Italian romance or chivalric epic between the mid-fourteenth century and the sixteenth century constitutes a striking paradox. The flowering of the genre, between the composition of Boccaccio's Teseida and the Orlando Furioso of Ariosto occurred in precisely the same period as the emergence of Humanism and the revival of classical culture and literature based on re-readings of ancient texts. The two cultural phenomenon - of medieval, vernacular narratives and the imitation of classical texts, veneration for classical antiquity - seem antithetical. Through an analysis of aspects of both the cultural context and major literary texts, this book shows that the traditional distinction of popular versus élite culture cannot be maintained. The study reveals a process of syncretism and symbiosis through which the romance epic adapted to the challenges posed by the classical revival, absorbing and rewriting elements of classical texts into the tradition of the matter of France and the matter of Britain to create a new 'matter of Italy' - texts which appealed to all levels of society.

Su questo libro

Recensione:

Jane Everson's book, the result of several years of study and research, constitutes a significant, stimulating, and valuable contribution to our understanding of Italian romance epic in the age of humanism. (Renaissance Quarterly)

This is an excellent book that carefully recapitulates much earlier scholarship, while adding to it throughout. It makes a convincing case for Boccaccio's foundational position in the romance epic tradition and for the necessity of giving more emphasis to the period between Boccaccio and the generation of Pulci and Boiardo. (Modern Language Review)

This admirable book effectively analyses texts and their contexts, insists on the difficulties the romance epic presents, and greatly enriches our understanding of this perplexing, yet undeniably appealing, genre. (Matthew Treherne, Times Literary Supplement)

L'autore:

Jane Everson is Senior Lecturer, Royal Holloway University of London

Su questa edizione

• Editore: OUP Oxford
• Data di pubblicazione: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0198160151
• ISBN 13: 9780198160151
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 400