La carne, la morte e il diavolo nella letteratura romantica

3.5 stars. Someone should do a proper reissue of this book. And when they do, they should put in the extra work to fix it up; interpellate the Addenda, and most importantly, provide translations of the quotes. Because the book is basically a pastiche of quotes - some of them over a page long - and i Leggi tutto

A very peculiar and nuanced bird's-eye view on Romantic literature (even though I have the impression that Praz dwells much more on what is commonly known as Decadentism here —and I know, I know, the entire opening chapter is actually focused on how the adjective romantic has been defined and re-def Leggi tutto

Classicism begets Romanticism begets Decadence begets Modernism. This book is concerned with the middle pair, the transformation of Byron and Keats into Wilde and Huysmans. Praz's book, written in the 30s in Mussolini's Italy, makes a good companion to James Webb's later The Occult Underground, purs Leggi tutto

Non mi metterò certo a recensire un libro come questo, una pietra miliare della critica letteraria: scivolerei facilmente o nel banale o nel pretenzioso - e quindi nel patetico. Opterò per l’ovvio, perché una cosina la voglio pur dire: a quasi un secolo dalla sua prima pubblicazione (1930) non solo Leggi tutto

Three stars signifies that I read it so long ago that I remember the wine and the rooms where it was discussed more than I remember the book. I do recall that many of the exemplar passages were not translated and , in those days before the Internet, made for a frustrating experience. I'm sure that I Leggi tutto