The Italian romance epic in the age of humanism
Subtitle: the matter of Italy and the world of Rome
By: Jane E. Everson.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2001
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 386
Subjects: Epic poetry, Italian -- History and criticism.; Humanism -- Italy.
Description: "The immense success of the Italian romance or chivalric epic between the mid-fourteenth century and the sixteenth century constitutes a striking paradox. Through an analysis of aspects of both the cultural context and major literary texts, this book shows that the traditional distinction of popular versus elite 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' - of texts which appealed to all levels of society."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 355-374) and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: Abbreviations xiii; title: PART I. INTRODUCTION; title: 1. Approaches to the Romance Epic 3; title: PART II. TEXTS AND CONTEXTS; title: 2. Prehistory of the Romance Epic in Italy 27; title: 3. (Re-)Reading the Classics 52; title: 4. Petrarch and Boccaccio: Starting Points, Turning; title: Points, and Blind Alleys 96; title: 5. Books, Readers, and Reception 127; title: PART III. NEW PERSPECTIVES, NEW READINGS; title: 6. Mars and Venus-Love and War 163; title: 7. The Figure of the Hero 223; title: 8. The One and the Many: Constructing the Plot 271; title: PART IV. CONCLUSION; title: 9. The Paradoxical Success of the Romance Epic:; title: Ariosto and Beyond 327; title: Bibliography 355; title: Index 375.