Proclaiming a Classic: The Canonization of Orlando Furioso (Princeton Legacy Library, 1166)

Despite its immediate popularity and its acclaim as a modern equal of the ancient epics, Ariosto's Orlando Furioso (published in its final version in 1532) was for learned readers a perplexing work: it mixed romance, epic, and lyric poetry, poked fun at its marvelous and outmoded chivalric matter, contained many interrupted narrative threads, and included base and lowborn characters. In exploring the literary debates involved in elevating the Furioso to the rank of a classic, Daniel Javitch maintains that this was the first work of modern poetry to provoke widespread critical controversy, and that the contestation played an inaugural role in the formation of the European poetic canon. The Furioso was seen by its early publishers to embody the formal, thematic, and functional characteristics of the highly esteemed epics of antiquity. Some critics, however, found in this poem new forms and functions that seemed better suited to modern times; still others denied the work any form of legitimacy. Showing how the Furioso became a locus upon which various and conflicting ideologies could be projected, Javitch argues that such a development offers the best indication of a poem's having achieved canonicity. Originally published in 1991. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905. Despite its immediate popularity and its acclaim as a modern equal of the ancient epics, Ariosto's Orlando Furioso (published in its final version in 1532) was for learned readers a perplexing work: it mixed romance, epic, and lyric poetry, poked fun at its marvelous and outmoded chivalric matter, contained many interrupted narrative threads, and included base and lowborn characters. In exploring the literary debates involved in elevating the Furioso to the rank of a classic, Daniel Javitch maintains that this was the first work of modern poetry to provoke widespread critical controversy, and that the contestation played an inaugural role in the formation of the European poetic canon. The Furioso was seen by its early publishers to embody the formal, thematic, and functional characteristics of the highly esteemed epics of antiquity. Some critics, however, found in this poem new forms and functions that seemed better suited to modern times; still others denied the work any form of legitimacy. Showing how the Furioso became a locus upon which various and conflicting ideologies could be projected, Javitch argues that such a development offers the best indication of a poem's having achieved canonicity. Originally published in 1991. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905. [9781400861804 - Proclaiming a Classic] Frontmatter......Page 1 [9781400861804 - Proclaiming a Classic] CONTENTS......Page 7 [9781400861804 - Proclaiming a Classic] ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 9 [9781400861804 - Proclaiming a Classic] INTRODUCTION......Page 13 [9781400861804 - Proclaiming a Classic] Chapter One. THE SUCCESS OF ORLANDO FURIOSO IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY......Page 20 [9781400861804 - Proclaiming a Classic] Chapter Two. THE LEGITIMATION OF ORLANDO FURIOSO......Page 31 [9781400861804 - Proclaiming a Classic] Chapter Three. COMMENTARIES ON IMITATIONS IN ORLANDO FURIOSO......Page 58 [9781400861804 - Proclaiming a Classic] Chapter Four. AFFILIATIONS WITH OVIDS METAMORPHOSES......Page 81 [9781400861804 - Proclaiming a Classic] Chapter Five. CRITICAL RESPONSES TO NARRATIVE DISCONTINUITY IN ORLANDO FURIOSO......Page 96 [9781400861804 - Proclaiming a Classic] Chapter Six. LIONARDO SALVIATIS DEFENSE OF ORLANDO FURIOSO......Page 116 [9781400861804 - Proclaiming a Classic] Chapter Seven. OTHER DEFENSES OF ORLANDO FURIOSO IN THE 1580s......Page 133 [9781400861804 - Proclaiming a Classic] Chapter Eight. HARINGTONS ENGLISH REFRACTIONS OF ORLANDO FURIOSO......Page 144 [9781400861804 - Proclaiming a Classic] CONCLUSION......Page 168 [9781400861804 - Proclaiming a Classic] NOTES......Page 177 [9781400861804 - Proclaiming a Classic] PRIMARY WORKS CONSULTED......Page 209 [9781400861804 - Proclaiming a Classic] INDEX......Page 213 Despite its immediate popularity and its acclaim as a modern equal of the ancient epics, Ariosto's Orlando Furioso (published in its final version in 1532) was for learned readers a perplexing work: it mixed romance, epic, and lyric poetry, poked fun at its marvelous and outmoded chivalric matter, contained many interrupted narrative threads, and included base and lowborn characters. In exploring the literary debates involved in elevating the Furioso to the rank of a classic, Daniel Javitch maintains that this was the first work of modern poetry to provoke widespread critical controversy, and that the contestation played an inaugural role in the formation of the European poetic canon. The Furioso was seen by its early publishers to embody the formal, thematic, and functional characteristics of the highly esteemed epics of antiquity. Some critics, however, found in this poem new forms and functions that seemed better suited to modern times; still others denied the work any form of legitimacy. Showing how the Furioso became a locus upon which various and conflicting ideologies could be projected, Javitch argues that such a development offers the best indication of a poem's having achieved canonicity. -- From publisher's website