The Cambridge History of Italian Literature

Italy possesses one of the richest and most influential literatures of Europe, stretching back to the thirteenth century. This first substantial history of Italian literature to appear in the English language for forty years provides a comprehensive survey of Italian writing from its earliest origins up to the present day. Leading scholars describe and assess the work of writers who have contributed to the Italian literary tradition, including Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, the Renaissance humanists, Machiavelli, Ariosto and Tasso, pioneers and practitioners of opera and drama from commedia delVarte to Pirandello and Dario Fo, the nineteenth- and twentieth-century poets from Leopardi to Montale, and the novelists from Manzoni to Calvino and Eco. The volume is accessible to the general reader as well as to students and scholars: translations are provided, along with maps, chronological charts, and up-to-date bibliographies. Italy possesses one of the richest and most influential literatures of Europe, stretching back to the thirteenth century. This first substantial history of Italian literature to appear in the English language for forty years provides a comprehensive survey of Italian writing from its earliest origins up to the present day. Leading scholars describe and assess the work of writers who have contributed to the Italian literary tradition, including Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, the Renaissance humanists, Machiavelli, Ariosto and Tasso, pioneers and practitioners of opera and drama from commedia dell'arte to Pirandello and Dario Fo, the nineteenth- and twentieth-century poets from Leopardi to Montale, and the novelists from Manzoni to Calvino and Eco. The Cambridge History of Italian Literature is accessible to the general reader as well as to students and scholars: translations are provided, along with a map, chronological charts, and up-to-date and substantial bibliographies. Italy possesses one of the richest and most influential literatures of Europe, stretching back to the thirteenth century. This first substantial history of Italian literature to appear in the English language for forty years provides a comprehensive survey of Italian writing from its earliest origins up to the present day. Leading scholars describe and assess the work of writers who have contributed to the Italian literary tradition, including Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, the Renaissance humanists, Machiavelli, Ariosto and Tasso, pioneers and practitioners of commedia dell'arte and opera, and the contemporary novelists Calvino and Eco. The Cambridge History of Italian Literature sets out to be accessible to the general reader as well as to students and scholars: translations are provided, along with a map, chronological chart and up-to-date and substantial bibliographies

This first substantial history of Italian literature to appear in the English language for forty years provides a comprehensive survey of one of the richest and most influential literatures of Europe. Leading scholars describe and assess the work of a wide range of writers who have contributed to the Italian literary tradition from its earliest origins to the present day. The volume is accessible to the general reader as well as to students and scholars. Translations are provided, along with maps, chronological charts, and up-to-date bibliographies.

Presents a comprehensive survey of Italian literature from its earliest origins to the present