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Byron and the Rhetoric of Italian Nationalism
Making extensive use of untranslated texts, Arnold Schmidt discusses the impact of Byron's life and works on the discourse of Italian nationalism between 1818 and 1948, his participation in Grand Tour and salon culture, and his influence on Italian Classicists and Romantics.
220 pages, Hardcover
First published June 15, 2010
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December 18, 2012
Full disclosure: Prof Schmidt generously acknowledges this writer in his Acknowledgements. Why, then, the niggling four out of five stars? We know that Prof Schmidt hides a former life as a Film and TV writer of well-known comedy. He has the edge, and the skills, to write an unforgettable book. This one is excellent, a vast amalgam of history and wide reading. I must confess I am not a Romantic specialist; if I were I would probably give it five stars. In fact, my rating may say more about my own need to re-read it, than about the book itself.
I found I learned most from Arnold Schmidt's chapters on "Byron and the Risorgimento," and on "Crimes and Punishments," but the next, "Don Juan," I read with close attention as well. The Risorgimento, Italy's "revolutionary war" took at least ten times what the American Revolution took, ending around 1871 after Garibaldi took Rome on his second try. Over twenty years earlier he had bivouacked where the American Academy Villa is now, by the Roman walls on that side. Many of the scholars behind the unification, like Spaventa, were also learned in Giordano Bruno. Some Italian authors of the Risorgimento learned from Byron.
I found I learned most from Arnold Schmidt's chapters on "Byron and the Risorgimento," and on "Crimes and Punishments," but the next, "Don Juan," I read with close attention as well. The Risorgimento, Italy's "revolutionary war" took at least ten times what the American Revolution took, ending around 1871 after Garibaldi took Rome on his second try. Over twenty years earlier he had bivouacked where the American Academy Villa is now, by the Roman walls on that side. Many of the scholars behind the unification, like Spaventa, were also learned in Giordano Bruno. Some Italian authors of the Risorgimento learned from Byron.
Displaying 1 of 1 review