Foscolo tra antichi e moderni. La citazione nelle “Ultime lettere di Jacopo Ortis"

Abstract

This article examines intertextual issues in Ugo Foscolo’s Ultime lettere di Jacopo Ortis (1798, 1802 and 1817). Foscolo opted for a jigsaw technique inserting and gradually harmonizing elements from various prose and verse texts into its narrative structure. This intertextual dialogue assumed various forms, such as explicit quotation, allusion, and rewriting; and during the protracted and tangled editorial vicissitudes of the novel, the canon of cited authors changed, especially as far as forms and modes of quoting were concerned. This article offers some examples of these dynamic intertextual structures and, in doing so, suggests a series of possible interpretations.

Keywords

• literature
• italy
• 19th century