The Italian Romantic Polemic

This master thesis discusses the roots, concepts and the subsequent interpretations of the so- called "romantic discussion", which took place in Italy between the years 1816-1826. Based on the overview of selected debate entries and their critical interpretations, we will try to explain the relatively scarce attention paid to the Italian romanticism by critics outside of Italy. The polemic on romanticism started with the article "On the Manner and Usefulness of Translations" by Madame de Stael, in which the author as a solution to the crisis affecting Italian literature suggested to translate more of French and German production, as it already reflected the upcoming romantic aesthetics. This modest proposal sparked a fierce debate which gradually dealt not only with the question of adopting foreign cultural impulses, but also with need to redefine the roots of Italian cultural traditions and build a modern Italian identity. The most important responses to Madame de Staël's article - written by Ludovico di Breme, Giovanni Berchet and Pietro Borsieri - are now considered "manifestos" of Italian romanticism. Unfortunately the inputs by Giacomo Leopardi and Alessandro Manzoni, even though they are considered very interesting and intellectually stimulating, cannot be considered part of the discussion as..