Abstract
The essay studies the characteristics of the encyclopedic novel as a typical form of modern literature. Besides, the novel as such has strong aptitudes to amass encyclopedic information. In the encyclopedic novel the trend becomes a key feature, either as a language polyphony or as a structural dominance of the didactic digressions over the narrative frame. Moreover, unlike, medieval encyclopedism, which was the expression of a cosmic regular world idea, the modern one is unfinished and circumstantial (Flaubert), since it appears rather as a manic transcription of chaos (Gadda), or as a “challenge to labyrinth” (Calvino).The bulimic assemblage of data or the combinatorial obsession of maps and networks make up for the loss of totality.
| Translated title of the contribution | [Autom. eng. transl.] The encyclopedic novel |
|---|---|
| Original language | Italian |
| Title of host publication | Le forme del romanzo italiano e le letterature occidentali dal Sette al Novecento |
| Editors | Simona Costa, Monica Venturini |
| Pages | 139-169 |
| Number of pages | 31 |
| Publication status | Published - 2010 |
Keywords
- Calvino Italo
- Eco Umberto
- Flaudert Gustave
- Gadda Carlo Emilio
- Joyce James
- Mann Thomas
- Musil Robert
- Romanzo enciclopedico