Italian Impromptus: A Study of P.B. Shelley’s Writings in Italian with an Annotated Edition

P.B. Shelley’s writings in Italian include translations and self-translations, original poetry and prose, and private letters, which can all be dated to the time of the poet’s Italian exile, ending with his tragic death two hundred years ago. These writings are the product of a sustained engagement with Italian language and literature which was central to Shelley’s experience of Italy, yet they have long been dismissed as a biographical curiosity, receiving limited scholarly attention. This book aims to redress this neglect. It establishes the significance of Shelley’s Italian endeavours for the maturing of his poetics and his theories of language and translation and it reveals the revolutionary aim behind them, showing that the poet took advantage of contemporary Italian literary disputes to promote his political ideals abroad and forward the cause of Italy’s independence. Theoretically-informed analysis and close reading are combined with detailed contextualisation, including the reconstruction of Shelley’s language learning practice in England and his reaction to the peculiar sociolinguistic situation he found on his arrival in Italy. This study firmly places Shelley within the rich literary tradition of foreign writers in Italian, contributing to the lively field of research on Romantic cosmopolitanism and adding an important chapter to the history of Anglo-Italian cultural relations. Complementing the study is a new edition of Shelley’s writings in Italian based on a fresh examination of the original manuscripts, which will prove a valuable resource for students of the poet and scholars of Italian studies and translation studies alike.