“COSÌ, VESTIVA IN BARBARI ACCENTI, / IL VERO AFFETTO A UN AUSONIO”: SUGLI SCRITTI IN ITALIANO DI P.B. SHELLEY

Abstract

P.B. Shelley’s attempts at writing in Italian date to the period from late Autumn 1820 to August 1821. They consist of self-translations, loose fragments, the draft of an original verse composition, an allegorical prose piece, the review of an “improvvisazione” on a classical subject by Tommaso Sgricci, and some more or less fragmentary letters. What is the value of these writings in relation to Shelley’s works? What knowledge of Italian do they suggest? What is their expressive import? How can they be best presented in a modern edition of Shelley’s works? In addressing these questions, I will suggest that these writings should be neither overvalued, nor completely ignored, and I will conclude that they have a biographical, rather than a literary, or linguistic, relevance.