Between Romanticism and Realism: the Poetics of Engagement and the Romanzo Sociale During the Italian Risorgimento

Abstract

Within the context of nineteenth-century Italy, 'social' literature constitutes an interesting and illuminating opportunity for theoretical reflection on, and ideological elaboration of, the question of how a literate elite viewed the lower classes and their role in the process of redefining Italian national identity. The cultural and literary message that writers, critics, and intellectuals tried to bring to the attention of the public through the romanzo sociale was further confirmed and supported in the critical writings of the journalistic press, however unable the genre ultimately was to see beyond its own idyllic and artificial vision of reality.