Abstract
Mr. Gladstone's enthusiasm for Italian literature is perhaps best exemplified in the essay on the life and works of Leopardi which first appeared in the Quarterly Review for March, 1850, and was afterwards reprinted in his Gleanings from Past Years, Vol. II, 1879. The article itself, when we consider that it was only the second piece of Leopardi criticism to be published in English, appears as a strikingly lucid and intelligent essay, even if many of Gladstone's conclusions have, after a century, been superseded. Gladstone is less interested in the biography of Leopardi than in an attempt to appreciate his poetry and explain his atheism. He declares that Leopardi's only contemporary rival as a poet in Italy is possibly Manzoni, and even this may be doing an injustice to Leopardi. He calls him eminently a subjective poet, whose power consists more in the reflective than in the strictly creative.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callSimilar Papers
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
