Ossian e Shakespeare nella letteratura italiana tra fine Settecento e primo Ottocento

The study aims to recognise the influence of the translation of Ossian’s songs by Cesarotti (in his three main editions: Padua 1763 and 1772, Pisa 1801), and of the first complete translation of Shakespeare’s theatre, written by Pierre Le Tourneur (Paris 1776-1782), on the great Italian authors of the late XVIIIth and early XIXth century (Monti, Alfieri, Foscolo and Leopardi). The work is structured in a chronological itinerary that intersects different literary genres, periods and personalities. It begins by proposing an analysis of the French translation of Shakespeare's work – because it is in this version that the theatre of the Bard arrived in Italy. Secondly, there is an analysis of the influence on the literary milieu. The research also includes a consideration of the first Italian translations which used the French version, whose idiom was a sort of “bridge language”, as often happened in Italy. The imposing work of Le Tourneur became fundamental for Italy because it allowed the cultural milieu a full knowledge of the work of the English dramatist: the rare and partial Italian translations were not in fact previously able to offer a complete interpretation of the author’s idea. Parallel to the Shakespearian movement, there is, strictly connected with the first, the growing awareness of the famous songs of Ossian by Cesarotti (who, because of his authority on translation also became a point of reference for Shakespearian translations), which had a great influence on the whole of Europe. Symbolic of the burgeoning romantic spirit, the poems represented a sort of rite of passage for literary men, who subsequently approached Shakespeare's work: the dark atmosphere and the intense dramatic tone of the narrated events anticipated the new style. The new awareness of English theatre follows logically from this, so that the complex eighteenth century debate about theatre and, with it, great romantic Italian poetry emerges.