Dialogue between Fashion and Death
Penguin : Great Ideas
Paperback
: 26 Aug 2010
£4.99
Synopsis
Leopardi, poet and philosopher, explores in humorous but savage dialogue the power of fashion and its strange irrationality. He also imagines conversations between Hercules and Atlas, Nature and an Icelander, and the Earth and the Moon, as well as producing a simple essay praising the humble bird.
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Student Review by Rebecca Macnaughton, UEA
If only one lesson is to be learned from Giacomo Leopardi’s “Dialogue Between Fashion and Death”, it is that of humility. Taking on the role of spectators, we are effortlessly drawn into a series of highly imaginative discussions; we watch as Hercules converses with Atlas, Death with Fashion and the Earth with the moon, and whilst their approaches and their discussions differ, one theme dominates; humanity‘s ignorance. Such a point could so easily turn into a dry commentary, yet Leopardi excels at hiding it behind witty remarks and thick, consuming satire. His sense of humour is both interesting yet subtly revealing; often amplified by the delicate and touching personification he gives to things (the moon, the Earth, nature), he is able to show us what we should be laughing at; the ignorance, the arrogance and the insularity of our species.
Perhaps testament should also be paid to its translator, Giovanni Cechetti, who brings Leopardi’s technical ability into the forefront of our time. 19th Century writing is not normally so catchy, so well-timed nor so dainty, yet here it is made perfectly readable. Even in his essay on the beauty of birds, his tone and his structure matches the delicacy of his subject; he is listened to because his writing is so accessible, whether in staging dialogue or writing in rather lengthier exposition. His writing, therefore, becomes transcendent; not only can he successfully stroll through genres, but he, too, can defy time with ideas and with writing that are just as applicable today. Leopardi is not so much preaching as doing what many argue literature should; he is entertaining yet at the same time, inducing serious thought.
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Product details
Format :
Paperback
ISBN: 9780141192550
Size : 111 x 181mm
Pages : 112
Published : 26 Aug 2010
Publisher : Penguin
Dialogue between Fashion and Death
£4.99
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