La 'funzione Shakespeare' nell'Ottocento italiano ed europeo

This essay reconstructs the history of Shakespeare’s reception in Europe, and mainly in Italy, between the 18th and 19th century. The author demonstrates that, despite all interpretative deformations, trivializations and unfaithful translations of his plays and tragedies, Shakespeare and his works represented a touchstone for the elaboration of romantic aesthetic theories that aimed at renovating literature and art as a whole.