Luigi Pirandello

by Biasin, Gian-Paolo; Gieri, Manuela

• ISBN13: 9780802043870
• ISBN10: 0802043879
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-02-01
• Publisher: Univ of Toronto Pr

Summary

The texts of Luigi Pirandello, one of the literary giants of this century, have been subject to widely different readings by successive generations of critics. These essays present an up-to-date re-evaluation of Pirandello's works, which include poetry, novels, short stories, plays, essays, letters, and memoirs. Arranged in four sections - Introduction, Structures, Meanings, and Innovations - the volume presents a variety of provocative viewpoints and offers an accurate picture of the network of issues inhabiting the author's oeuvre. In the introductory section the editors provide an informative overview of the status of Pirandellian studies today. The book examines the recent upsurge of interest in Pirandello and offers outstanding material for courses in Italian studies, comparative studies, theatre, and the humanities.

Author Biography

The late GIAN-PAOLO BIASIN was a professor in the Department of Italian Studies, University of California, Berkeley. MANUELA GIERI is a professor in the Department of Italian Studies, University of Toronto.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	ix	(2)
CONTRIBUTORS	xi
Section 1: Introduction	3	(34)
1 Pirandello at 360 Degrees	3	(20)
GIAN-PAOLO BIASIN
MANUELA GIERI
2 Scenes and Texts: Perspectives in Pirandellian Criticism	23	(14)
FRANCA ANGELINI
Section 2: Structures	37	(70)
3 Pirandello's Quest for Truth: Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore	37	(16)
DONATO SANTERAMO
4 Pirandello and the Theatre-within-the-Theatre: Thresholds and Frames in Ciascuno a suo modo	53	(11)
MAURIZIO GRANDE
5 Families of Characters and Families of Actors on the Pirandellian Stage	64	(13)
PAOLO PUPPA
6 The Making and Unmaking of Language: The Rhetoric of Speech and Silence	77	(30)
MARIA ANTONIETTA GRIGNANI
Section 3: Meanings	107	(56)
7 Laughter and Political Allegory in Pirandello: A Reading of `C'e qualcuno che ride'	107	(18)
ROMANO LUPERINI
8 Pirandellian Nakedness	125	(14)
ROBERT DOMBROSKI
9 Eros and Solitude in Pirandello's Short Stories	139	(24)
CORRADO DONATI
Section 4: Innovations	163
10 Enacting the Dissolution of the Self: Woman as One, No One, and One Hundred Thousand	163	(26)
DANIELA BINI
11 Regicide, Parricide, and Tyrannicide in Il fu Mattia Pascal: Stealing from the Father to Give to the Son	189	(25)
THOMAS HARRISON
12 Pirandello in the Discursive Economies of Modernity and Postmodernism	214
WLADIMIR KRYSINSKI