Aristarco Scannabue kao hiperbolizirani odraz Giuseppea Barettija
Aristarco Scannabue as hyperbolized reflection of Giuseppe Baretti

Summary/Abstract: The turning point in the reflection on irony has its roots in Romanticism. From the realization of subjectivity and complex characteristics of individual ex perience of phenomena, as articulated by Schlegel and Kierkegaard, the concept of irony starts to be applied to different aspects of life, ultimately marking hu man existence as inherently ironic. Traces of the “ironic personality” can already be found in descriptions of Socrates. However, since the late nineteenth century, a distinct and conscious deviation emerges, not only through tropes, words, or controversial writings, but through complete existence. It is in this context that we aim to explore Giuseppe Baretti, the contradictory satirist of the 18th cen tury, whose ironic goal is expressed even in the title of the journal La Frusta let teraria. However Baretti does not use irony merely as a rhetorical device, but as an existential stance: through his anti conformist choices and conflicts with the surrounding environment and authority. By giving the metaphorical whip as an instrument od punishment into the hands of the protagonist of his journal, in the fight against dissenters, Baretti confirms the inseparable connection between the temperament of the ironist and his literary creation, revealing the technique he would use to a significant extent while writing his journal. This paper will focus on the author of the journal La Frusta letteraria and the protagonist Aristarco Scannabue, his hyperbolized reflection.

• Details
• Contents