Leopardi, Giacomo - Claudia Stancati (essay date 1995)
Claudia Stancati (essay date 1995)
SOURCE: Stancati, Claudia. “The French Sources of Leopardi's Linguistics.” In Historical Roots of Linguistic Theories, edited by Lia Formigari and Daniele Gambarara, pp. 129-39. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1995.
[In the following essay, Stancati examines the relationship of Leopardi's linguistic theory to his study of various thinkers of the French Enlightenment.]
Giacomo Leopardi's “rationally founded and demonstrated scepticism” (ZIB [Zibaldone]: 1653) draws its nourishment from still-vital elements of Enlightenment thought. This can be seen, for example, if we explore Leopardi's connection with Holbach (cf. Stancati 1979). But it is true in a more general way of his relationship with other French Enlightenment thinkers, also with regard to the question of a national language, the “questione della lingua”, which is an important aspect of Leopardi's political and cultural...
[The entire page is 4524 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
