Benedetto Croce, Poetry and Literature: An Introduction to Its Criticism and History - Tapa dura

This translation of Croce s "La poesia "(1936) permits for the first time to an English-speaking audience a deeper assessment of Crocean aesthetic thought, and is therefore of essential value to students of philosophy, literature, and cultural history. "Choice""

Benedetto Croce s influence pervades Anglo-Saxon culture, but, ironically, before Giovanni Gullace heeded the call of his colleagues and provided this urgently needed translation of "La Poesia, "speakers of English had no access to Croce s major work and final rendering of his esthetic theory."""""Aesthetic, "published in 1902 and translated in 1909, represents most of what the English-speaking world knows about Croce s theory. It is, asserts Gullace, no more than a first sketch of a thought that developed, clarified, and corrected itself through new literary experience and more mature reflection. During the 34 years between "Aesthetic "and "La Poesia "(1936), for example, Croce added a striking new element to his thought: the analysis of prose literature.Gullace s introduction to "La Poesia "constitutes a major undertaking in its own right. It is aimed at acquainting the reader with the evolution of Croce s thought and at explaining the relationship between this final work and the philosopher s previous work in esthetic theory and literary criticism."""La Poesia "is divided into two parts, text and postscripts. The text consists of four chapters: Poetry and Literature; The Life of Poetry; Criticism and History of Poetry; and The Formation of the Poet and the Precepts. Croce saw the postscripts as a relaxed conversation after the tension of theoretical exposition. In Gullace s translation the text and relevant postscripts appear conveniently side by side in a double column. Gullace has annotated both text and postscripts."