Agide

Vittorio AlfieriProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 69K words
Chapters: 7

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Agide by Vittorio AlfieriAuthor: Alfieri, Vittorio, 1749-1803,Language: Italian, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Jan 25, 2010

Editor's review

Agide is a tragedy by the Italian playwright Vittorio Alfieri (1749–1803), released by Project Gutenberg as an electronic text in Italian. Alfieri is known for classical tragedies that often center on conflicts between power, freedom, and individual will, with concise language and concentrated conflict. This book works well as a sample of Italian literature and theater history, especially for observing how 18th-century Italian tragedy inherits the classical tradition while incorporating the political concerns of the Enlightenment. The electronic edition is portable and searchable, suitable for note-taking alongside the play's structure. Note that this is a dramatic text; it is best read by imagining stage blocking and the rhythm of the lines rather than as a novel. For research, it should be read alongside Alfieri's other tragedies and the political context of the time.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students of Italian literature or theater history who need a sample of the original text
Readers interested in 18th-century classical tragedy and political themes
Learners with basic Italian who want to practice reading plays
Teachers who need a free electronic play text for structural analysis and classroom discussion

Not a good fit for

Readers with no Italian and no willingness to use a translation
General casual readers expecting the continuous narrative of a plot-driven novel
Specialist researchers who need detailed annotations and textual collation

Reading tips

Start with the list of characters and scene divisions, clarify the two sides of the conflict, then proceed act by act.
Read key dialogue aloud to feel Alfieri's short sentences and stage rhythm.
Note changes in power relations as you read, and after finishing, review the logic of the title character's choices.
If the language is difficult, use an English or Chinese translation to grasp the plot first, then read the original.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What kind of work is Agide?

It is a tragedy written by Alfieri, belonging to the classical dramatic tradition, in which conflict advances through dialogue and scenes; it is not a novel or an essay. It is best read as a play, attending to character relationships and stage rhythm.

Can I read this book without knowing Italian?

Reading the original directly requires some knowledge of Italian. Without Italian, you can first use an English or Chinese translation to understand the plot and themes, then compare key words and lines with the original, or use it as material for theater history.

Does this electronic edition include annotations and an introduction?

According to the Project Gutenberg entry, this edition is a public electronic text and generally does not include detailed scholarly annotations or an introduction. For a deeper understanding of historical background and textual issues, consult research materials or an authoritative edition separately.

Comments

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About the author

Vittorio Alfieri Author · Italian · 1749–1803

Vittorio Alfieri (1749–1803) was an Italian tragic poet and playwright, born in Asti. He wrote nineteen tragedies on the theme of resistance to tyranny, among them Saul, Mirra, Filippo and Antigone; his style is terse and forceful, and he is regarded as a forerunner of the Italian Risorgimento. The collection also includes his plays Sofonisba, Ottavia and Agide, mostly drawn from ancient history and legend, which portray the conflicts between power and freedom, tyranny and individual will with compact structure and strong moral passion. He also wrote an autobiography, the Vita di Vittorio Alfieri, recounting his life and literary aims. Public sources on his early education and the details of his writing career are limited, and no conjecture is offered here.