The Sister

Giambattista della PortaProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 160K words
Chapters: 16

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.La sorella by Giambattista della PortaAuthor: Porta, Giambattista della, 1535?-1615,Language: Italian, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Mar 20, 2009

Editor's review

La sorella is a work by the Italian Renaissance polymath Giambattista della Porta, belonging to Italian literature. Della Porta was known both for natural science and for playwriting; his plays often draw on everyday life and emotional entanglements, with lively language and strongly theatrical plots. The book is short, a good entry into late-sixteenth-century Italian drama: one can observe the structural interest of comedy of the time and feel the social customs and linguistic habits in the characters' dialogue. For Chinese readers its main value lies in its documentary and literary-historical significance rather than novelty of plot. Note that the original is in Italian and is a public-domain electronic text with brief version information. A basic knowledge of Italian or a reliable translation for comparison is recommended, and it should be understood within the overall context of Renaissance drama rather than judged in isolation by modern taste.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Italian language and literature students needing Renaissance play texts
Readers studying European drama history who want sixteenth-century material
Language learners with Italian reading ability who prefer classical texts
Cultural readers interested in Renaissance social customs and low-life subjects

Not a good fit for

Beginners with no Italian and no parallel translation
General readers expecting modern-novel plots and fast-paced narrative
Those who need detailed notes and scholarly introductions to understand old texts

Reading tips

Learn about della Porta's life and playwriting background first, then read the text; understanding will be smoother.
If possible, read a reliable translation alongside the original, focusing on dialogue and tone of the characters.
After reading, map the characters' relationships and conflict structure as practice in understanding Renaissance comedy.

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

Can I read this book without knowing Italian?

Reading the original directly will be difficult. It is a public-domain Italian text with brief version notes and no beginner-oriented annotation. First find a translation or bilingual edition with introduction and notes, understand the plot and background, then try the original. To learn literary history only, consult introductions in works on drama history.

What kind of work is this book?

According to the records, it is classified as Italian literature; the author, della Porta, was a Renaissance playwright and natural researcher. The book should be viewed as a dramatic text of that period, with stage dialogue and low-life subject matter. For plot details, rely on the original or a reliable translation; do not guess the content from the title.

What is the reading experience of the public-domain e-text?

This is a free public-domain e-book from Project Gutenberg, mainly plain text, possibly lacking the notes, chronology, and introduction of modern editions. Use a reader that supports font adjustment and prepare background sources. As version information is brief, check the specific source edition when citing.

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About the author

Giambattista della Porta Author · Italian · 1535–1615

Giambattista della Porta (1535?–1615) was an Italian scholar and playwright of the Renaissance, born in Vico Equense and died in Naples. He is best known for his book Natural Magic, and his interests extended to optics, cryptography, and physiognomy, reflecting the intertwining of natural history and experimental inquiry in his age. In drama he wrote some seventeen works, including neoclassical comedies such as L'Olimpia and Gli duoi fratelli rivali, as well as La fantesca, La carbonaria, La sorella, and Lo astrologo. Their subjects are drawn largely from everyday human affairs and domestic entanglements, with lively language and ingenious plots. His plays hold a place in the Italian comic tradition; public information is limited, and many details of his life remain uncertain.