The Dead and the Living

Enrico PanzacchiProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.5

Word count: 161K words
Chapters: 17

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.Morti e viventi by Enrico PanzacchiAuthor: Panzacchi, Enrico, 1840-1904,Language: Italian, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: May 15, 2014

Editor's review

Morti e viventi (The Dead and the Living) is a work by the Italian writer Enrico Panzacchi, released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain Italian e-book. Panzacchi was a poet, writer, and critic, and his writing often carries the temper of literary essays and intellectual observation. The title itself sets up the contrast between death and life; the contents are closer to literary essays or a collection of short pieces than to a continuous novel. It suits readers interested in Italian literature or in European men of letters from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. Its value lies in experiencing the linguistic sensibilities and intellectual concerns of Italian literary culture of the period rather than in plot. Because it is the original Italian text and essayistic in style, non-Italian readers need some language foundation or a translation for comparison.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with Italian reading ability who enjoy classical essays
Students and scholars studying Italian literature or Panzacchi's work
Readers interested in late nineteenth-century European literary essays
Those who want to feel the literary language of Italian through the original

Not a good fit for

Readers with no Italian and no parallel translation at hand
Plot-oriented readers expecting a complete long novel
Those who prefer contemporary fast-paced nonfiction

Reading tips

Look up Panzacchi's life and literary identity first to set reading expectations
Read a piece or two at a time to avoid fatigue from continuous reading
Prepare an Italian-Chinese dictionary or parallel translation, marking new words and key expressions
After reading, note how each piece handles the images of death and life, and summarize the themes

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

Is this book a novel or an essay collection?

Judging by the title and Panzacchi's background, it is closer to literary essays or a collection of short pieces, with the temper of intellectual observation and literary criticism, rather than a continuous novel. For the exact contents, refer to the e-book's table of contents. Read it as essays, without expecting a unified storyline.

Can I read this book without knowing Italian?

The original is in Italian, and reading it directly without Italian is very difficult. Look for an existing English or Chinese translation to read alongside, or use machine translation to get the gist before returning to the original to feel the language. For research, read closely paragraph by paragraph with a dictionary, but expect to invest considerable time.

Who was Panzacchi?

Enrico Panzacchi (1840–1904) was an Italian writer, poet, and critic active in Italian literary circles from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century. His writing spans poetry, literary criticism, and essays, with polished language and a man-of-letters speculative quality. Knowing this helps understand the book's style and tone.

Where can I get the e-book edition?

This book is released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain e-book; search and download it on the official website by title or author name, usually available in several formats. As a public-domain resource it is convenient for personal reading and study, but observe the platform's terms and do not use it for commercial gain.

Comments

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About the author

Enrico Panzacchi Author · Italian · 1840–1904

Enrico Panzacchi (1840–1904) was an Italian poet, art and music critic, and politician. Born in Ozzano dell'Emilia and a graduate of the University of Pisa, he is known alongside Carducci and Guerrini as one of the "three masters of Bologna." He served as professor of aesthetics at the University of Bologna and as deputy minister of education, and founded the magazine Lettere e Arti. His works, including Teste quadre, La musica, Donne e poeti, and Morti e viventi, span poetry, music, and art criticism, drawing on music, painting, and literary figures, and combining a poet's sensitivity with a critic's discernment. Public information is limited, and details of his style and works warrant further verification. He died in Bologna in 1904.