Giorgio Melchiori
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Giorgio Melchiori
CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
FBA (19 August 1920 – 8 February 2009) was an
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...
and
translator Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...
. His scholarly work was focused on the
Early Modern English Early Modern English or Early New English (sometimes abbreviated EModE, EMnE, or ENE) is the stage of the English language from the beginning of the Tudor period to the English Interregnum and Restoration, or from the transition from Middle E ...
literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
of the
Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...
and Jacobean eras.


Early life

Melchiori was born on 19 August 1920 in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.


Career

Melchiori held the Chairs of English in the
University of Turin The University of Turin (Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Torino'', UNITO) is a public research university in the city of Turin, in the Piedmont region of Italy. It is one of the oldest universities in Europe and continues to play an impo ...
and subsequently in
Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a Public university, public research university l ...
, initially in the faculty of Literature and Philosophy, then later in the Faculty of Education, and at
Roma Tre University Roma Tre UniversityUniroma3.it
( it, Università degli Studi Roma Tre) is an Italian Mario Praz Mario Praz (; September 6, 1896, Rome – March 23, 1982, Rome) was an Italian-born critic of art and literature, and a scholar of English literature. His best-known book, ''The Romantic Agony'' (1933), was a comprehensive survey of the decadent ...
who created a formidable group of scholars during the years of the Second World War, Melchiori was awarded one of the first post-war
British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...
Scholarships and arrived in England in 1944 where he was at once officially classified as an “Enemy Alien”. Notwithstanding this inauspicious beginning the year spent in the
University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hull ...
was the start of a long and close relationship with the country where he spent a part of every year lecturing, reading and theatre-going. The early friendship and encouragement of Sir
Herbert Read Sir Herbert Edward Read, (; 4 December 1893 – 12 June 1968) was an English art historian, poet, literary critic and philosopher, best known for numerous books on art, which included influential volumes on the role of art in education. Read ...
was invaluable in publishing the essays which formed the core of his first book ''The Tightrope Walkers'', essays on
Mannerism Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...
in contemporary English literature, a book which was immediately well received and which helped him to make many friends in the world of Anglo-Saxon literary criticism. Another invaluable formative experience during this first post-war immersion in English culture was a six-week intensive course on editing organised by the British Council for a small group of international students held in Barford, near
Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...
in 1945 where Melchiori came into close personal contact with
J. Dover Wilson John Dover Wilson CH (13 July 1881 – 15 January 1969) was a professor and scholar of Renaissance drama, focusing particularly on the work of William Shakespeare. Born at Mortlake (then in Surrey, now in Greater London), he attended Lancing ...
,
Clifford Leech Clifford Leech (1909–1977) was a prolifically published British-born professor of English at University College at the University of Toronto 1963-74. In ''The Cambridge Companion to Christopher Marlowe'' (2004), Patrick Cheney, its editor, descri ...
,
C. J. Sisson Charles Jasper Sisson (15 December 1885 – 28 July 1966) was a British academic and writer. From 1928 until 1951 he was Lord Northcliffe professor of modern English literature at University College London.'Prof. C. J. Sisson', ''The Times'' (29 Ju ...
and a number of other greatly experienced editors of Elizabethan texts. This early training in philology laid the foundation for his editions many years later of ''
The Merry Wives of Windsor ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...
'' (2000) and ''
Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...
'' (1998) for Arden, of ''Henry IV'' part 2 (2000) for the New Cambridge, of John Marston’s ''
The Insatiate Countess ''The Insatiate Countess'' is an early Jacobean era stage play, a tragedy first published in 1613. The play is a problematic element in John Marston's dramatic canon. Publication ''The Insatiate Countess'' was first printed in 1613, in a quart ...
'' (1984) for Manchester University Press and, together with Vittorio Gabrieli, of
Anthony Munday Anthony Munday (or Monday) (1560?10 August 1633) was an English playwright and miscellaneous writer. He was baptized on 13 October 1560 in St Gregory by St Paul's, London, and was the son of Christopher Munday, a stationer, and Jane Munday. He ...
’s ''The Book of Sir Thomas More'' (1990) for
Manchester University Press Manchester University Press is the university press of the University of Manchester, England and a publisher of academic books and journals. Manchester University Press has developed into an international publisher. It maintains its links with th ...
. Melchiori likewise edited the nine-volume annotated edition of Shakespeare's plays (English texts with Italian translations) for the classic Meridiani edition published by Mondadori in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, a work completed in 1991. Besides many essays on Shakespeare and on the Elizabethans (a complete bibliography is to be found in the Italian entry under his name in Wikipedia) he published two books on Shakespeare, one a detailed examination of the only four Sonnets addressed neither to the young man nor to the dark lady: Shakespeare's Dramatic Meditations; an experiment in criticism (Oxford 1976), and Shakespeare's Garter Plays (Delaware, 1994). Throughout his life Melchiori was also deeply interested in
Irish literature Irish literature comprises writings in the Irish, Latin, English and Scots ( Ulster Scots) languages on the island of Ireland. The earliest recorded Irish writing dates from the 7th century and was produced by monks writing in both Latin an ...
and was responsible for the definitive revision of the Italian translation of
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
’s ''
Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...
'' Mondadori (1960). He founded and edited the annual review Joyce Studies in Italy in 1984, now edited by Franca Ruggieri, and published The Whole Mystery of Art: Pattern into Poetry in the Work of W. B. Yeats (Routledge, London, 1960) a study of the influence of the visual arts on the work of
W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
. His book on The Taste of Henry James, written with Barbara Melchiori and published in Italian by
Einaudi Einaudi is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Luigi Einaudi (1874–1961), Italian politician *Mario Einaudi (1905–1994), Italian political scientist, son of Luigi *Giulio Einaudi (1912–1999), Italian publisher, son o ...
in 1974 is to be found on line in its original English version in http://www.e-book4free.com. Throughout his life Melchiori was a tireless translator and especially in the early years after the war, in an effort to compensate for the period during which the
Fascist regime Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
had discouraged the teaching of English language in Italy, he did much to make available Italian versions of English classics, both novels and
poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
. He accepted the challenge when called upon to translate
William Empson Sir William Empson (27 September 1906 – 15 April 1984) was an English literary critic and poet, widely influential for his practice of closely reading literary works, a practice fundamental to New Criticism. His best-known work is his first ...
’s
Seven Types of Ambiguity ''Seven Types of Ambiguity'' is a work of literary criticism by William Empson which was first published in 1930. It was one of the most influential critical works of the 20th century and was a key foundation work in the formation of the New Crit ...
and the Italian version contains a page completely re-written by Empson who admitted that he could no longer explain what he had originally written. Especially outstanding were Melchiori's bi-lingual anthologies of the poems of
John Donne John Donne ( ; 22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's ...
and of the Metaphysical poets, still widely used by students today. Starting life with a wide knowledge of the visual arts (his first book, never translated, was a study in Italian of
Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
in English literature) his main pleasure was in
theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
,
cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking * ...
and
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
, recordings of the latter during his last years of blindness were a constant refuge as two of his last publications Shakespeare all’opera: i drammi nella librettistica italiana (2006) and ''The Music of Words''. From Madrigal to Drama and Beyond: Shakespeare Foreshadowing an Operatic Technique (2008) bear witness.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melchiori, Giorgio 1920 births 2009 deaths Writers from Rome Academic staff of Roma Tre University Academic staff of the Sapienza University of Rome Academic staff of the University of Turin Italian literary critics Italian male non-fiction writers Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy Honorary Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Italian expatriates in the United Kingdom