|
''The Betrothed'' ((イタリア語:I promessi sposi) (:i proˈmessi ˈspɔːzi)) is an Italian historical novel by Alessandro Manzoni, first published in 1827, in three volumes. It has been called the most famous and widely read novel of the Italian language.〔Archibald Colquhoun. ''Manzoni and his Times.'' J. M. Dent & Sons, London, 1954.〕 Set in northern Italy in 1628, during the supposed oppressive years of direct Spanish rule, it is sometimes seen as a veiled attack on the Austrian Empire, which controlled the region at the time the novel was written. (The definitive version was published in 1842). It is also noted for the extraordinary description of the plague that struck Milan around 1630. It deals with a variety of themes, from the cowardly, hypocritical nature of one prelate (Don Abbondio) and the heroic sainthood of other priests (Padre Cristoforo, Federico Borromeo), to the unwavering strength of love (the relationship between Renzo and Lucia, and their struggle to finally meet again and be married), and offers some keen insights into the meanderings of the human mind. ''I promessi sposi'' was made into an opera of the same name by Amilcare Ponchielli〔http://opera.stanford.edu/Ponchielli/ Stanford University (website); List of operas written by Amilcare Ponchielli (accessed 16 August 2012)〕 in 1856 and by Errico Petrella〔Sebastian Werr: Die Opern von Errico Petrella; Edition Praesens, Vienna, 1999〕 in 1869. There have been many film versions of ''I promessi sposi'', including ''I Promessi Sposi'', 1908,〔http://www.jstor.org/pss/3815357〕 ''The Betrothed'' 1941,〔http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034071/〕 ''The Betrothed'', 1990,〔http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809394199/info〕 and ''Renzo and Lucia,'' made for television in 2004.〔http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0347869/〕 In May 2015, at a weekly general audience at St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis asked engaged couples to read the novel for edification before marriage.〔http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1502269.htm〕 ==Writing and publication== Manzoni hatched the basis for his novel in 1821 when he read a 1627 Italian edict that specified penalties for any priest who refused to perform a marriage when requested to do so.〔Manzoni had taken a book to read on holiday to Brusuglio, which contained the edict. It is also printed in Melchiorre Gilia's ''Economia e Statistica''.〕 More material for his story came from Giuseppe Ripamonti's ''Milanese Chronicles''.〔 The first version, ''Fermo e Lucia'', was written between April 1821 and September 1823.〔Jean Pierre Barricelli. ''Alessandro Manzoni.'' Twayne, Boston, 1976.〕 He then heavily revised it, finishing in August 1825; it was published on 15 June 1827, after two years of corrections and proof-checking. Manzoni's chosen title, ''Gli Sposi Promessi'', was changed for the sake of euphony shortly before its final commitment to printing. In the early 19th century, there was still some controversy as to what form the standard literary language of Italy should take. Manzoni was firmly in favour of the dialect of Florence and, after ''washing his vocabulary on the banks of the Arno'' (as he put it), he revised the novel's language for its republication in 1842. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Betrothed (Manzoni novel)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|