"Smarra" is a short-story written by Nodier in his youth. It is famous for its many literary references, to Greek and Latin literature (especially Apuleius and Lucanus), as well as to Shakespeare. Though at the time it was a commercial flop, today it can be considered one of the most important attempts to analyse dream-work before Freud. Literary materials are exploited as dream elements and organized according to the principles of a grammar of dreams which includes space-time short-circuits, the turning of the abstract into the concrete, and the uncertainty in the narrating voice. My essay analyses such aspects of the tale highlighting Nodier's extraordinary awareness of the workings of dreams. It also underscores "Smarra"'s theatrical structure, which in turn reflects oneiric representational strategies.
Smarra: jeu des formes
MERELLO, IDA
2009-01-01
Abstract
"Smarra" is a short-story written by Nodier in his youth. It is famous for its many literary references, to Greek and Latin literature (especially Apuleius and Lucanus), as well as to Shakespeare. Though at the time it was a commercial flop, today it can be considered one of the most important attempts to analyse dream-work before Freud. Literary materials are exploited as dream elements and organized according to the principles of a grammar of dreams which includes space-time short-circuits, the turning of the abstract into the concrete, and the uncertainty in the narrating voice. My essay analyses such aspects of the tale highlighting Nodier's extraordinary awareness of the workings of dreams. It also underscores "Smarra"'s theatrical structure, which in turn reflects oneiric representational strategies.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.