NATIONAL DECADENCE IN THE FIN-DE-SIECLE RECEPTION OF THE INTERMEZZO OF RIME D'ANNUNZIO

The article proposes a reconsideration of the fin-de-siecle reception of Gabriele d'Annunzio's collection of verses Intermezzo di rime (1883). Drawing on theories on the horizon of expectation and the authorial ethos, the essay highlights the framing effect exerted by the historical-cultural context on the reception of the work. The critical debate surrounding the work is in fact influenced by the reflection on the function of literature in united Italy and the denigration to which Italians are subjected at a European level. The influence of these aspects on the reception of the work gives rise to the decadent ethos with which d'Annunzio will have to deal throughout his career.