Peter Bondanella Livres

" Comme il serait louable chez un prince de tenir sa parole et de vivre avec droiture et non avec ruse... " Même si son amour de la patrie ne fait aucun doute, Machiavel brosse le portrait d'une Italie en proie aux complots de toutes sortes. La politique est d'ailleurs, selon lui, un jeu où s'affrontent les passions et les intérêts. Œuvre d'exil, Le Prince est écrit en 1513. Machiavel le dédie à Laurent de Médicis, l'engageant à chercher le chemin de la vérité, à s'appuyer sur les Grands, à se concilier le peuple, bref, à songer à la prospérité et au salut de tous. Mais par quels moyens ? Les lois ou la force ? Peu importe puisque " la fin justifie les moyens ". Il faut savoir être " simulateur et dissimulateur. Les hommes sont si simples que celui qui trompe trouvera toujours qui se laissera tromper "...

This book offers an in-depth exploration of Umberto Eco's theories and literary works, providing the first extensive analysis in English. It delves into Eco's unique blend of semiotics, philosophy, and narrative techniques, highlighting his contributions to literature and cultural criticism. Through a detailed examination, readers will gain insights into Eco's intellectual legacy and the intricate connections between his theoretical ideas and fictional narratives.

A biography of Federico Fellini that shows how his exuberant imagination has been shaped by popular culture, literature, and his encounter with the ideas of C G Jung, especially Jungian dream interpretation. It links his mature accomplishments to his first employment as a cartoonist, gagman, and sketch-artist during the Fascist era.

The Decameron (c.1351) was written in the wake of the Black Death, a shattering epidemic which had shaken Florence's confident entrepreneurial society to its core. n a country villa outside the city, ten young noble men and women who have escaped the plague decide to tell each other stories. Boccaccio's skill as a dramatist is masterfully displayed in this virtuoso performance of one hundred tales, vivid portraits of people from all stations in life, with plots which revel in a bewildering variety of human reactions. Themes are playfully restated from one story to another within an elegant and refined framework. One of Chaucer's most fruitful sources for the Canterbury Tales, Boccaccio's work artfully combines the essential ingredients of narrative: fate and desire, crises and quick-thinking. This new translation by Guido Waldman captures the exuberance and variety and tone of Boccaccio's masterpiece.