Agazzoni, Debora (2017) Syntax and Style in Alberto Arbasino's Early Works (1957-1963)
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Agazzoni, Debora (2017) Syntax and style in Alberto Arbasino's early works (1957-1963). PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/8122/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten:Theses http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Syntax and Style in Alberto Arbasino’s Early Works (1957-1963) Debora Agazzoni Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of PhD School of Modern Languages and Cultures College of Arts University of Glasgow January 2017 3 Abstract This thesis examines the syntax of the sentence and the style of three of Alberto Arbasino’s early works: Le piccole vacanze (1957), Il ragazzo perduto (1959) and Fratelli d’Italia (1963). The period in which these works were written and published was one of great linguistic changes, with Italian starting to become the language spoken by the majority of the population and the consequent formation of a new variety, the italiano dell’uso medio. This social evolution has also consequences for the language of narrative: whereas some authors embrace the lingua media and a clear, communicative style (stile semplice), others reject it and opt for linguistic experimentation. Although Arbasino is typically placed in this second slant of narrative writing, one cannot so easily assign him to a group or stream, since from the beginning of his career he developed a personal poetics influenced by modernist writers, as well as his own ideas on language and style. The aims of this study are first of all to chart the birth and diachronic evolution of Arbasino’s style, and evaluate the influence of his syntactic choices on it. Then investigate how the syntax of each work compares to the lines of development of contemporary Italian and to the language of contemporary narrative. My analysis begins with a comprehensive outline of the features of contemporary Italian and of the styles of writing in post-war narrative, ending with a focus on the character of Arbasino’s poetics and ideas on language and style in the decade 1954-1964. A brief chapter then illustrates the methodology used, based on quantitative analysis of syntactic aspects, and clarifies terminology. Thereafter, the core of the thesis is composed of three case studies that examine thoroughly the syntax of the sentence and other important syntactic devices of the three works separately, comparing data with corpora of Italian and with studies on narrative language. Finally, a concluding chapter highlights the lines of development of syntax and style in the three works. On the basis of this research, it is clear that the syntax of the sentence places Arbasino among experimental writers tending to break with the linguistic standard. Moreover, Arbasino’s syntactic choices in the three works reflect an increasing distance from traditional literary modes of representation and the progressive affirmation of his own literary project, founded in the poetics of realismo critico. 5 Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................... 3 List of Tables ................................................................................ 7 Acknowledgements ........................................................................ 11 Author’s Declaration ...................................................................... 13 Abbreviations .............................................................................. 15 Introduction ................................................................................ 17 1 Contemporary Italian and Literary Italian: Tendencies and Features ........ 23 1.1 Italian Language in the Post-War Era ......................................... 23 1.2 Italian Language and Style in the Novel (1945-1970) ....................... 29 1.2.1 Arbasino ...................................................................... 39 2 Corpus and Methodology ............................................................ 51 2.1 Corpus ............................................................................. 51 2.2 Structure of the Analysis ....................................................... 52 2.3 Tools and Definitions ............................................................ 55 3 Case Study 1. Le piccole vacanze as Stylistic Laboratory ...................... 63 3.1 Length and Composition of the Sentence .................................... 68 3.1.1 Length ........................................................................ 68 3.1.2 Composition of the Sentence ............................................. 77 3.2 Syntactic Links inside the Sentence: Coordination and Subordination .. 85 3.2.1 Syndetic and Asyndetic Coordination .................................... 88 3.2.2 Subordination ............................................................... 95 3.3 Nominal Style ................................................................... 111 3.3.1 Nominal Appositions: The Legacy of Literary Language ............. 113 3.3.2 Predicative Nominal Sentences: Between Lyricism and Dynamic Reportage ............................................................................ 114 3.3.3 Predicative Nominal Clauses at the Beginning of the Sentence and Lists: The Birth of Stylistic Features ............................................. 117 3.4 Punctuation...................................................................... 119 3.4.1 ‘Emotional’ Punctuation .................................................. 119 3.4.2 Fragmenting Punctuation ................................................. 121 3.4.3 Hints of Orality ............................................................. 122 3.5 Conclusion ....................................................................... 125 4 Case study 2. Il ragazzo perduto: A Stylistic Turning Point................... 129 4.1 General Aspects of the Structure of the Sentence ........................ 135 4.1.1 Length ....................................................................... 135 4.1.2 Composition of the Sentence ............................................ 140 4.2 Syntactic Links inside the Sentence: Coordination and Subordination . 146 6 4.2.1 Syndetic and Asyndetic Coordination ................................... 148 4.2.2 Subordination .............................................................. 152 4.3 Parenthetical Clauses .......................................................... 166 4.3.1 Disruption and Excess ..................................................... 166 4.3.2 Points of View and Reification ........................................... 169 4.3.3 Linearity and Interactivity ............................................... 171 4.4 Nominal Style ................................................................... 173 4.4.1 Rhythm ...................................................................... 174 4.4.2 Stereotypes ................................................................. 175 4.4.3 Open lists ................................................................... 177 4.5 Punctuation ..................................................................... 179 4.5.1 Loose and Tight ............................................................ 179 4.5.2 Omission and Redundancy ................................................ 181 4.5.3 Spoken Prosody ............................................................ 183 4.6 Conclusion ....................................................................... 184 5 Case Study 3. Fratelli d’Italia: A Stylistic Encyclopaedia ..................... 187 5.1 Length and Composition of the Sentence ................................... 192 5.1.1 Length ....................................................................... 192 5.1.2 Composition of the sentence ............................................ 203 5.2 Syntactic Links inside the Sentence: Coordination and Subordination . 210 5.2.1 Syndetic and Asyndetic Coordination ................................... 213 5.2.2 Subordination .............................................................. 218 5.3 Nominal Style ................................................................... 237 5.3.1 Rapidity, Conciseness and Objectivity ................................. 238 5.3.2 The Triumph of the Stereotype.......................................... 241 5.3.3 Lists ‘Arbasino Style’ ...................................................... 245 5.4 Punctuation ..................................................................... 253 5.4.1 Unconventional Colons .................................................... 254 5.4.2 Fragmenting Semicolons and Full Stops ................................ 255 5.4.3 Marks of Orality ............................................................ 257 5.5 Conclusion ....................................................................... 259 6 Conclusion: Lines of Development of Arbasino’s Syntax and Style .......... 263 Bibliography ............................................................................... 277 7 List of Tables Table 2-1 – No. of words, clauses and sentences