Genius to Improve an Invention: Literary Transitions

The Genius to Improve an Invention derives its title from John Dryden’s phrase for the British tendency to take up literary masterpieces from the past and ＂perfect＂ them. Distinguished literary scholar Piero Boitani adopts Dryden’s notion as a framework for exploring ways in which classical and medieval texts, scenes, and themes have been rewritten by modern authors.

Boitani focuses on a concept of literary transition that takes into account both T.S. Eliot’s idea of ＂tradition and individual talent＂ and Harold Bloom’s ＂anxiety of influence.＂ In five elegant essays he examines a wide range of authors and texts, including Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Voltaire, Goethe, Sartre, Dante, and Keats. Appearing for the first time in an English translation, The Genius to Improve an Invention will appeal to anyone interested in the Western literary tradition.

Piero Boitani is professor of comparative literature at the University of Rome, ＂La Sapienza.＂ He is the founding president of the European Society for English Studies and a fellow of the British Academy. In 2002, he was awarded the Feltrinelli Prize for Literary Criticism, Italy’s most prestigious literary award. Boitani is the author of numerous books.