Mario Festini’s Literary Criticism

Abstract

Mario Festini begins his literary criticism by studiously approaching the works of F. De Sanctis, B. Croce, a Gramsci of whom he says that they mediated in the creation of a new aesthetic system. Although he does not recoil from their methodological approach, Festini relies on intuition and knowledge to form his own critical style. By ecamining tile authenticity of Festini's style, the author of the article discovers that Festini’s point of departure was the literary text which, according to him, exists owing to its stylistic, philosophical, aesthetic, primarily human components. Festini takes into consideration the judgements that had accrued but these arc not decisive for his conclusions. Italian themes dominate the literary research of Mario Festini. Dante and Petrarch in whose work he seeks still unrevealed verses and messages not obliterated by time occupy for him aposition of special importance. He uses an analytic approach to the critical thoughts and aesthetic principles of the Dalmatian writer G. Politea who polemically defended Ariosto’s »Orlando furioso« from biased criticism. The largest number of Feslini's contributions deal witli contemporary Italian writers • I. Svevo, R. Baccltelli, E. Vittorini, I. Silotle, Tornasi di Lampedusa and others. Before gathering his impressions and passing judgements. Festini subjects these works to a process of reading, rumination, discovery of their imaginative essence and meaning. Festini's other themes * Dalmatian, comparative, Istrian - go tirougli a similar process. Feslini’s critical assessments of original literary, theoretical or critical works are not a reconstruction of a complex research operation but represent a product of an ail - pervading singular creative spirit. Relying on am analysis of Feslini's criticism, the author concludes I hat Feslini’s critical statements are thought-out and original, his Synthesis authentic, the conclusions acceptable and that the criticism represents an indispensible contribution to Italian and, with the comparative and Dalmatian themes, to Croatian literary history.