T.S. Eliot’s 'Four Quartets' in Italy

Brill has published T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets in Italy: Translations, Appropriations, Canonization (1944–2013) by Eleonora Gallitelli. The volume offers the first comprehensive account of the Italian reception of Eliot’s late masterpiece, tracing its trajectory from the earliest translations published in wartime and postwar literary periodicals to its eventual canonization within Italian culture.

The study reconstructs how Italian writers, translators, and critics interpreted and appropriated Four Quartets. The poems were variously understood as expressions of resignation or faith, examples of Hermetic complexity, and works distinguished by their lyrical musicality. Particular attention is devoted to the translations and debates that appeared in Italian periodicals during the 1940s, when Eliot’s poetry entered a rapidly changing intellectual and literary landscape.

The volume also examines the complete translations published between 1952 and 2013, as well as later forms of reception extending beyond literary translation. These include multimodal reinterpretations such as the 2013 edition accompanied by José Muñoz’s watercolour illustrations. Bringing together reception history, translation analysis, and cultural criticism, the book contributes to the study of literary mediation and canon formation across linguistic and cultural boundaries.

About the author

Eleonora Gallitelli is Associate Professor of English Language and Translation at the University of Udine, where she teaches English for Tourism at BA and MA levels. She is a member of the Interuniversity Research Centre Dis-4Change. Her research interests include translation and reception studies, ESP teaching, ecolinguistics, travel writing, and literary tourism. Her publications examine, among other subjects, the Italian translations and reception of works by Dickens, Faulkner, Rushdie, and T.S. Eliot.

Publication details

Series: Literary Reception & Art Reception, Volume 3
Publisher: Brill, 2026
Hardback ISBN: 978-90-04-69170-4
E-book ISBN: 978-90-04-75994-7