Abstract
In the first part of the paper, after presenting
the most ancient meaning of the word irony
(the Greek eironeia), the author examines
some passages of Plato’s dialogues in order to
apprehend a particular concept of irony
founded on the paradox of a circularity from
which it is impossible to come out. The second
part is devoted to the discussion of the concept
of irony developed by Alberto Savinio – one of
the most ironic writers of twentieth century
Italian literature – in his introduction to the
selected works of the second century
rhetorician and satirist Lucian of Samosata. In
that introductory essay, Savinio articulated the
paradoxical idea of irony as a form of «indirect
love».
References
Savinio A., Dieci processi, a cura di Gabriele Pedullà, con dieci disegni dell’autore, Palermo, Sellerio, p. 51.
Ibidem.
Savinio A., Scritti dispersi. 1943-1952,
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