Criticism in the reception of Machado de Assis’ translated works in Italy

Abstract

This article analyses the importance of criticism in the reception of Machado de Assis’s translated works in Italy. It draws upon the work of Torop (2000), who studies reception as one aspect of literary translation. Based on statistical data concerning translations into Italian, and undertaking an analysis of the Italian editions of Machado de Assis’s work, it is possible to determine the key (if often unnoticed) role of both translation criticism and literary culture in the reception and assessment of foreign literature. KEY WORDS: translation, Italy, Machado de Assis, reception, literary culture, criticism.