Arturo Caruana : rumanzier, traduttur u versifikatur popolari

Abstract

My wish to research on an aspect of Maltese literature - the biography of a Maltese writer made me choose the novelist, translator and popular verse writer of the late 19th and the first half of the 20th century Arturo Caruana (1876-1919). The dissertation deals with four main aspects: Caruana's biography, his novels, translations and popular verse, and is carried out against the background of the Romantic Movement of his time, especially within the Maltese historical and cultural context. My research is mainly based on an intensive analysis of various publications by the writer, local newspapers and other literary works printed during his time. I also consulted original documents about his life and interviewed different people who provided me with additional but worthy information. The dissertation is generally aimed at: 1. providing more data about local authors who gave a vital contribution to popular literature; 2. making readers aware of such writers and giving the latter the merit they deserve; and 3. presenting the cultural, sociological and political views of those times. This work is intended to reach two correlated results: the compilation of extant information about the author's biography, and of his extensive list of publications.