Abstract

This essay offers a close-reading of Nerina, the short-story that Paul Heyse (1830-1914) published in 1878 as the opening text of his translation of Leop¬ardi's poems. Heyse's text builds on the stereotype of the melancholic, solitary and unhappy poet. It is, however, complemented by his essay Leopardi's "Welt anschauung", which draws a fairly complex profile of Leopardi with insights into the poet that will gain ground in the 20th century, and which may explain why Heyse decided to omit "Nerina" in the second edition of his translation from Leopardi.