"Chiamare le cose coi loro nomi". Leopardi, Casti e il libro terribile

Positioning itself in continuity with a consolidated critical tradition, the essay aims to redefine the possible influence of Giambattista Casti’s Animali parlanti on Leopardi’s Paralipomeni della Batracomiomachia, through an examination of the themes, the ideological reflections and the stylistic constants shared by the two texts; and dedicating some reflections to the controversial reception among contemporaries.