L'Alessandra di Licofrone

Lorenzo Braccesi's study, L'Alessandra di Licofrone rivisitata (2004), confronts the enigma of Lycophron's Hellenistic poem through a novel critical and poetic reinterpretation. The monograph directly addresses the text's notoriously cryptic obscurity, dynamic shifts in narrative register, and complex mythographic intertextuality. Rather than adhering strictly to a literal prose translation, Braccesi develops a rhythmic adaptation utilizing flexible hendecasyllables and septenaries to capture the original iambic trimeter's momentum while ensuring modern Italian readability. Key structural modifications include explicit contextual naming within lines, clarification of divine epithets, and clear thematic sectioning. Supported by an introductory synthesis from Marziano Guglielminetti and extensive textual commentary, the volume explores Lycophron's prophetic narrative mode, Trojan mythic cycles, and post-war return narratives (nostoi). Ultimately, the study demonstrates how poetic re-adaptation serves as a powerful hermeneutic tool, bridging classical philology and contemporary aesthetic reception to render a deeply challenging ancient text fully accessible.