This article has been subjected to double blind peer review

This article has been published in: Ocula 14, Visible Cities. In Memory of Giovanna Franci

author: Gino Scatasta (Università di Bologna (IT))

Walking along the streets of Londropolis with Shakespeare, Woolf and Jack the Ripper

language: italian

abstract: The neologism “Londropolis” mixes two Italian words, “Londra” (London) and “Paperopoli”, the fictional town where some Disney characters like Donald Duck or Uncle Scrooge live. Here it will be used for a town deriving from the hybridization between the “real” London and the city that can be found in some literary works where the English metropolis shows evident or subtle changes that mark a difference with the objective city of our reality and our shared experience. After some tentative distinctions between objective and mental places, private images and collective representations of the city and/or some of its particular places, it will be shown how difficult (and basically useless) is to isolate the two towns and how London and Londropolis show a penchant for mixing and acquiring a fluidity that prevents any possibility of marking neat borders between them. Passages from Shakespeare, Wilde and an essay by Virginia Woolf will be used, as well as tourist and cultural attractions such as the new Globe and the London Walks on Jack the Ripper.

citation information: Gino Scatasta, Passeggiando per le strade di Londropoli. Shakespeare, Woolf e Jack the Ripper, "Ocula", vol.14, n.14, December 2013. DOI: 10.12977/ocula26

Ocula.it publishes articles and essays in semiotic research, with a particular eye on communication and culture; it is open to dialogue with other research fields and welcomes contributions from all the areas of the social and human sciences. See the Editorial Board and the Editorial Board.