Viktor Shklovsky’s Marko Polo (1936) is a polyphonic work that disguises the biography of the Venetian explorer as a sophisticated formalist literary exercise. Conceived in a politically hostile climate, the book masks its method beneath the guise of a tale for young soviet pionery, blending quotes from Il Milione and other medieval European sources with Russo-centric historical reflections. Through irony, defamiliarization (ostranenie), and fragmented narration, Shklovsky creates a text that is both literary exploration and ideological resistance, with Marco Polo serving as the author’s alter ego. The book’s editorial journey spans multiple editions in USSR; for the Italian translation and publication in Italy a crucial role was played by the literary translator Marija Olsuf’eva.
University of Siena, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0003-2683-2713
Chapter Title
Un ‘monumento alla manipolazione letteraria’: il Marko Polo di Viktor Šklovskij
Authors
Alessandra Carbone
Language
Italian
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0883-3.19
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2025
Copyright Information
© 2025 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Il Milione nel tempo tra Asia ed Europa: Marco Polo nelle letterature medievali e contemporanee
Book Subtitle
Atti del Convegno Internazionale (Siena, 7–8 novembre 2024) e del Seminario “700 anni di Marco Polo” (Firenze, 11 dicembre 2024)
Editors
Paola Mocella
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
178
Publication Year
2025
Copyright Information
© 2025 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0883-3
ISBN Print
979-12-215-0882-6
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0883-3
eISBN (epub)
979-12-215-0884-0
Series Title
ConTesti medievali. Studi, ricerche e fonti