Tra ipocondria e malattia: esperienze di pazienti, dottori e scrittori in epoca "Regency".

The relationship between literature and science in the Regency era has been the subject of numerous studies, ranging from the influence of natural history on philosophical thought to the interplay between science, medicine, and literary texts, and extending to the role of scientific and technological discoveries in humanistic culture. This essay explores the various manifestations of malady and hypochondria of the period, focusing on medical practices and conceptions of disease in Romantic England. The medical profession is then examined, characterized by a hierarchical and structured system, and illustrated through figures such as John Keats and John Polidori. The patient’s experience is considered in relation to the role of doctors, intersecting with cultural life and the social dynamics of the period. For some Romantic poets, illness acquired a symbolic and creative significance, as in the cases of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Thomas De Quincey, and Lord Byron. Simultaneously, literature engaged with scientific knowledge, as demonstrated by Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Shelley, in contact with Humphry Davy and John Abernethy, highlighting the active involvement of writers in reflecting on the role of medicine, physiology, and technology in both culture and everyday life.