Giacomo Leopardi

Giacomo Leopardi , 1798-1837, Italian poet and scholar. Devoted to the study of the classics and philosophy from early childhood, although plagued by illness and physical and spiritual frustration, Leopardi became one of the most formidable linguists, thinkers, and writers of his time. His pessimistic view of the world became increasingly uncompromising. His Canti [songs] (1816-37) represent the flowering of his poetry, which rests on a tension between past and present, innocence and rational consciousness. He spoke with romantic yearning for physical and spiritual oneness, even as he pointed to the unbridgeable gulf that separated people from one another and from salvation. Leopardi was a liberal and agnostic at a time when independence of thought was dangerous in Italy. Many of his works were deeply patriotic and contemptuous of the Italian rulers of his day. He wrote political and social satire in the ironic dialogues entitled Operette morali (1826-27, tr. Essays, Dialogues, and Thoughts, 1893 and 1905). A complete edition of his works was issued in 1845 by his friend Antonio Ranieri. Leopardi is considered Italy's outstanding 19th-century poet.

Bibliography: See English translations of his poetry and prose by A. Flores et al. (1966) and O. M. Casale (1981); biographies by G. Carsaniga (1977) and G. P. Barricelli (1986); studies by G. S. Singh (1964) and N. J. Perella (1970).

Italian literature Body of writing produced in Italy. Italian vernacular literature emerged in the 13th century with the work of the Sicilian poets at the court of Frederick II; they extensively employed the sonnet. Religious poetry also flourished. Major figures of the 14th century were Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio, who influenced the works of Chaucer. The Renaissance produced outstanding poetry and philosophy, especially in the work of Torquato Tasso, Lodovico Ariosto (1474–1533), and the politician Machiavelli. During the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century, a new literary language emerged to reflect modern experience. The poet Carlo Porta (1775–1821) employed regional dialects, while Guiseppe Parini (1729–99) wrote in a more conventional style. The lyrical works of Giacomo Leopardi (1798–1837) and the novels of Alessandro Manzoni helped to take Italian literature into its Romantic period. The 19th-century political movement for Italian unification and independence inspired a literary flowering. The major figure to emerge was Gabriele D'Annunzio. Important 20th-century writers include Alberto Moravia, Cesare Pavese and Eugenio Montale, and more recently Umberto Eco and Italo Calvino (1923–85).