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Giacomo Leopardi
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Count Giacomo Leopardi (baptism Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi, Recanati, 29 June 1798 - Naples, 14 June 1837) was a poet, philosopher, writer, philologist and Italian glottologist. It is considered the greatest poet of the Italian nineteenth century and one of the most important figures in world literature, as well as one of the principal of literary romanticism; the depth of his reflection on existence and on the human condition - of sensuous and materialist inspiration - also makes him a thick philosopher. The extraordinary lyrical quality of his poetry has made him a central player in the European and international literary and cultural panorama, with consequences that go well beyond his time. |  |
Biography
Giacomo Leopardi was born in 1798 in Recanati, a small village in the Marches: it will be the place where he will spend his life. His father was a man very interested in culture, he had a well-stocked library, he founded the Academy of Diseguali, but he was not good at managing the family economy: he then gave it to his wife. Leopardi in the Zibaldone describes his mother as a very cold, rigid, austere, not affectionate woman. The brothers received a private education and at the age of 14 Leopardi had no one else to teach him, he could translate Greek, Latin and other texts. In his life he composed 240 works dealing with different themes, he also became interested in politics, condemning the government of Napoleon. He had very few friends, the most important were Giordani, Stella and Ranieri. With Giordani he undertook a close correspondence that allowed him to have contacts with Italian and European culture. In 1819 the recanatese environment became impatient for him. He tried to escape, but was discovered. In the same year he wrote the Little Idilli containing L'infinito, Alla luna; moves to Rome with the intent of finding work and hoping to find a different company from the one he knew, but remains disappointed and decides to return to Recanati; here, in 1823 he wrote Le Operette Morali. In 1825, under the publisher's request, Stella moved to Milan, then to Florence, Bologna and Pisa, where he composed the Grandi Idilli (1828-1830) containing A Silvia. For health reasons, he is forced to give up an assignment offered to him in Germany. Depressed, he closes at home for 16 months not having contact with anyone. He participates with the Operette Morali in a "competition" organized by the Accademia della Crusca without winning: this will lead him to an even deeper depression. In this period he composes some of his most important works such as Night Canto by a wandering shepherd of Asia, the village Saturday, the quiet after the storm. In 1830 he moved back to Florence where he fell in love with Fanny Targioni Tozzetti, who absolutely never reciprocated his love. On this theme Leopardi will write The cycle of Aspasia. In 1833, accepting the offer of his friend Ranieri he moved to Naples where he wrote La ginestra in 1836 and died the following year. During most of his life Leopardi (1817-1832) wrote Lo Zibaldone, the title indicates a dish made up of many ingredients, in fact it is a sort of diary written without the intention of being published, a complex work that will be held by the Ranieri family for many years before being published. Written with various stylistic registers, it contained all his thoughts, his ideas, his private affairs, excerpts of poetry or works that allowed, only in 1900, to understand in more detail his works and therefore have a clearer vision and appreciate them to the fullest.
His thinking
His thinking can be divided into 3 main parts. The historical or relative pessimism, which goes from 1818 to 1822, deals with how, according to him, nature is benign, the present with the affirmation of reason is a symbol of suffering and only the past through the translation of classical texts can bring a some relief in man, when one becomes an adult all one realizes that all dreams, the hopes that one had when young were vague, false, unrealistic The second phase goes from 1824 to 1835 when nature is evil, man suffers because of nature, man will never reach true happiness because it does not exist, man exists to suffer. The third phase coincides with the opera La ginestra, it is considered the philosophical and philosophical testament of Giacomo Leopardi: man must unite with his fellow men to try to alleviate suffering and defeat nature, he is compared to the broom because as she manages to grow again, bloom again after the volcanic eruptions, man must commit himself and unite for a better future.
The works
The Little Idylls: written between 1819 and 1821 are part of the historical pessimism and together with the Great Idylls form the work I Canti. Written with a simple, immediate register. The Infinity and Alla Luna and Leopardi are part of this work is intended to represent a quiet refuge from time and space but will never be released from the present, he tries to get lost in his thoughts but is aware that the present exists and does not allow the escape into the dream. The Moral Operette: written in 1824 we enter the phase of cosmic pessimism, it deals with texts in prose and their purpose was to show the truth, to show the suffering of man by nature and the falsity of reality. Written in a high, difficult language and with this Leopardi realizes his goal of giving the Italian language the richness and variety of terms typical of the 1500s. The Great Idylls: they are also called Pisan-recanated chants and of these belongs to Silvia, the solitary sparrow, the village Saturday; in these songs Leopardi tends to enhance the sentimental aspect of poetry and he no longer seeks consolation to the pains of life but expresses regret for a vanished youth and only the memory of the past provokes in him pleasant sensations The cycle of Aspasia: they are part of himself, the dominant thought and the venison inspired by Leopardi's love experience. The externalization of pain, the suffering of Leopardi, is very evident. These push Leopardi to a new ideological-political commitment to reject the illusory myths of progress and to define an idea of solidarity based on truth. The Small and Great Idylls together with the Cycle of Aspasia form the Cantos which also contain the songs which are the first compositions of Leopardi. The songs are civil and patriotic, there are nmerosi cues towards the current society that is corrupt and inert. The last song of Sappho, A Angelo Mai, All'Italia. His poems are very famous, above all L'Infinito and Alla luna