The Italian Language

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The XIX Century

The Napoleonic period saw the rise of Neoclassicism in the figurative arts, literature and the minor arts. The basic tenet of this movement was that classical art, with its calm and balanced simplicity, expressed perfect harmony. Art should be the expression of an ideal and timeless beauty, using to this end balance of form and colour. The major Italian poet of the period was Vincenzo Monti (1754-1828) whose elegant verse harked back to a mythological world of ideal beauty.

The work of Ugo Foscolo (1778-1827), one of Italy's major XIX century poets, fully expresses the poet's personal engagement in the transition from Enlightenment to Romanticism and from Romanticism to Neoclassicism: the period from the French Revolution to the Restoration. He gives voice to a faith based on the high values of truth, justice, beauty and liberty. These already appear in Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis, an autobiographical novel in the form of letters, in The Graces, reaching their fullest and most poetic expression in his sonnets and in his best poem, The Sepulchres.

Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837) is remembered for the depth of his thought, his acute psychological insight and the power of his poetic expression. Leopardi's anguish reflects the European spiritual and philosophical crisis that marked the close of the Enlightenment. The skeptical concepts of rationalism could not preclude the Romantic angst about the infinite, the reasons for life, universal sorrow and death. Leopardi's themes are love, beauty and other noble emotions which affirm Man's dignity. Alessandro Manzoni's (1785-1873) writings show a balance between enlightened ideals, Romanticism and Catholicism. Manzoni's eventually abandoned rationalist ideals in favour of Catholicism, however without renouncing the values of the Enlightenment. This evolution can be seen in the Inni Sacri, in his odes, in the tragedies Il Conte di Carmagnola and Adelchi and particularly in the historical novel I Promessi Sposi. Manzoni presents life with all its injustice and wonder, where only God can bring relief and meaning to existence.
		Giacomo Leopardi

Romanticism in Italy was not was not as influential as it had been in other European countries, principally in Germany. It did coincide however with the Risorgimento, a movement which was eventually to result in the unification of Italy in 1861. The two most notable schools are the Catholic-Liberal, moderate and reformist, represented by Vincenzo Gioberti (1801- 1852), and the more democratic, radical and revolutionary school represented by Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-1872).

Some writers chose not to use the standard Italian language to write in, but dialect. Carlo Porta’s (1775-1821) satirical verse is a prime example.

Other writers worth mention are Silvio Pellico (1788-1854), Ippolito Nievo (1831- 1861), Luigi Settembrini (1813- 1875), Giuseppe Cesare Abba (1838- 1910) Giovanni Prati (1814–1884), Aleardo, Conte Aleardi (1812-1878), Goffredo Mameli (1827-1849) and Giuseppe Giusti (1809-1850).

The principal characteristic of this mid XIX century literary movement was a deep-rooted aversion to the sentimentality of late Romanticism and a belief that the only valid subject of poetry was reality. Arrigo Boito (1842-1918), librettist of some of Verdi’s operas, as well as author himself of two operas: Mefistofele and the unfinished Nero. Emilio Praga (1839-1875), Iginio Ugo Tarchetti (1841-1869) and Giovanni Camerana (1905-1945), members of this group failed, however, to create a new poetic movement and remained purely enfants terribles in both life and art, rebelling against middle-class conformism, the official literature, the Risorgimento and all other forms of literary and social convention.

The return to a more Classical tradition in the latter half of the XIX century was in itself a reaction against the sentimentality of late Romanticism. The principal example of this late Neoclassicism is the work of Giosuè Carducci (1835-1907), the greatest literary figure of the age, winner of the Nobel Prize in 1906. The prevailing inspiration of Carducci's poetry was Classical myth. He believed in the dignity of Man, his moral strength and heroism. He had a vigorous outlook on life and a love for the beauty of Nature.

The second half of the XIX century saw the rise of Naturalism (Verismo) as a reaction against the Romantic ideal. The Naturalist movement proposed an objective and scientific analysis of society nd of the psychology of the individual. The author was detached from his characters, not being personally or emotionally involved with them. The head of this movement was Giovanni Verga (1840-1922) whose novels, particularly I Malavoglia, describe the dismal world of the Sicilian peasant. Luigi Capuana (1839-1915), Federico de Roberto (1866-1927) and Grazia Deledda (1871-1936), Nobel Prize winner in 1926, were also part of the group.

Decadent literature was the reaction against the excessive rationality of Naturalism. Its first important exponent was Antonio Fogazzaro (1842-1911). His work displays a lyric style in which a sense of mystery is combined with a dream-like world. Sensuality is pitted against the author's deep religiosity. His major novels are Piccolo Mondo Antico and Malombra.

		Together with Antonio Fogazzaro (1842- 1911), Giovanni Pascoli (1855-1912) is representative of the spiritual yearning typical of late XIX century Italian literature. Characteristic of his poetry is escapism through history, a return to childhood and a concept of Nature as Man's only hope for salvation. He believed that truth can only be reached through poetry, so that poetry becomes a supreme form of knowledge, a mystic revelation that can be attained only by keeping the spirit in childlike awe before the world's mysteries. Gabriele d'Annunzio (1863-1938) explored aesthetic mysticism and the irrational, tempering these with his sensuality. Abandoning reason as a means for knowledge, d'Annunzio gave himself up to his instincts and senses, seeing in them the way to a deeper life, to the secrets of the inner self which were at one with the secrets of nature. The passionate verve of his emotion was given ample voice through a variety of forms, technical innovation and an evocative and original use of language. He wrote novels, such as Pleasure and L'Innocente and published several collections of poems, including Laudi and Canto Nuovo.
Gabriele d'Annunzio