Giacomo Leopardi, Count (June 29, 1798; June 14, 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. |