L'infinito
1819 poem by Giacomo Leopardi
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Key Takeaways
- "L'infinito" ( Italian pronunciation: [liɱfiˈniːto] ; English: The Infinite ) is a poem written by Giacomo Leopardi probably in the autumn of 1819.
- It is widely known within Italy.
- This personification of natural environment is prominent throughout the poem and is typical of another theme or movement often associated with Leopardi: romanticism.
- According to Leopardi, space and time are finite and contain only things that are not infinite: he understands spatial infinity as a negation of physical reality: in his poetry, spaces are interminable, silences are superhuman, stillness is profound.
"L'infinito" (Italian pronunciation: [liɱfiˈniːto]; English: The Infinite) is a poem written by Giacomo Leopardi probably in the autumn of 1819. The poem is a product of Leopardi's yearning to travel beyond his restrictive home town of Recanati and experience more of the world which he had studied. It is widely known within Italy.
Themes
The poem, though vague and ethereal in its composition, conveys elements of the philosophical and classical worlds, the latter visible in the selection of the word ermo, from ancient Greek rather than using a more conventional solitario to convey the isolatedness of this hill. This personification of natural environment is prominent throughout the poem and is typical of another theme or movement often associated with Leopardi: romanticism. There is also a keen sense of mortality throughout the poem, conveyed in the dying of seasons and drowning of thoughts, akin to Leopardi's belief that he would not live long, a belief that came true when he died at 38.
According to Leopardi, space and time are finite and contain only things that are not infinite: he understands spatial infinity as a negation of physical reality: in his poetry, spaces are interminable, silences are superhuman, stillness is profound. Just as in the Masonic vision, infinity exists in man's interiority or is a mere product of human imagination.
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