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Loading... Canti (original 1845; edition 1947)by Giacomo Leopardi, Giulio Augusto Levi
Work InformationCanti by Giacomo LEOPARDI (Author) (1845)
  
No current Talk conversations about this book.   ) yarb | Aug 2, 2023 |  E le colonne e i simulacri e l'erme Torri degli avi nostri, Ma la gloria non vedo I warmed to Leopardi's lamentations on the state of nineteenth-century Italian culture, for all of his cloying pessimism. The great modernist poet proves to be more complex than mere Romantic self-pity. His is a harsh call to the former glory of classical times, which often reminds me of Rimbaud's poem > : – Ô Vénus, ô Déesse ! Je regrette les temps de l’antique jeunesse Jonathan Galassi's translation outshines other English renderings. Every word is infused with power that reminds me of the best of Melville ("Give me a condor's quill! Give me Vesuvius' crater for an inkstand!"). It's amazing how unrequited love and a childhood lost can turn one's thoughts to such refrains as "Life is forlorn, lightless," while still maintaining the capacity to create beautiful art. (  ) chrisvia | Apr 29, 2021 | The heart did not tell me that my green age would be condemned, consumed in that Native wild town, among a people rustic boorish and low; whose foreign names, and often Arguments of laughter at laughing-stocks were their schools and wisdom; who hated me, fled Never through envy; because I was nothing to them; but because such esteen As tinged my heart would tickle and incense those I never noticed. Therefore, I Passed the years abandoned, hidden, without love, wihout life; I turned Bitter from the band of illwishers... At the same time, dear youth, more dear than fame or the laurel, more than The pure light of day, or hope: I lost you without a delight. Unlived, unused in that Not human trip, among those anxieties-- oh the short, sharp life of a petal. (  ) AlanWPowers | Jun 2, 2012 |  ) Freder1ck | Oct 12, 2008 | no reviews | add a review
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ANew York Times Notable Book for 2011 Giacomo Leopardi is Italy's greatest modern poet, the first European writer to portray and examine the self in a way that feels familiar to us today. A great classical scholar and patriot, he explored metaphysical loneliness in entirely original ways. Though he died young, his influence was enormous, and it is no exaggeration to say that all modern poetry, not only in Italian, derives in some way from his work. Leopardi's poetry is notoriously difficult to translate, and he has been less well known to English-language readers than his central significance for his own culture might suggest. Now Jonathan Galassi, whose translations of Eugenio Montale have been widely acclaimed, has produced a strong, fresh, direct version of this great poet that offers English-language readers a new approach to Leopardi. Galassi has contributed an informative introduction and notes that provide a sense of Leopardi's sources and ideas. This is an essential book for anyone who wants to understand the roots of modern lyric poetry. No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)851.7Literature Italian Italian poetry Early 19th century 1814–59LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (4.33)
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