Summary
Highlights
Salvatore Quasimodo, born in Modica, Sicily in 1901, had an itinerant childhood due to his father's work as a stationmaster. After technical school, he moved to Rome at 19, taking on various jobs and developing a passion for classical languages. During a stay in Florence, his brother-in-law, Elio Vittorini, introduced him to Eugenio Montale and Alessandro Bonsanti.
Quasimodo published his debut collection, 'Acque e terre', in 1930 through Solaria editions, a significant journal for the Hermetic movement. Other early collections include 'Oboe sommerso' (1932) and 'Erato e Apollon' (1936). In 1934, he moved to Milan and became a professor of Italian literature at the Conservatory. In 1942, he published 'Ed è subito sera', which includes his most famous poem.
In 'Acque e terre', Quasimodo expresses nostalgia for Sicily, transforming it into a mythical place, and a longing for his childhood home and mother. His poetry in this period uses a 'magic word' approach, where a concise word can evoke deep meaning. 'Oboe sommerso' further explores themes of human solitude, pain, and life's sorrow through musical language. Stylistically, his early works featured a clear detachment from spoken language, analogical structures, nominal syntax, and the use of plural nouns without articles, aimed at a restricted audience.
Quasimodo's poetic style changed significantly after World War II, influenced by the war's events. His verses became longer and more linear, incorporating historical discourse, and his poetry transformed into a tool for political testimony. This shift is also evident in his 1960 work, 'Discourse on the Poet and the Politician', delivered after receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature. He died in Naples in 1968.
The poem 'Ed è subito sera' exemplifies conciseness and profound meaning with many analogical references and an interior, existential problematic. The opening lines 'Ognuno sta solo sul cuor della terra / trafitto da un raggio di sole: / ed è subito sera' express human solitude. The sunbeam, typically a symbol of life, here 'pierces' the individual, becoming a dart that brings pain and ultimately leads to the sudden arrival of evening, symbolizing the end. This poem explores themes of desolation, life's precariousness, fading illusions, infinity, and death, showing Ungaretti's influence while reflecting on the human condition.
From the collection 'Giorno dopo giorno', 'Alle fronde dei salici' (To the Willow Branches) encapsulates the experience of Hermetic poets unable to express themselves freely under the regime, with Italy metaphorically 'with a foreign foot upon its heart'. The poem questions the meaning of poetry amidst war's horrors, concluding that poets can only remain silent, hanging their lyres on the weeping willow branches. This imagery draws from Psalm 137, recalling the Babylonian captivity of the Jews. The willow symbolizes sorrow, and the crucifix image, intertwined with a telegraph pole, blends archetypal pain with modern technology. Quasimodo's use of 'we' reflects a new poetic direction emphasizing solidarity, but maintains Hermetic elements like analogy, seen in 'the lamb's lament of children' and 'the mother's black howl'. The poem conveys a religious emotion stemming from biblical memory, highlighting the meditative horror of war and the silence poetry offers.