Summary
Highlights
Antonio Borgese, in 1909, identifies a 'crepuscular voice,' signalling the decline of traditional poetry exemplified by Carducci and D'Annunzio. Crepuscular poets, in contrast, focus on the mundane, everyday life, and a sense of weariness, opposing the grand themes of their predecessors. This movement, though diverse in its exponents from Turin, Rome, and Emilia-Romagna, shares a common thread of 'small-bourgeois' sentiments and environments.
Sergio Corazzini, born in Rome in 1886, faced economic hardship and worked for an insurance company. He was a central figure among Crepuscular poets, dying young in 1907. His poetry, marked by solitude and suffering, centers on 'small things.' Key works include 'Il piccolo libro inutile' and 'La desolazione del povero poeta sentimentale,' where he rejects the title of 'poet,' seeing himself as a weeping child whose tears are poetry offered to silence. His language often takes on a religious tone, and his poem ends with the Christian imagery of sleep as death.
Guido Gozzano, born in Turin in 1883, studied law but pursued literature. Eugenio Montale called him the 'poet of shock' due to his corrosive and demystifying poetry. His major works include 'La via del rifugio' (1907) and 'I colloqui' (1911). 'I colloqui' is divided into three sections and includes the poem 'Le due strade,' exploring themes of time's passage and the contrast between youth and maturity. Other notable poems are 'La Signorina Felicita' and 'L'amica di Nonna Speranza.' Gozzano also worked on a poem about butterflies, symbolizing a spiritual journey of metamorphosis, and 'Signorina Felicita' is a long poem about an unconventional romance, capturing the beauty of simple rural life through a melancholic, nostalgic lens.
Marino Moretti, born in Cesenatico in 1885, also did not complete his studies. He befriended Aldo Palazzeschi and other Crepuscular poets. He led a reclusive life but collaborated with Corriere della Sera. His poetic works include 'Poesie scritte col lapis' (1910), 'Poesie di tutti i giorni' (1911), and 'Il giardino dei frutti' (1916). His poem 'A Cesena' from 'Il giardino dei frutti' describes the mediocrity of daily life, opening with the poignant line, 'Tristezza, sono solo e domenica più vicina'.
Corrado Govoni, born in Ferrara in 1884, started working for his family's farm at a young age. His early collections include 'Le fiale' and 'Armonie in grigio e in silenzio' (1903). He later moved to Milan and befriended Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, embracing Futurism. Works like 'Poesie elettriche' and 'Rarefazioni e parole in libertà' reflect this phase, though he considered his adherence a game. He supported fascism and even wrote a poem praising Mussolini. His later work includes the moving poem 'Aladino,' written in 1946 to commemorate his son, Aladino, who was killed during the Ardeatine Caves massacre. Govoni's 'Il Palombaro' (The Diver) is a 'parolibera' table, a visual poem that depicts the poet's immersion into literature. His 'La Trombettina' (The Little Trumpet) reflects on human life through memory and the emotions of a past festivity.