ITAL 8828 Twentieth Century Italian Poetry

Conducted in Italian. In the first half of the last century Italy produced extraordinary poets of worldwide reputation who confronted the fundamental intellectual and psychological challenges of their age. They experimented with a variety of styles and themes, exploring crucial literary, philosophical, and theological issues. This course investigates and analyzes in depth the works of these poets: Eugenio Montale, Giuseppe Ungaretti, Umberto Saba, and Salvatore Quasimodo. Their poems and critical writings will be read in light of both twentieth-century theoretical debates and contemporary Italian life.