Poems and Prose

by Giacomo Leopardi

An anthology of the work of one of Italy's finest lyric poets.

Genres: Poetry, Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1966

About the author

Italian scholar, poet, essayist and philosopher, one of the great writers of the 19th century.
Leopardi's love problems inspired some of his saddest lyrics. Despite having lived in a small town, Leopardi was in touch with the main ideas of the Enlightenment movement. His literary evolution turned him into one of the well known Romantic poets.
In his late years, when he lived in an ambiguous relationship with his friend Antonio Ranieri on the slopes of Vesuvius, Leopardi meditated upon the possibility of the total destruction of humankind.
Leopardi was a contemporary of the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, with whom he shared a similarly pessimistic view of life. The latter praised Leopardi's philosophical thoughts on The World as Will and Representation.

Reviews

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leopardi e' molto triste, ma ha un suo perche'. Chi non ricorda L'Infinito, studiato a scuola? In Italia e' anche uscito un bellissimo film su Leopardi, da vedere! Se invece volete leggere le sue poesie, io le ho trovate qui Tutte le poesie gratis!!

[James Violand · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book for the man's genius, not for his perspective. Leopardi dwells on the wonder of a Golden Age, whether ancient or of youth and, after displaying that world of optimism, heroism and hope, morphs it into his reality: life bears no fruit, but is only futile suffering. His talent is certainly apparent, but at a horrible cost to the reader: the dissolution of happiness by overbearing depression. His prose consists in the observations of a wise atheist laced with cynicism.