Poets in Crisis: Masks, Voices, and Identity in 20th-Century Italian Poetry

Undergraduate / Graduate

What does it mean to be a poet when no one is listening anymore? Twentieth-century Italian poetry begins with a crisis: the poet's loss of cultural authority. No longer prophets or public heroes, poets respond by reinventing themselves in surprising-and often contradictory-ways. This course explores how Italian poets grapple with this moment by adopting bold poetic postures, from exaggerated self-confidence to irony, playfulness, and self-doubt. We will follow a lively historical path through the century, encountering unforgettable poetic figures: the poet as celebrity and cultural icon (D'Annunzio), the poet embarrassed by his own verses (Gozzano), the mischievous clown (Palazzeschi), and the disenchanted sleepwalker (Sbarbaro). These postures help us understand not only individual poets, but also the emergence of major literary movements. Students will learn how poetic identity is constructed on the page through voice, tone, imagery, and form. Through guided close readings, discussion, and writing, the course builds skills in reading poetry attentively while considering how modern poetry redefines creativity, self-expression, and the social function of art."