The Expression of the Inexpressible in Eugenio Montale's Poetry: Metaphor, Negation, and SilenceLocating the greatest Italian poet of the twentieth century, Eugenio Montale, firmly within European Modernism, this book examines the struggle with language that is central to his work. In its unravelling of the inexpressibility paradox, the book offers a new reading of Montale's early verse, and reveals how in articles and metapoetic comments Montale gives us insights into both his poetics and the whole process of expression. |
Contents
THE DEVELOPMENT | 1 |
Expression or Creation? | 15 |
METAPHOR AND FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE | 49 |
NEGATION | 97 |
The Way of Contradiction | 130 |
The Rhetoric of Failure? | 140 |
SILENCE | 173 |
APPENDIX | 177 |
| 193 | |
Common terms and phrases
affirmative altro ancora aposiopesis appears Avrei voluto Ballata Bufera chiederci ciò claims Clizia concrete concrete universal contradiction copula Crisalide cuore Dante de-attribution defamiliarization Dora Markus emerges emotion Eugenio Montale existence expression fuoco giglio rosso guage human ibid idea imagery images ineffabile ineffable inexpressible matters instance Iride language limoni lines linguistic linked literal literary lyric lyric poetry male di vivere Mallarmé mattino andando means metaphor metonymy Milan Modernist Mondadori Montale writes Montale's objects Montale's poetry Montale's verse Montalian Motet nature negation negativa negative nonetheless objective correlative Occasioni ogni orecchini Ossi oxymora paradox parola particular poem poesia poet poet's poetic positive pre-linguistic present primavera hitleriana Prose può ramarro reader reality reference secondo mestiere sempre sense senso silence solo stanza suspension dots Symbolist symbols T. S. Eliot tale's tension things tion tutto Ungaretti University Press verità Versilia via negativa vita volo volto woman words