Salvatore Quasimodo. Reception in anthologies: decline after apotheosis?

Mariangela Lando

(Università Ca’ Foscari)
E-mail: mariangela.lando[at]unive.it
ORCID: 0000-0002-9870-3614
DOI: 10.31261/FLPI.2022.04.06
„Fabrica Litterarum Polono-Italica” 2022, nr 1

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Abstract

Is Quasimodo a writer still relevant, or do the moods of his poetry ring false? The anthological reception of Quasimodo’s works seems to focus on his role as the undisputed interpreter of Hermeticism. It is Quasimodo who is placed among the main diagnosticians of the modern human condition – attributing to him a significant role in twentieth century literature, as evidenced by the international accolades bestowed upon him, which led in time to his being awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature in 1959. Deep human reflections, full of turning points, insights and original stylistic solutions, converge in his works. This paper aims to examine the anthology volumes used in secondary schools in recent decades, and to analyze the differences between the presence of Quasimodo’s texts and those of other authors contemporary to him, in light of the different approaches of curators and anthologists. The author is interested both in the authorial canon proposed to students and in the functional uses of excerpts from selected works by Quasimodo.