A Study of Rebora’s poetry

Abstract

This study addresses interpretative controversies emerging from some of the most important studies of the Italian poet Clemente Rebora (Milan 1885 - Stresa 1957), as well as a set of historical-literary problems that have yet to be completely resolved. Building upon various noteworthy analyses of Rebora’s language and poetic style, and by employing cognitive neuroscience theory, the present study also aims to contribute to a more complete understanding of Rebora’s poetic language, one of the most complex (and fascinating) in contemporary Italian literature. In particular, this analysis of Rebora’s poetics considers the presence – assiduous and constant in his first work (Frammenti lirici, 1913) – of personifications. This figure of speech, almost absent in Rebora’s poems after his catholic conversion (1929), is adopted by the young author more as an existential than an allegorical tool. The personification constitutes the core of Rebora’s first collection of poems and portrays the unconscious insecurity and torment of the poet facing an undesired, frightful reality. 

Key words: Clemente Rebora, poetry, lyrics, personification, cognitive neuroscience.