Antagonist and Environment: The Duality of Giacomo Leopardi's Nature
Open Access
Author:
Rambo, Grace Caroline
Area of Honors:
Italian
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Maria Rosa Truglio, Thesis Supervisor Maria Rosa Truglio, Thesis Honors Advisor Sherry Lynnette Roush, Faculty Reader
Keywords:
Giacomo Leopardi ecocriticism Romanticism nature William Wordsworth anthropocentrism ecofeminism
Abstract:
This paper explores the characterization of nature as seen in the works of Giacomo Leopardi. Leopardi is often compared to renowned Romantic poets such as William Wordsworth and John Keats, yet his approach to understanding nature remains quite different than his English counterparts. Leopardi characterizes nature in two ways: both as a sublime environment that man may never enjoy, and as a personified deity, able to destroy all humankind with no remorse. This paper seeks to understand the duality of nature in Leopardi’s prose and poetry in the light of ecocriticism. By characterizing nature thus, Leopardi elevates its status far above that of mankind. In essence, nature becomes an entity that exists not for humanity’s exploitation or pleasure, but in spite of humanity. As Leopardi exalts nature, he offers a more eco-centric commentary on the natural world that both rejects anthropocentrism and denies the role of nature as being subject to man.