Italian Literature Program Overview 2025-2026

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the Italian literature curriculum for the $$2025-2026$$ academic year, from Romanticism to the $$20^{th}$$ century.

Alessandro Manzoni

A central figure of Romanticism whose study focuses on his tragedies, the historical novel, and the "questione della lingua" (the question of language).

Giacomo Leopardi

Author of "I Canti," "Le Operette Morali," and "Lo Zibaldone," explored through themes of nature and human existence.

Lo Zibaldone

A vast collection of personal thoughts and philosophical reflections by Giacomo Leopardi.

Verismo

An Italian literary movement associated with Positivism and Naturalism, exemplified by the works of Giovanni Verga.

Giovanni Verga

Writer known for the "Ciclo dei vinti" (Cycle of the Defeated), including the novels "I Malavoglia" and "Mastro-don Gesualdo."

Vita dei campi

A collection of novellas by Verga containing works such as "Rosso Malpelo," "La Lupa," and "Fantasticheria."

Giosuè Carducci

Poet of "Levia gravia," "Rime nuove," and "Odi barbare," whose works include "Inno a Satana" and "Pianto antico."

Charles Baudelaire

Key figure of French Symbolism and author of "I fiori del male" (Les Fleurs du mal), featuring poems like "Correspondances."

Giovanni Pascoli

Decadent poet known for "Myricae" and "Canti di Castelvecchio," who developed the theory of "Il fanciullino."

Il fanciullino

Pascoli's poetic theory regarding the "little child" within the poet that perceives the world with wonder.

Gabriele D'Annunzio

Prominent figure of Estheticism and Decadentism, author of the novel "Il piacere" and the poetic collection "Laudi."

L'inetto (The Inept)

A characteristic literary figure of the $20^{th}$ century representing the collapse of certainties and an inability to act or fit into society.

Luigi Pirandello

Author known for his theory of "L'umorismo" and works exploring the fragmentation of identity, such as "Il fu Mattia Pascal" and "Uno nessuno e centomila."

Italo Svevo

Novelist who explored the unconscious and the interior time in works like "Senilità" and "La coscienza di Zeno."

Futurism

An avant-garde movement defined by Marinetti's "Manifesto del Futurismo" that emphasized speed, technology, and violence.

Giuseppe Ungaretti

Poet of "L'Allegria" and "Sentimento del tempo" whose style is characterized by the use of essential, fragmented verses.

Umberto Saba

Poet whose life's work is compiled in "Il canzoniere," featuring poems like "A mia moglie" and "Città vecchia."

Eugenio Montale

Nobel Prize-winning poet of "Ossi di Seppia" and "Le occasioni" known for depicting the "male di vivere" (the pain of living).

Salvatore Quasimodo

Poet associated with Hermeticism, known for the short, evocative lyric "Ed è subito sera."

Paradiso

The final canticle of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, specifically studied through Cantos $1$, $17$, and $33$.