Study Notes on Umberto Saba: Character, Poetics, and the Theory of Honest Poetry

Umberto Saba: Character, Ideas, and Poetics

Umberto Saba’s literary production is characterized by a profound love for the past and a stylistic approach he himself defined as "conservatorismo" (conservatism). While he belonged to the same generation as the historical avant-gardes of the early twentieth century—such as Crepuscolarismo, Vocianesimo, and Futurismo—his geographic isolation in Trieste led him toward a more traditional path. Unlike the formal experimentation and bold audacity seen in Futurism or among the writers for the magazine La Voce, Saba remained faithful to the metric and linguistic decorum of the Italian tradition. His influences range from Petrarca, Parini, and Leopardi to the nineteenth-century realism of the Scapigliatura and Carducci, occasionally incorporating the melodic rhythms of melodrama.

Renewal Within Tradition and the Concept of "Trite Parole"

Saba’s originality lies in his ability to achieve a great renewal from within existing traditions. He possessed the "humble and severe courage" of a counter-current poet, a sentiment expressed in the opening verses of his poem Amai (from the 1946 collection Mediterranee):

"Amai trite parole che non uno / osava. M'incantò la rima fiore / amore, / la più antica difficile del mondo. / Amai la verità che giace al fondo, / quasi un sogno obliato, che il dolore / riscopre amica."

To love "trite parole" (worn-out or common words) means having the bravery to use language exhausted by usage. Saba was enchanted by obvious rhymes like "fiore / amore," which he considered the oldest and most difficult to use in an original way. His poetic success stems from using these common means—worn words, traditional metric structures like the sonnet, and habitual rhymes—to extract precious "truths" from the depths of his secret interiority. These truths, uncovered through the lens of pain, carry a significance that transcends his personal experience.

Interior Inquiry and Modernity

Saba differs from the Crepuscular poets because he rejects irony and sarcasm. He avoids the prosaic, conversational flow characteristic of Sergio Corazzini or Guido Gozzano, seeking instead to provide noble dignity and sustained form to humble, realistic, and popular images of daily life. His originality is rooted in a courageous interior inquiry; he communicated intimate feelings that are difficult to voice or even to clarify to oneself. Consequently, the modernity of Saba’s work is not found in its form or language—which are deliberately anti-modern—but in its capacity to give voice to the most painful themes of contemporary sensitivity within traditional frameworks.

The Influence of Psychoanalysis and Main Themes

In an aphorism (or "shortcut") from 1934-35, Saba stated: "Art lives on the forbidden, on that which does not dare to come to light in any other form." This highlights the central role of psychoanalysis in his work. His psychotherapist was a student of Sigmund Freud, and this discipline helped Saba bring unconfessed aspects of the self to the "light of the sun." Through his poetry, Saba practiced a form of intrepid interior self-awareness applied to largely autobiographical themes:

  • Traumatic Affective Ambivalence: This is both familial and ethnic. He felt a split between solidarity for the sorrowful solitude of his mother (who came from the Jewish ghetto) and a secret admiration for the irresponsible joy of living exhibited by his father, whom he described as "gay and light." The absence of the father is a recurring motif.
  • Neurosis: Generated by the poet's difficulty in relating to others.
  • Human Contacts: A tension between a closed mistrust of people and an intense need to "love men and life," discovering the unexpected wonders of instinctive existence.

The Split Ego and the Search for Unity

As a Triestine writer, like Italo Svevo, Saba was immersed in Austro-German culture, particularly the works of Nietzsche and Freud. He viewed literature as a tool for self-consciousness to explore the dark zones of the psyche. In Storia e cronistoria del «Canzoniere», he explains the genesis of his poetry as an attempt to heal the traumas of his childhood. He writes in Secondo congedo: "O mio cuore dal nascere in due scisso, / quante pene durai per uno farne! / Quante rose a nascondere un abisso."

This "split ego" originated from several factors: the contrast between his father’s background and his mother’s Judaism, his father’s abandonment of the family, his deep bond with his wet nurse (nutrice), and the conflictual relationship with his mother. While these episodes fuel his poetry, the poetry itself does not heal the wound. In contrast to this painful scission, Saba posits the "calda vita" (warm life), as seen in Nona fuga—a vital, luminous sum of impulses beyond morality. Here, Saba combines Freudian psychoanalysis with Nietzschean vitalism; the many children in his poetry are often Nietzschean figures existing in an amoral horizon.

Poetic Honesty: Manzoni vs. D'Annunzio

For Saba, fidelity to tradition meant, above all, sincerity with oneself. He sought a "poesia onesta" (honest poetry) in reaction to the prevailing D’Annunzian aestheticism. In his 1911 article Quello che resta da fare ai poeti (published only in 1959), he argued that poets must strive for authentic expression where every word perfectly corresponds to their vision.

He illustrates "honesty" and "dishonesty" by comparing Alessandro Manzoni and Gabriele d'Annunzio. Manzoni wrote verses that were "mediocre and immortal" (such as the Inni Sacri and the choruses of Adelchi) because he was the most "sober" of poets, careful not to betray his own ego or deceive the reader with false appearances. In contrast, D'Annunzio wrote "magnificent but for the most part ephemeral (caduchi)" verses (such as the second book of Laudi or La nave). Saba accused D'Annunzio of pretending or exaggerating passions just to achieve a more clamorous or flashy verse, stating that while Manzoni stayed "this side of inspiration" to remain truthful, D'Annunzio "gets drunk to increase himself."

The Legacy of Saba: The "Anti-Novecentista" Line

Saba’s restless classicism inspired a significant current in twentieth-century Italian poetry known as the "linea antinovecentista" (anti-twentieth-century line). This group favored a non-experimental style close to the "great style" of the past and often stood in conflict with the enigmatic language of Hermeticism (Ermetismo). Key figures in this tradition include:

  • Vincenzo Cardarelli
  • Carlo Betocchi
  • Sandro Penna
  • Sergio Solmi
  • Giorgio Caproni
  • Attilio Bertolucci

These voices are distinct from the more dominant Symbolist-Hermetic line, which includes giants such as Giuseppe Ungaretti, Eugenio Montale, Salvatore Quasimodo, Mario Luzi, Vittorio Sereni, and Andrea Zanzotto.