In this article we will see 5 ITALIAN POEMS that everyone should know and read at least once in life!
5 GEMS of ITALIAN POETRY: Verses you Must Know
First poem
Ho sceso, dandoti il braccio, almeno un milione di scale by Eugenio Montale (1967)
Ho sceso, dandoti il braccio, almeno un milione di scale
e ora che non ci sei è il vuoto ad ogni gradino.
Anche così è stato breve il nostro lungo viaggio.
Il mio dura tuttora, né più mi occorrono
le coincidenze, le prenotazioni,
le trappole, gli scorni di chi crede
che la realtà sia quella che si vede.Ho sceso milioni di scale dandoti il braccio
non già perché con quattr’occhi forse si vede di più.
Con te le ho scese perché sapevo che di noi due
le sole vere pupille, sebbene tanto offuscate,
erano le tue.
It’s one of the 28 poems Montale dedicated to his wife Drusilia after her death.
In the poem, he remembers his partner through images of daily intimacy, like the act of giving her his arm down the stairs. It was a simple act that he now misses a lot.
He used to guide her down the stairs, and she used to guide him in life.
Thanks to her, he learned not to fear the pains, the worries and the thousands of commitments of his everyday life (which he understood to be only “traps“) and to see beyond appearances. The woman was therefore the true inspiring muse of the author, who now feels empty, lost and disoriented.
Second poem
Amami by Alda Merini
Amami
finchè sentirai il calore
di una fiamma tremula
che sempre arde,
difendendosi dai venti di scogliera.
Sono un pensiero
che non vuole mai
legare le tue mani
libere nel mondo,
anche se vorrei
che fossero solo mie.
Amami
ora che non ho parole
per farti innamorare
dei miei silenzi
pieni di gioia,
che non potrai vedere.
Amami ancora,
saranno solo gli occhi
a dirti la mia passione
e le mie labbra,
a raccontarti
cose difficili da dire.
Saremo noi,
un giorno forse
ad abbracciare solo i profumi
dei nostri corpi
senza paura
che l’assenza diventi una cosa vera.
In this poem, the author manages to grasp and convey the essence of love in all its complexity, as a force that burns (fire) and nourishes (water) at the same time.
In the verses she asks to be accepted and understood in its entirety.
Love, according to Merini, is all-encompassing: a tormented and heady experience, which she invites us to live with passion, despite the wounds it can cause us.
“Amami” is a touching poem and leaves a strong mark in the reader’s heart. It is an invitation to risk loving, to immerse oneself into the uncertain waters of this feeling and to let oneself be enveloped by its burning fire.
Ultimately, “Amami” is a poem that reminds us that love, with all its intensity and contradictions, is one of the most powerful feelings we can experience as human beings, so we must live it fully, with all its shades, and we must not be afraid to open ourselves completely to what it can offer us.
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L’infinito by Giacomo Leopardi (1819)
Sempre caro mi fu quest’ermo colle,
e questa siepe, che da tanta parte
dell’ultimo orizzonte il guardo esclude.
Ma sedendo e mirando, interminati
spazi di là da quella, e sovrumani
silenzi, e profondissima quiete
io nel pensier mi fingo, ove per poco
il cor non si spaura. E come il vento
odo stormir tra queste piante, io quello
infinito silenzio a questa voce
vo comparando: e mi sovvien l’eterno,
e le morte stagioni, e la presente
e viva, e il suon di lei. Così tra questa
immensità s’annega il pensier mio:
e il naufragar m’è dolce in questo mare.
In this poem, the poet reflects on the sensations and feelings he feels while admiring the view from the top of a mountain.
He does not see the whole horizon because much of it is hidden by a hedge. Yet, it is precisely this visual obstacle that triggers his imagination.
He imagines boundless spaces, where peace and silence reign, so much that these thoughts almost frighten him. He feels the supreme beauty and greatness, which both frighten and fascinate him at the same time. Thanks to the power of the mind, he manages to contemplate the spatial infinity and the temporal one, that is eternity, until he gets lost, kidnapped and enchanted, in an inner world of illusions.
“L’infinito” represents the human search for the immense mystery of the universe.
Leopardi expresses his desire to overcome the limits of the human condition and embrace the infinite. He feels oppressed by his human smallness and finiteness facing the immensity of the universe, and this causes him wonder, desire and anxiety at the same time.
In summary, “L’infinito” is a meditation on eternity and a testimony of the fragility and smallness of the human being in front of the universe.
Fourth poem
San Martino del Carso by Giuseppe Ungaretti (1916)
Di queste case
non è rimasto
che qualche
brandello di muroDi tanti
che mi corrispondevano
non è rimasto
neppure tantoMa nel cuore
nessuna croce mancaÈ il mio cuore
il paese più straziato.
Written during World War I, the poem captures the horror and the pain of war, highlighting the human tragedy and the destruction that it brings with it.
The poem opens with the description of a ghostly and devastated landscape, which is what remains after the war: it is the place where the author finds himself facing the death of his companions and the destruction.
The verses emphasize the absurdity of war and the sense of emptiness it leaves behind.
“San Martino del Carso” is also a hymn to the memory of the fallen. The author invokes the name of his dead companions, trying to keep their memory through poetic immortality.
“San Martino del Carso” communicates the horror of war in a direct and empathic way: it does not offer consolation or justifications, but it invites us to reflect on the madness of violence and to never forget the tragedies that humanity has faced.
Fifth poem
Aspetta la tua impronta by Maria Luisa Spaziani (1986)
L’indifferenza è inferno senza fiamma.
Ricordalo scegliendo
Fra mille tinte il tuo fatale grigio.
Se il mondo è senza senso
Tua è la vera colpa.
Aspetta la tua impronta
Questa palla di cera.
The poem deals with the theme of identity and self-discovery.
The author reminds us that, if our life has no meaning, it is only our fault, because we never take a position, we never take sides. Instead, it invites us to dig inside ourselves, to grasp the present moment and to leave our unique and unrepeatable mark on the world.
The search for identity becomes an inner journey in which you meet your emotions, memories and deepest aspirations.
This invitation becomes a call not to waste one’s life, but to live with passion and purpose, creating a sense of connection with the world and with others.
It is a hymn to the life and uniqueness of each one of us, and we should use better the time that has been given to us.
If you liked these poems, take a look at The 10 Best Italian TV Series you should watch in order to improve your Italian!
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