Eugenio Montale, Poet on the Edge

Here is a comprehensive study of one of the giants among contemporary European poets. Rebecca West analyzes the dominant themes and underlying poetics of Eugenio Montale’s verse, offering insight into individual poems and into his work as a whole. West finds that Montale’s poetic voice frequently speaks in terms of marginality: geographic edge spaces, psychological margins, potentiality and emergence. Her reading of his work emphasizes both its organic unity and the stylistic and thematic innovations from collection to collection. Examining his generally understated language, she explores the implications of the shift, in verse published in the past decade, toward poetry of a more quotidian nature, a more conversational tone. Her clear commentary will guide everyone reading Montale, whether in Italian or in translation.