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The Canti

By: Giacomo Leopardi

The poems of the Canti below are complete but not in their originally published order. I have taken the liberty of re-arranging them into four groups, Personal (Poems 1-11), Philosophical (12-24), ‘Romantic’ (25-34), and Political (35-41). These categories are not exact, as Leopardi frequently blends elements together in the one poem, but they may help the reader, as they helped me, to adjust to his variations in style. The original published position of each poem is given in Roman numerals in the brackets following the poem’s title....

1. To Silvia (XXI) 2. The Infinite (XII) 3. The Evening Of The Holiday (XIII) 4. To the Moon (XIV) 5. Saturday Night In The Village (XXV) 6. To Himself (XXVIII) 7. Night-Song Of A Wandering Shepherd of Asia (XXIII) 8. First Love (X) 9. The Solitary Bird (XI) 10. Imitation (XXXV) 11. Scherzo (XXXVI) 12. Moon-Set (XXXII) 13. Wild Broom (XXXIV) 14. The Calm After The Storm (XXIV) 15. Masterful Thought (XXVI) 16. Love And Death (XXVII) 17. Bas-Relief On An Ancient Tomb (XXX) 18. On A Lovely Lady’s Image (XXX1) 19. To Spring (or Of The Ancient Myths) (VII) 20. Hymn To The Patriarchs (VIII) 21. Sappho’s Last Song (IX) 22. To Count Carlo Pepoli (XIX) 23. Fragment (From Simonides I: XL) 24. Fragment (From Simonides II:XLI) 25. The Dream (XV) 26. The Solitary Life (XVI) 27. To His Lady (XVIII) 28. Memories (XXII) 29. The Re-awakening (Il Risorgimento: XX) 30. Consalvo (XVII) 31. Aspasia (XXIX) 32. Fragment (Alcetas and Melissus: XXXVII) 33. Fragment (Separation: XXXVIII) 34. Fragment (Turned to Stone: XXXIX) 35. To Italy (I) 36. On the Proposed Dante Monument in Florence (II) 37. To Angelo Mai (III) 38. F...

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