Abstract

The essay investigates the influence of A Silvia in Saba’s poetry, from his very first youthful poems (1902), to the final version of his Canzoniere. Firstly, the paper analyses the Preface to the 1921 edition of the Canzoniere; then, it uncovers the many references to Leopardi’s canto, connecting the early Poesie dell’adolescenza e giovanili (1900-7) to the later Fanciulle (1925) and Preludio e fughe (1928-9). Furthermore, the article illustrates how this already complex and nuanced picture is enriched by the presence of shared myths (Persephone), images (the hand, the bud) and figures (weavers, young boys and girls, nymphs), as well as the modernized rewriting in a Baudelarian and Freudian key (the passerby, Gradiva).