Sandro Penna and the Rose

Abstract

This paper examines three different poems by Sandro Penna and reinterprets their imagery in the light of both the general Italian lyrical tradition and of specific compositions, be they distant or close to the author’s own time. The aim is not to identify with precision and hierarchize new and peculiar literary sources for Penna’s poetry, but to establish links and relations between the texts of the same poet and other texts from the Middle Ages to the contemporary period in order to help reconstruct a sort of literary ‘environment’ for each text examined. The results of this short inquiry make us better perceive Penna’s creative innovation as well as his ability to be a model for poets to come.