Thursday, November 7, 2013

Metaphors for a Journey and a Mountain


 In Dino Campana's Orphic Songs, he talks of a woman that he sees and compares the scenery to her journey in life. He notices that she is young and says "before her the valleys unwind uncertainly toward the steep solitudes on the horizons" (47). Campana, like Leopardi, is pessimistic of the future and believes youth is the best part of life. Campana sees this young girl and contemplates her life journey by comparing her future with a mountain because life is difficult and one cannot see beyond a certain point. Her future is on the horizon, but there is uncertainty about what obstacles she will have to overcome. Also, Campana takes note of a cuckoo bird singing and "the notes reach her, continually ambiguously as in a silken veil" (47). The woman can hear the cuckoo bird, but something is partially obstructing her to be able to hear clearly. Campana is acknowledging that in this girl's life, there will be sweet moments, but bad experiences will cause her to not enjoy those moments as fully as she wants. There will be a negative “veil” over the good parts of her life because the unpleasant moments will overshadow.

 

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