‘Figli Di Prometeo’: A Reading of Giacomo Leopardi’s Promethean Quest in Canti

Abstract Giacomo Leopardi’s sense of poetic quest has often been overshadowed by a long-standing critical interest in his prominent theory of pleasure. This has led to a missed opportunity to frame the poet from Recanati within a literary Zeitgeist distinctly marked by a reconfiguration of the Romantic spirit as Promethean. This article casts a new light on Leopardi’s poetry by exploring the tensions between real and ideal, conflict and achievement, in his poetic quests as symbolic of his Promethean spirit or Prometheanism, a term I use to describe an aesthetics of inner conflict. Close readings of ‘L’infinito’, ‘Bruto minore’ and ‘Canto notturno di un pastore errante dell’Asia’ elucidate a Leopardian Prometheanism centred on the creative possibilities afforded by poetry and whether such opportunities can effectively assist the poet in his pursuit.