The influence of Henri Bergson's philosophy on Giuseppe Ungaretti's early poetry

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate how the Italian poet Ungaretti, having attended Bergson's lectures at the College de France in Paris from 1912 to 1915, was influenced by Bergson's philosophy, particularly in the writing of L'Allegria and Sentimento del tempo. I propose to examine these two works and trace Bergsonian influences upon contemporary European cultural movements such as Pragmatism and Futurism, as reflect in Italian and French literary journals, e.g. Leonardo, Poesia, La Voce and Lacerba.