Soldati
(Bosco di Courton luglio 1918)
Si sta come
d’autunno
sugli alberi
le foglie
Translator’s Glossary
|
WORD
|
DEFINITION
|
POSSIBLE SYNONYMS
|
|---|---|---|
| alberi (n.) | plants with leaves and wooden trunks | trees, branches |
| Bosco di Courton (n.) | a forest in northeast France | Bosco di Courton |
| come (prep.) | used to express similarity | like, similar to, as |
| d’autunno (prep. + n.) | during the season of the year when the trees change color | in autumn, in fall |
| foglie (n.) | the parts of a plant that grow from its branches | leaves, foliage |
| le (art.) | denoting something already mentioned or assumed to be common knowledge | the |
| luglio 1918 (phrase) | the date when Ungaretti wrote this poem | July, 1918 |
| si sta (pron. + v.) | from the verb stare, meaning to be | we are, we stand, here we are |
| soldati (n.) | people who fight in an army | soldiers, troops, commandos |
| sugli (prep.) | describing position or location | on the, upon the, among the |
Artistic Elements
I. About Free Verse
• Free verse is a literary device that can be defined as poetry that is free from
limitations of regular meter or rhythm and does not rhyme with fixed forms. Such
poems are without rhythms and rhyme schemes; do not follow regular rhyme
scheme rules and still provide artistic expression. In this way, the poet can give his
own shape to a poem how he/she desires. However, it still allows poets to use
alliteration, rhyme, cadences or rhythms to get the effects that they consider are
suitable for the piece.
Bio
Giuseppe Ungaretti was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and grew up speaking French. At age 24, he moved to Paris, where he became friends with many writers and artists including Pablo Picasso. He later joined the Italian army and fought in World War I. Ungaretti wrote many of his poems—including this one—on scraps of paper while fighting in the trenches.