Forme e modelli del sonetto di Saba

This thesis examines the form of the sonnet in Umberto Saba’s work, focusing on its evolution throughout the author’s entire poetic production. The analysis, which considers all known forms of every sonnet written by Saba, concentrates particularly on four areas, identified through the study of Versi militari, which in some respects represent the most significant moment in Saba’s use of the sonnet. The four areas are: the rhyme schemes of the quatrains, the rhyme schemes of the tercets, the use of imperfect rhymes, and the use of identical rhymes. The first part of the thesis is devoted to studying the evolution of Saba’s habits regarding these elements and to attempting an interpretation of the different approaches he adopts over time, from his early works to his final years. The second part focuses on tracing some possible models for the less common – if not outright unusual – rhyme schemes. In particular, it considers: models from the best Italian tradition, including Petrarch and Foscolo; some European authors, such as Shakespeare, Heine, and Baudelaire; and above all, poets from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, who turn out to be the closest precursors of many of the solutions employed by Saba. Based on the data collected (organized in a repertory and several easily accessible tables), the thesis offers some reflections on the origins of Saba’s experimentation and on the possible reasons for its abandonment starting in the early 1920s.