Ungaretti's poems are of their time to such an extent that within the volume that collects Vita d'un uomo, four divisions are easily seen. These divisions are: L'allegria, in which a spare and hard language describes the trenches of World War I; Sentimento del tempo, in which a more peaceful time generally gives rise to a quieter language: Il dolore and Un grido e paesaggi, in which the sheer size of World War II was enough to shatter any semblance of fragility; La terra promessa, Il taccuino del vecchio, and the latest poems, which join the previous languages of war and peace for our time.

Of all Ungaretti's works, the most peaceful are furthest from us now. But how much peace is there in these poems? Very little; even in Sentimento del tempo and the poems since Taccuino, there is often an extremely violent language.

What Ungaretti has...