Il passero solitario or Solitary sparrow

This Canto first appeared in the Naples 1835 edition, in eleventh place, at the start of the series of the Idilli or Idylls (to which it makes explicit reference), although it was certainly composed much later on (this is the first “free” canzone we come across in the Canti), if albeit based on something sketched out in youth. Debate among scholars as to when it was written has been fierce, and has not been settled yet; among the more accredited theories are those that it was written very late (between 1832 and 1835), according to Domenico De Robertis, and that it was composed circa 1828-30, put forward by Francesco De Rosa (based principally on linguistic and metric clues).

The basic theme of the Canto, set in Recanati, is constituted of the melancholy remembrance of youth, together with remorse for not having enjoyed it to the full. Central is the comparison between the solitude of the sparrow:

 

tu pensoso in disparte il tutto miri;

non compagni, non voli,

non ti cal d’allegria, schivi gli spassi;

canti, e così trapassi

dell’anno e di tua vita il più bel fiore. (vv. 12-6)

and the equally solitary habits of the poet:

Oimè, quanto somiglia

al tuo costume il mio! Sollazzo e riso,

della novella età dolce famiglia,

e te german (= “fratello”) di giovinezza, amore,

sospiro acerbo de’ provetti giorni,

non curo, io non so come; anzi da loro

quasi fuggo lontano; (vv. 17-23)

The final bitter reflection of the Canto is based on the fact that Leopardi knew that the sparrow, having reached the end of his life, will not be pained for his habits, because these have been imposed upon him by nature; he will, instead, have to suffer the consequences of his choices:

A me, se di vecchiezza

la detestata soglia

evitar non impetro (= “ottengo”),

...

che parrà di tal voglia?

che di quest’anni miei? che di me stesso?

Ahi pentirommi, e spesso,

ma sconsolato, volgerommi indietro. (vv. 50-9)