Giovanni Pascoli

Italian poet. Along with D'Annunzio, he is a giant who marked the beginning of Italian modern poetry. He was born on December 31st in the countryside of central Italy as the fourth of ten children. His peaceful childhood took a sudden turn for the worse when, at the age of 11, his father, who was a farm manager, was shot and killed. The following year, his eldest sister and mother were killed, breaking up the family, and a few years later he lost his second and eldest brothers. This succession of misfortunes left a deep mark on Pascoli's life and art (incidentally, the opening poem of his first collection of poems, "Mileace," dedicated to his late father, is called "Day of the Dead"). Pascoli therefore worked hard to rebuild his family's "nest," and in 1887 he called his two younger sisters over. Eventually they bought a house in the countryside of Castelvecchio near Lucca, and he lived with his sister Maria, who supported him in many ways throughout his life (Maria has written a large biography of him, "The Life of G. Pascoli," in 1961). He studied hard to get into the University of Bologna, where he participated in a socialist movement and was arrested and imprisoned. After graduating from university, he moved around the country as a Greek and Latin teacher at high schools and universities, and in 1906 he took over as professor of Italian literature at his alma mater, the University of Bologna, as the successor to his mentor, Carducci. He died in Bologna on April 6, 1912.

Most of his poetry was published in pamphlets and magazines. From his first collection of poems, "Milece" (1891) (definitive edition, 1903), Pascoli's core motif was clear - a pastoral scene that seemed to capture the most beautiful moment, "the flapping of birds, the rustling of cypresses, the distant sound of bells", in which the presence of death lurks, as if the funeral scene was burned into the back of his eyelids. He reached the peak of his career with the publication of the following collections of poems: "Little Poems" (1897, later divided into "Early Poems" and "New Poems"), "The Songs of Castelvecchio" (1903), dedicated to his late mother, and "Symposium" (1904), which revived his poems from the classics. His other works include four collections of poetry, including some published posthumously, a collection of Latin poems called "Carmina" (published posthumously in 1930) which won numerous international competitions, and prose works such as "Dark Minerva" (1898), as well as a trilogy of studies on the Divine Comedy and a collection of essays called "Thoughts and Descriptions" (1907).

[Hiroto Koga]

"Milece (excerpt)" translated by Akira Tsubouchi (included in "World Famous Poetry Collection 14", 1962, Heibonsha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

イタリアの詩人。ダンヌンツィオと並びイタリア現代詩の出発点となった巨星。12月31日、イタリア中部の田園地帯で10人兄弟の第4子として生まれる。彼の平穏な少年時代は、11歳のとき、農場の管理人をしていた父親が狙撃(そげき)され死んだことから一挙に暗転し、翌年には長姉と母が死亡し一家は離散、数年後さらに次兄と長兄を失った。この相次ぐ不幸はパスコリの人生と芸術に深い刻印を押した（ちなみに、亡き父に捧(ささ)げられた処女詩集『ミリーチェ』では「死者たちの日」という詩が巻頭に置かれている）。そのためパスコリは家族の「巣」の再建に腐心し、1887年、妹2人を呼び寄せ、やがてはルッカに近いカステルベッキオの田園に家を購入し、そして陰に陽に彼を支えた妹マリーアとの生活が終生続いた（マリーアには大冊の伝記『G・パスコリの生涯に添って』1961、がある）。苦学してボローニャ大学へ進み、在学中、社会主義の運動に参加して逮捕、投獄された。大学卒業後、高校、大学のギリシア・ラテン語教師として国内を転々とし、1906年、恩師カルドゥッチの後任として母校ボローニャ大学のイタリア文学教授の椅子(いす)についた。12年4月6日、ボローニャにて死去。

　彼の詩作品は大部分が小冊子や雑誌に片々と発表された。1891年刊行の処女詩集『ミリーチェ（御柳(ぎょりゅう)集）』（決定版1903）から、パスコリの詩の核となるモチーフは顕著であった――もっとも妙(たえ)なる瞬間を截(き)りとったような田園の風物、「鳥のはばたき、糸杉のそよぎ、はるかな鐘の響き」のなかに、あの葬儀の場景が彼のまぶたの裏に焼き付いているかのように、死の気配が忍び寄っている。そして『小詩集』（1897。のち『初期小詩集』と『新小詩集』に分かれる）、亡き母に捧げた『カステルベッキオの歌』（1903）、古典に材を求め蘇生(そせい)させた『饗宴(きょうえん)詩集』（1904）と続く詩集の刊行によって詩人として絶頂を極めた。ほかに、没後刊行のものを含めて4冊の詩集、国際コンクールで何度も栄誉に輝いたラテン語による詩の集成『カルミーナ』（没後1930刊）、散文に『暗きミネルバ』（1898）のほか『神曲』をめぐる研究三部作、論集『思念と叙説』（1907）などがある。

［古賀弘人］

『坪内章訳『ミリーチェ（抄）』（『世界名詩集大成14』所収・1962・平凡社）』

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