Dei sepolcri

Dei sepolcri is a poem written by the Italian poet, Ugo Foscolo in 1806 and published in 1807. It consists of 295 hendecasyllabic verses. The carme (as the author defined it) is dedicated to another poet, Ippolito Pindemonte, with whom Foscolo had been discussing the recent Napoleonic law regarding tombs.

Foscolo has materialistic views about man's destiny after death, but he strongly affirms the value of tombs as memory of noble souls or bright intellects.

Political and Cultural Background

Ugo Foscolo

The idea behind the poem can be traced back to 1804, when the Napoleon edict of Saint-Cloud was issued. On September 5, 1806 the edict was applied to Italy. In short, the edict stated that all burials must take place outside the city walls, that (for democratic reasons) the burial monuments must all be of the same size, and their inscriptions controlled by a special commission. This caused Foscolo to contemplate upon the nature and philosophy of death.

Being an atheist, Foscolo did not share the view of e.g fellow poet Ippolito Pindemonte, who defended the Christian cult as opposed to the new "illuminist" ideas brought on by the French regime. Even so, Foscolo was critical towards the Napoleonic decree regarding tombs, mostly for "civic" reasons: Even though he affirms that there is no life after death, human beings will still aspire to "transcend" death. Tombs, regarded as monument over fallen heroes and virtuous men from the past, may inspire those living today- for instance artists and poets. When marble monuments are destroyed by time, their memories survive in poems they have inspired, and can in turn inspire deep virtues in new generations.

References

• Opere di Ugo Foscolo, a cura di Mario Puppo, Ugo Mursia editore, Milano 1962.
• Storia della Letteratura Italiana; direttori: Emilio Cecchi e Natalino Sapegno, vol. 7. L'Ottocento. ed. Garzanti, Milano, 1969.

This article related to a poem is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: 1806 poems Poem stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая? May Offensive Edgar Hayes Look at other dictionaries: Ugo Foscolo — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Foscolo. Ugo Foscolo Ugo Fosc …   Wikipédia en Français Ugo Foscolo — Retrato realizado por François Xavier Pascal Fabre. Nacimiento 6 de febrero de 1778 Zante …   Wikipedia Español Ugo Foscolo — Niccolò Ugo Foscolo Born 6 February 1778(1778 02 06) Zakynthos, Greece1 Died 10 September 1827(1827 09 10) …   Wikipedia Foscolo, Ugo — orig. Niccolò Foscolo born Feb. 6, 1778, Zacynthus, Venetian republic died Sept. 10, 1827, Turnham Green, near London, Eng. Italian poet and novelist. His works articulated the feelings of many Italians during the turbulent epoch of the French… …   Universalium Foscolo, Ugo — (1778–1827)    A kind of Italian Shelley, Ugo Foscolo was a poet, classical translator, and patriot who was born to an Italian father and a Greek mother on the isle of Xante. He grew up in the then Venetian town of Spalato (modern day Split, in… …   Historical Dictionary of modern Italy Italian literature — Introduction       the body of written works produced in the Italian language that had its beginnings in the 13th century. Until that time nearly all literary work composed in the Middle Ages was written in Latin. Moreover, it was predominantly… …   Universalium Italienische Literatur — Italienische Literatur. Die i. L. hat sich verhältnismäßig spät entwickelt. In Frankreich hatten sich längst die provenzalische und die französische Literatur entfaltet, als Italien immer noch ohne eine eigne Nationalliteratur war. Da nun die… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon Milan — Milano redirects here. For other uses, see Milano (disambiguation). For other uses, see Milan (disambiguation). Milan Milano   Comune   Comune di Milano …   Wikipedia Bevilacqua family — The Bevilaqua family is a noble Italian family, descending from the 12th century, with many notable members. Duchessa, Marchessa, and Countess Donna Felicita Bevilacqua La Masa (1822 1899) was a descendant of Morando Bevilacqua (1150 1221). He… …   Wikipedia Culture of Milan — The Duomo di Milano (Milan Cathedral) is perhaps the most iconic of all Milanese cultural landmarks …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”