- Il Giorno
"Il Giorno" is a poem written by
Giuseppe Parini and published in1763 . It is an ironic and satirical representation of thearistocracy of his time. His poem represents the beginning of civic literature in Italy.It was originally divided into three parts: "Il mattino", "Il mezzogiorno" and "La sera" (Morning, Midday and Evening). The last part was later divided into two separate parts, "Il vespro" and "La notte" (Evening and Night).
Il mattino
In "Il mattino" Parini writes about the beginning of a young man's day. It begins with his waking up and continues with the breakfast and the choice of it. The young man can choose between several drinks, from chocolate (if he needs to digest the dinner of the last night) to coffee (if he tends to become fat). It continues with some welcome and unwelcome meetings, the "toeletta" and the reading of some letters. Then he gets out to meet his lady (aristocratic ladies of this period of time had both a husband and a gallant, called "
Cicisbeo ", to pass the day with).Il mezzogiorno or the Meriggio
The young man, on arriving at the lady's house, eats with her and meets the husband of the lady, who appears bored and frigid. Lunch is followed by coffee and games.
Il vespro
The young man and the lady meet friends and wander about the streets with a carriage while they speak about several things.
La notte
The two lovers go to a meeting. In this phase the author describes people in the hall and makes some comments about them. Then, all the people play cards together and at the end of this, the day of the young man is concluded. He will go to sleep at the dead of night to get up late the following morning.
The style
The purpose of this poem is to give several instructions about how to fill the "simple day" of a young aristocratic man. It cleary gives an ironic vision of this class, as Parini ostensibly exalts the aristocracy but in reality gives a critical vision of them.
There is a comic contrast between the banality of the day of the young man and the
classicism of the writing used by the author to describe it, somewhat similar to that in "The Rape of the Lock ". The description of the day is very detailed.External links
* [http://www.geocities.com/parini200/leopere.htm This and other poems of Parini in Italian on line]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
