GIACOMO LEOPARDI poem SATURDAY NIGHT IN THE VILLAGE English
Giacomo Leopardi
Saturday night in the village
(It: Il sabato del villaggio)
canto XXV
(1829)
Italian classical literature
Text translated into English
Giacomo Leopardi All the works > here
Short introduction to poetry and to “canti”
The Poetry “Saturday night in the village” (it: Il sabato del villaggio) was composed by Giacomo Leopardi in 1829 during his last period in Recanati.
The poem by Giacomo Leopardi “Saturday night in the village” describes life in a country town during Saturday night, waiting for Sunday, a day of celebration. Waiting that will inevitably be disappointed.
“Saturday night in the village” poem by Giacomo Leopardi is an allegory of life, spent waiting for an unattainable pleasure, which will be disappointed.
The “canti” by Giacomo Leopardi contain thirty-four lyrics composed by the poet between 1817 and 1836. The “Canti”, are considered the masterpiece of Giacomo Leopardi.
Among the poems by Giacomo Leopardi included in the “Canti” we remember:
The calm after the storm (ita: La quiete dopo la tempesta) which you can find on “yeyebook”, by clicking here.
“Night-time chant of a wandering Asian sheep-herder” (ita: il Canto notturno di un pastore errante dell’Asia), “The Lonely Sparrow” (ita: Il passero solitario),
To the moon (ita: Alla luna) proposed on yeye book, by clicking here,
“To Silvia” (ita: A Silvia), “The Broom” (ita: La ginestra),
The infinity (ita: L’infinito), one of the most representative poems of Leopardian poetry, which you can find on yeyebook, by clicking here.
“Saturday night in the village” (Il sabato del villaggio) Original Italian text > here
Good reading, good listening and good saturday.
Giacomo Leopardi
Saturday night in the village
Italian classical literature
Text translated into English
The young girl comes from the fields
about the set of sun,
bearing her swath of grass, and in her hand
a bunch of roses and violets,
as is her custom, for,
tomorrow’s holiday
to make more beautiful her breast and hair.
And the old woman sits
upon the steps among her neighbours, spinning
turning herself to where the day goes down,
and telling tales how she,in better times,
decked herself out for the holiday,
and graceful still,and fresh,
would dance the evening through among the rest,
who were companions of her lovely prime.
Now the air and sky grow dark,
take on a deeper blue,and shadows fall
cast by the roofs and hills
beneath the whiteness of the rising moon.
And now the bell proclaims
The holy day’s approach,
and at the sound,it seems,
each heart is cheered once more.
The small boys shouting in troops
about the village square
go leaping hither and thither
and make a cheerful noise;
meanwhile the labourer goes whistling home,
back to his frugal meal,
and thinks about the coming day of rest.
When every other light around is out,
all other sound is mute,
hark to the hammer knocking,and the saw –
the carpenter is up,
working by lamplight in his shuttered shop,
and labours on, in haste
to get all finished before the morning comes.
This is the best-loved day of all the week,
most full of hope and joy;
the morrow will be back
sadness and tedium, and each within his thought
returns once more to find his usual labour.
You little playful boy,
even this your flowering time
is like a day filled up with grace and joy –
a clear, calm day that comes
as a precursor to life’s festival.
Be happy little lad;
a joyful time is this.
More I’d not tell you; but if your holiday
seems somewhat tardy yet, let not that grieve you.
…
..
.
Giacomo Leopardi – Saturday night in the village
It: Il sabato del villaggio – canto XXV (1829)
Italian classical literature
Text translated into English
“Saturday night in the village” (Il sabato del villaggio) Original Italian text > here
Giacomo Leopardi All the works > here
