Mario Luzi – Desiderio di pace

The poem composed by Mario Luzi is entitled 11 settembre dates back to 2002. The title of the composition allows the reader to comprehend the lines main theme. They could report the personal writer’s reflection as regards the events that shook the entire world on September the 11^th 2001: the World Trade Centre.

The date of the composition constitutes another point of deliberation: the poem was written a year after the Twin Towers’ attack then the reflection is a line of reasoning matured during the course of time. It is not an immediate reaction, so it may be interesting to understand if the narrator feels a sentiment of repulsion or one of forgiveness for what had been done.

A second point of analysis is made up by the poem’s structure. A singular stanza counting twelve lines composes the text. The layout doesn’t permit the reader to divide the composition into different sequences. He can do this looking at punctuation marks and sub-topics. In this way the poem is results to be composed by three different sections: the first going form the first line to the fifth; the second counting the next five lines and the third including the remaining part of the poem.

The first sequence constitutes the introduction of the main theme of the poem and his description. The noun morte connotes negatively the attack, giving the reader a first information as regards the narrator’s opinion: he considers the Twin Towers attack something destructive (morte) e blasphemous (affronto). The opinion is also highlighted by a long run-on-line developed in the first three lines. The effect of the tragedy that hit all world’s people independently of their religion: the reader comprehends the point of view from which the narrator analyses the situation (religion).

In the poem’s second section is introduced the real interlocutor of the speaking voice: the Twin Towers. The command expressed while the imperative risorgete, pointed out by the repetition, can actually be addressed only to what now is failed. The religious point of view emerges again by the use of the noun preghiera and of the previous one gigli. Lily is indeed a plant having a multiple symbolic meaning: it stands for glory, fecundity, purity, passion, but it also indicates the submission to God’s will, according to Christianity and Judaism. This religious reference implies a selection of the various religions seen as good and favourable. Religion implies forgiveness for what had been done on the 11^th September 2001, but this selection of religious faiths implies a detachment from the Islam.

The quarrel pointed out at the end of the previous sequence is cleared in the third one. The poem’s last section allows the reader understand the final intention of the writer. His desire is to have only peace in the world, to see the various cultures united by a sentiment of peace, in spite of the World Trade Centre. It is only something that human beings must remember to have a reason, a warning that makes them live in equality. The writer’s desire is conveyed by the imperative avvenga; while the element of the peace is highlighted by the repetition of the expression in pace.

After the entire analysis of the entire poem, the reader can understand the level of the reflection reported and the composition’s main message. The writer concentrates the reflection on the religious ground and expresses his hope for the future.