Analysis of “Il fuoco che produce luce e fumo” by Giuseppe Conte.

The title can be interpreted by the reader, indeed it has not explicit references to 11 September.

The reader can suppose that it is about a catastrophe.

The main themes after a first reading could be:

-           - A catastrophe;

-           - The wish of a union between people with different cultures in front of a catastrophe.

The reader, with a first analysis, understands that it is about 11 September and that the poet wants us to remember this terrible reality.

The limited use of punctuation gives the reader a sense of rapidity that is linked to the rapidity of the attack. This impression is also given by the adjective “fulmineo” used in the second line.

The sentence “ come si è fatta subito fumo grigio, mortale, che si espandeva e cancellava, fumo d’odio e di buio, apoteosi della polvere, della calce che ricoprivano volti d’uomini, vie, automobili” conveys the reader a sense of oppression and sadness.

Everything appeals to the sight, it is the only sense used in the poem. The reader can understand this thanks to the words “fuoco fulmineo”, “nebulosa orrenda”, “fumo grigio”. They are all things appealed to the sight.

The language used by the poet is assertive and full of significance. It conveys a sense of chaos and an admixture between Towers, smoke, fug and people that become the same thing.

At the beginning and also in the end of the poem, there is a similar expression “Ricordiamoci dell’11 settembre” that highlights the poet’s will: to bring people to remember  what happened.

The sentence “preghiamo ognuno con le nostre preghiere” highlights the idea of a union of people without discrimination. This signifies that in front of a catastrophe, people want to stay unified.

The total effect ios that the poet wants people to remember what is happened and to coexist to pray for victims.

There is also a sense of sadness and the desire to unify people in an horrible setting of destruction.

Analysis of “11 settembre” by Mario Luzi

The title gives an explicit concern about the content of the poem. The reader can understand that the poem is about the Twin Towers attack.

After a first reading the possible themes are:

-            - The brutality of the attack

-           - The will to achieve peace.

The use of punctuation creates a slow rhythm that gives a sense of sadness but also distance and reflection.

There is also a religious sense given by the sentence “non più torri, ma steli, gigli di preghiera”.

The poet wants to convey a sense of sadness and a desire of peace.

In the poem there are no clear allusions to the date, the reader can understand that he is talking about 11 September thanks to the title and to the expression “risorgete, risorgete, non più torri”.