Giuseppe Ungaretti was an Italian modernist poet and a recipient of the inaugural 1970 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. He is considered to be one of the leading contributors to twentieth century Italian literature, particularly for founding the experimental trend in poetry known as ‘Ermetismo’ or ‘Hermeticism’. During his school days in Egypt, Ungaretti was deeply influenced by French symbolist poets like Stéphane Mallarmé. His ‘technique of obscuration’ is based on the symbolism movement and the belief that the poet is the custodian of mysterious secrets. His works reveal a preoccupation with philosophical questions like the mysteries of the cosmos and the insignificance of human life. He was also briefly influenced by the movement of futurism and supported the national irredentism movement. He served in the trenches during World War I and was appalled at the brutalities of the war. During the interwar period, he also served as a foreign correspondent for newspapers like ‘IL Popolo d'Italia’ and ‘Gazzetta del Popolo’. Ungaretti was a member of the National Fascist Party and a collaborator of Benito Mussolini but changed his Fascist views later in life.
