Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View
Leopardi often writes from his own perspective and often his speakers are poets.
Form and Meter
Leopardi often uses the canzone libera form.
Metaphors and Similes
"Lifeless Pompeii returns to the light of heaven after ancient oblivion, like a buried skeleton."
Alliteration and Assonance
"A faithful friend of hostile fortune.
These fields scattered"
Irony
The season of spring is often associated with birth and life, but Leopardi ironically associates the season with death in "To Spring."
Genre
Romantic poetry
Setting
Poems are often inspired by nature
Tone
Tone is often melancholy and bitter
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is often Leopardi himself, who is plagued by melancholy.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is Leopardi dealing with various troubles in his life.
Climax
The climax of "To Sylvia," is the end of the poem, when Leopardi describes her death.
Foreshadowing
Sylvia's death is foreshadowed at the beginning of the poem when Leopardi writes about her "mortal life."
Understatement
Leopardi understates the association between spring and vitality.
Allusions
His poetry often alludes to the Romantic tradition and subverts expectations.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Leopardi often personifies the moon, describing it using human qualities. For example, he describes it as being an old man.
Hyperbole
"In the most intense heat of battle," from "Wild Broom."
Onomatopoeia
N/A
