Gabriele Annunzio Biography and List of Works

Italian poet, novelist and dramatist, military hero, and supporter of fascist political ideas. D'Annunzio combined in his works naturalism, symbolism, and erotic images, becoming the best interpreter of European Decadence in post-Risorgimento Italy. His love affairs, relationship with the world-famous actress Eleanora Duse, heroic adventures during World War I, and his occupation of Fiume in 1919 made him a legend in his own time.

"O nere e bianche rondini, tra notte
e alba, tra vespro e notte, o bianche e nere
ospiti lungo l'Affrico notturno!
Volan elle sí basso che la molle
erba sfioran coi petti, e dal piacere
il loro volo sembra fatto azzurro.
Sopra non ha susurro
l'arbole grande, se ben trema sempre,
Non tesse il volo intorno a le mie temple
fresche ghirlande?"
(from 'Lungo L'Affrico nella sera di giugno dopo la pioggia')

D'Annunzio was born in Pescara (Abruzzi), in Central Italy on the Adriatic coast. His father was a clerk, wealthy landowner, and later mayor of the town - his name was originally Francesco Rapagnetta, but he legally added the 'D'Annunzio' to his name.

As a poet D'Annuncio made his debut at the age of sixteen with PRIMO VERE (1879), one of the most astonishing first collections. In 1881 he entered the University of Rome, where he fully participated in the capital's social and cultural life, and contributed to newspapers, particularly Fanfulla della Domenica, Capitan Francassa, and Cronaca Bizantina. He soon became member of various literary groups and in 1883 he married Maria Hardouin di Gallese, a duke's daughter. They had three sons but marriage ended in 1891. During these years D'Annunzio produced much hackwork in order to support his titled wife. His short stories showed the influence of the popular French writer Guy de Maupassant. In his works in the 1880s, CANTO NOVO (1882), TERRA VERGINE (1882), and INTERMEZZO DI RIME (1883) he emphasized the sensuous sides of life.

D'Annunzio published his first full-length novel, The Child of Pleasure, in 1889. The story of a snobbish but weak-willed decadent was a parody of contemporary French 'decadent' fiction. His next novel, The Victim (1891), was a story where husband, sexually depraved Tullio Hermil, forces his chaste wife into adultery. His best known novel, IL TRIONFO DELLA MORTE, appeared in 1894 and featured Nietzschean hero as his next major novel LE VERGINI DELLE ROCCE (1896). His drama The Daughter of Jorio (1904) set new standards for contemporary writing in Italian. The visionary, excited imagination of the poet, led him to an exaggerated nationalism, and ultimately, in the 1920s and 1930s, to his support of Mussolini: he saw the dictator in the light of mythical heroes, representing the spirit of the nation.

After a long liaison with the Countess Gravina Auguissola, D´Annunzio began in 1894 a liaison with the actress Eleonora Duse and wrote several plays for her, including LA GIOCONDA (1899) and FRANCESCA DA RIMINI (1901). In 1897 he was elected to parliament for a three-year term, aligning himself in the beginning with the extreme right but moving then to the left. In 1899 D'Annunzio had moved to a luxurious Tuscan villa, La Capponcina. He was defeated in the elections next year, and continued to live over his income. Accumulating debts forced D´Annunzio to flee to France in 1910. He settled in Arcachon near Cap Ferret. There he began a new career as a writer, producing among others the play LE MARTYR DE SAINT SÉBASTIEN (1911). It is still performed because of the celebrated music by Claude Debussy.

When World War I broke out, D'Annunzio returned to Italy and started successful career as a military leader. He made speeches, wrote articles exhorting his countrymen to assist the Allied cause and joined the air force, becoming one of Italy's most celebrated heroes. In an aerial combat, D'Annunzio lost an eye. In 1919, annoyed that Italy had lost the town of Fiume, D´Annunzio´s troops occupied the town and he ruled it as a dictator for eighteen months until 1920. He declared war against Italy but was finally forced to retreat.

Although Mussolini was much influenced by the tactics of D'Annunzio, the writer never held an important post in the Fascist government. D'Annunzio retired to his home on Lake Garde and spent his last years writing. In 1924 he was created Prince of Monte Nevoso and in 1937 he was made a president of the Italian Royal Academy. D'Annunzio died of a stroke at his desk on March 1, 1938. He was given a state funeral by Mussolini. D´Annunzio´s collected works were published in the 1950s. His correspondence with Mussolini appeared in 1971.

D'Annunzio's fin-de-siècle works are now read mostly for historical rather than literary reasons. His plays are dated and rarely played. Among his more enduring works is The Flame of Life (1900), where D'Annunzio portrays himself as the 'superman' Stelio Effrena. The novel is a fictionalised account of his love affair with Duse and aroused considerable scandal at the time of its publication. D'Annunzio's and Duse's relationship ended in 1910, when the author's attention wandered to the Marchioness Alessandra di Rudini-Carolotti.

La Giaconda (1899) Lucio Settala, a sculptor, has attempted suicide. He is recovering in the home of his wife Silvia, whom he had abandoned. Lucio's realizes that he is still in love with his mistress and creative inspiration, La Giaconda. When the two women confront, La Giaconda tries to destroy Lucio's masterpiece - Silvia saves it but her hands are smashed. Lucio returns to his art and his mistress.

For further reading: Wingless Victory: A Dual Biography of Gabrie D'Annunzio and Eleanora Duse by F. Winwar (1956); D'Annunzio: The Poet as Superman by A. Rhodes (1960); Gabriele D'Annunzio in France by G. Gullace (1966); D'Annunzio by P. Jullian (1972); The First Duce by M.A. Ledeen (1977); The Italian Stage from Goldoni to D'Annunzio by M. Carlson (1981);Gabriele D'Annunzio by C. Klopp (1988); Gabriele D'Annunzio by Charles Klopp (1988); Decadent Genealogies: The Rhetoric of Sickness from Baudelaire to D'Annunzio by Barbara Spackman (1989); Gabriele D'Annunzio: The Dark Flame by Paolo Valesio, et al (1992); D'Annunzio and the Great War by Alfredo Bonadeo (1995); Nationalism and Culture: Gabriele D'Annunzio and Italy After the Risorgimento by Jared M. Becker (1995); Gabriele D'Annunzio: Defiant Archangel by John Robert (1998) - Other writers with nazi or fascist sympathies: Ezra Pound, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Curzio Malaparte , Knut Hamsun.

PRIMO VERE, (1879)