The Owl Graziadio and Saba’s "Uccelli": the Construction of Time in "L’orologio" by Carlo Levi

Abstract

This paper aims to shed light on the relevance of the symbolic figure of the owl in Carlo Levi’s paintings, poetry and prose in the Forties and in the Fifties. Often represented in connection with images of clocks, the figure of the owl is strictly related to time, which is a crucial issue in Levi’s novel L’orologio. The relationship between the representations of owl and clocks, therefore , seems to be essential in o rder to ana lyze the novel’s temporality.As for the relationship between the two figures of the owl and the clock, there is evidence of a strong influence which can be retraced to his friend Umberto Saba’s poetry, with a specific reference to Saba’s poetry collection Uccelli (1948). The analysis is based on the intertwin ing of literary and art critic ism, in the attempt to show that Lev i’s mult ifaceted work is based on a trans -medial approach.

Keywords

• Carlo Levi
• Umbero Saba
• L’orologio
• Uccelli.