published in Italian Studies, 67, 1, 2012
In both the Zibaldone and the Operette morali, Leopardi meditates on the subjective perception of the flow of time and represents the intensity of existence with two antithetical models: the bird and the ephemeron. Through an analysis of internal references and external sources, this article attempts to show how the image of the `vecchio canuto' in the `Canto notturno' is intertwined with that of the ephemeron, and to highlight their shared metaphorical value. Moreover, it seeks to interpret the subliminal appearance of the ephemeron alongside the bird in the final stanza of the poem, where the three considerations introduced by `forse' register three precise stages of consciousness, which represent a shift from an inner experience of time to an extra-temporal reality.
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