Nuove prospettive nella critica verghiana

This article examines the most recent lines of criticism on Verga, highlighting his two-faced nature: on the one hand, modernist, anticipating Pirandello, Svevo, and the early twentieth century; on the other, classicist, in constant dialogue with tradition. Romano Luperini's interpretation is central, seeing in I Malavoglia a break with the narrator's omniscience and the emergence of a modern, linear, and fragmented time. Other scholars have emphasized different aspects: the connection with García Márquez (Vacante), anti-historicism (Muscariello, Spinazzola), and the influence of photography and cinema (Ajello, Sciacca). A close engagement with Pirandello has also developed, along with an increasingly plural methodological approach: onomastic (Porcelli), linguistic (Leone), anthropological (Giancristofaro), historical, and intertextual analyses (Riccobono, Lokaj), often intertwined to overcome reductive readings. Alongside the image of a Verga "anti-utopian of modernity" (Lo Castro), there also emerges that of a "classical" Verga, nourished by Dante, Foscolo, Manzoni, and Leopardi. In conclusion, the most recent criticism emphasizes the writer's complex and antinomic nature: an author "ante retroque prospiciens," simultaneously modern and traditional, experimental and classical, who eludes simple formulas yet maintains extraordinary critical relevance for this very reason.