‘Poetry’ and the Essay

Abstract

This chapter examines Cecchi’s choice of the imaginative essay as the form that can best convey his ideal of lyricism. It traces Cecchi’s development as an essayist inspired by the English tradition of the literary essay and highlights his decisive contribution to the creation of the elzeviro, a new type of newspaper article which combines journalism with imaginative writing. Cecchi’s notion of lyricism, influenced by Benedetto Croce’s aesthetic theory, is a broad category comprising all expressions of the poet’s inner life in visual or visionary form. In contrast with the ideas dominant in his intellectual environment, however, Cecchi rejects the pursuit of ‘pure lyricism’ in favour of a mixed genre which combines visionary self-expression with journalism, criticism, and humour to create an enhanced epiphanic experience.