Abstract

Pavese did not intend to imitate dialect or popular language directly. You can see it by analysing the lexis in La luna e i falò (text and manuscript), where the elements of the dialect are assimilated into standard or literary Italian and the literary lexis is reintroduced somehow evoking dialect. It is especially interesting to examine how rhythmic-syntactic forms of the period - half-way between prose and poetry - condense into compact blocks by way of «verses in prose», pauses, punctuation, ictuses. All these elements altogether contribute to create a score formed by almost separate, rhythmically marked blocks. It is an outstanding example of iconic language, as well as a significant example of how the author can plunge into the spoken language, yet assuming the support of rhythm.