Primitive infancy, nature, death, religion and life beyond death in the works of two romantic poets from Gozo

Abstract

The linguistic history of a country usually reflects its political history. Therefore, in the Maltese archipelago, scenario of various foreign dominations, one finds at least five official languages in use over the past 900 years or so. These are Latin, Sicilian, Italian, English and Maltese. It follows quite naturally, then, that Maltese literature should also have been written in different languages (Arabic, Italian, English and Maltese). This article examines the poetic production of Gorg Pisani (1909-) and Roger Scicluna (1898-1942), two romantic poets from the small island of Gozo, who wrote respectively in Maltese and in English. Despite Pisani's use of a peripheral language (Maltese) and Scicluna's use of an international one (English), the essence of their Gozitan romantic poetry is virtually the same and fits in perfectly within the mainstream ofMaltese romantic poetry. However, the clearly localized features of the natural elements as portrayed by the two poets; the strong attachment of Pisani to all that recalls the innocence of early times and Scicluna' s deep-rooted respect for Catholicism and its rituals, all contribute to give these two authors' poetry a particular and distinctive imprint. The prevailing mythology in their poetry. whether Christian or pagan. is typically mediterranean, This mediterranean 'animus' is highlighted in the poets' deep-rooted attachment to their birthplace, an intense attachment verging on the morbid, which only islanders can understand. Pisani's yearning for primitive infancy and Scicluna's quest for a future without any existential doubts are the two contrasting facets inherent in the average Gozitan, auached as he is to his island culture by an unseverable umbilical cord which, at the same time, constitutes a severe limitation to his freedom of movement and thought.