Early Yeatsian Critique in Italy: Federico Olivero and The Shadowy Waters (1900)

The focus of this work is the early Yeatsian critique by Federico Olivero on the play The Shadowy Waters. Oliver’s work on Yeats is composed of three essays and for the sake of my project, I decided to focus on the first two, which were published between 1914 and 1925, and to investigate the analysis of The Shadowy Waters. Both essays highlight important elements of the Irish writer work, and though few themes are clearly repeated in both papers, it's notable that the element of travel is underlined constantly. Another element that Olivero studies in both works is music. Music opens and closes the play and throughout the entire work emerges as a living force, almost a character. Its power is a vision of what lies ahead for the two lovers, an astonishing beauty that can be reached.