The article deals with the concepts of metamorphosis and nature as key elements in D’Annunzio’s art. In his view, the poet himself is transformed bythe practice of his own art into an Hermetic figure, who — like Hermes, the god who guides the souls of the dead across the threshold dividing the world of the living and the underworld — ventures into the unknown. Having identified the ‘signs’ of all things in nature, the artist gives shape and meaning to such knowledge in his work. Since, for D’Annunzio, nature is the starting point for all knowledge, art which is not rooted in it, is meaningless.Il fuoco, Il trionfo della morte, Le Laudi and Fedra, works which are pivotal to any understanding of D’Annunzio’s conceptualisation of art, are among thosediscussed in this article.Article text in Italia
