I volti dell'innocenza nella poesia di Thomas Traherne

The Faces of Innocence in Thomas Traherne’s Poetry In 17th century British Literature Thomas Traherne was a neglected poet, a sort of outsider. Suffice it to think that his work was discovered and published for the first time at the beginning of the 20th century and that even T.S. Eliot, who underlined the great importance of the metaphysical poets, described him as “a remarkable curiosity, an isolated specimen”, but not as an outstanding poet. After introducing Traherne as an isolated but revolutionary figure (also because of his criticism of the institutions and his rejection of private property), this essay discusses his idea of felicity as a situation of dynamic, vital harmony between Nature, human beings and God within this world, in contrast with both Neoplatonism (although he was influenced by it) and the institutionalized religion of his time. In the final paragraph, while discussing Traherne’s unique and innovatory style, both in prose and in poetry, the paper attempts to refute the idea of Traherne as a “naïf” poet, showing that in his verse an almost childish simplicity of expression sometimes may hide esoteric allusions and coexist with the deliberate use of ingenious poetic patterns.