Ossi di seppia (Cuttlefish Bones)

Ossi di seppia (Cuttlefish Bones), published in 1925, is the first collection of poems by Eugenio Montale. This work is characterized by a profound pessimism, reflecting the post-World War I era. Montale uses the stark imagery of the Ligurian coast—its desolate, rocky landscape—as a metaphor to express his bleak worldview. This vision of a harsh, barren world is often compared to T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land.1

Montale, along with poets like Giuseppe Ungaretti and Salvatore Quasimodo, was associated with the Hermetic movement in Italian poetry. This movement drew inspiration from French Symbolism, focusing on the evocative power of words and subjective meaning. Ossi di seppia marked Montale's early contribution to this style, though his later works would evolve in tone and language.21