Calvino’s Guizzo

The role of passions in the works of Italo Calvino is still largely overlooked. This essay uses narrative semiotics to show that passions are an essential aspect of his writing, as they contribute to shaping his notion of literary realism through different periods, genres, and styles. Analysis focuses on a semiotic reading of the guizzo in Calvino’s last novel, Palomar (1983). It is a complex word that expresses a startling perception, a flash of revelation, and a leap of imagination. Drawing from Algirdas J. Greimas with cross-references to Roland Barthes, this essay argues that Calvino’s guizzo captures his visual aesthetics as a form of affective realism, which sheds new light on his theory of imagination and fantastic literature

Passions · Realism · Semiotics · Visual semiotics · Italian Fascism and Post-war Society · Italian Literature and Culture · Linguistic Studies and Language Acquisition