Proefschrift--Letteren--Nijmegen, 1979. / Résumé en hollandais. Bibliogr. p. 266-288.

Cette thèse se propose de mette en évidence la façon dont Salvatore Quasimodo perçoit le sensible comme un tissu de « signes » qu’il apparente à des messages de l’invisible. Celui-ci les guette dans une quête spirituelle et existentielle générée par son incapacité à habiter harmonieusement le sensible, qu’il tente de combler par un rapport fusionnel à l’invisible : ses premiers poèmes s’apparentent à une solipsiste et onirique sublimation de la souffrance du « je » lyrique dont Dieu est l’interlocuteur unique, dans un dialogue où les mots sont remplacés par les signes. La seconde guerre mondiale introduit un premier changement d’indexation dans le rapport du poète au monde, l’obligeant à une redéfinition de son rapport à l’invisible et, par conséquent, au sensible. Son catholicisme se mue alors en humanisme, manifestation laïque d’une foi qui, elle, ne vacille pas. Au moment où il cesse de croire en Dieu, le poète se met à croire en l’homme. Cet élan enthousiaste est cependant de courte durée : l’homme dont Quasimodo avait rêvé de faire un héros se révèle aussi décevant que Dieu. Le poète se sent alors trahi par l’un comme par l’autre et constate avec amertume la déréliction des signes. Le dernier recueil du Sicilien, Dare e avere, introduit une ultime rupture dans son rapport au monde : celui-ci apparaît soudainement comme réconcilié avec le sensible comme avec l’invisible, dans une plénitude épiphanique. Mais ce qui pourrait à première vue apparaître comme l’accomplissement heureux d’un douloureux parcours initiatique se révèle trompeur : ces derniers recueils sont en réalité une sublimation littéraire de la terreur que ressent le poète à l’approche de la mort. / This thesis aims to show that Salvatore Quasimodo apprehends the physical​​ world as a network of signs he identifies as messages from the invisible world.  He watches out for them in a spiritual and existential quest originating in his inability to live in harmony in the physical world, which he tries to overcome by developing a close relationship with the invisible world. His early poems display the solip​si​​stic sublimation of the sufferings of the poetic voice conversing with God, words being replaced with signs. The Second World War brings about the first major adjustment in the poet's relation to the world, leading him to reconsider his relation to the invisible and, consequently, to the physical world. This is when his Catholic faith turns into a form of humanism, the non-religious expression of an unfaltering faith. As the poet stops believing in God, he starts believing in man. But this fervour does not last, as Quasimodo understands that men are just as cruel as God. The poet Now feeling betrayed by both, the poet acknowledges the dereliction of signs. His last collection, Dare e avere, displays a last alteration in his relation to the world, as he appears to be reconciled with both the physical and the invisible worlds. But what might appear as the happy outcome of a painful initiatory journey proves deceptive : the last collections of poems are actually but a way for the poet to sublimate his growing terror of approaching death.

El propósito de esta tesis es indagar en el problema del hermetismo poético mediante el análisis de seis momentos distintos: la lírica trovadoresca, la polémica en torno a las Soledades de Góngora, la irrupción de Mallarmé, las dificultades del dadaísmo y surrealismo, los poetas herméticos italianos y tres poetas españoles contemporáneos, Cirlot, Valente y Gamoneda. Mediante la combinación de épocas y tradiciones distintas, pretendo mostrar las variedades del hermetismo y su rol central en las discusiones sobre poesía. Al mismo tiempo, pretendo combinar las perspectivas del autor, el texto y el lector para ofrecer una mejor descripción de su funcionamiento. / The aim of this thesis is to investigate on the poetic hermetism problem, through the analysis of six different moments: troubadours' lyric, the controversy around Góngora's Soledades, the outbreak of Mallarmé, Dadaism and Surrealism difficulties, italian hermetic poets, and three spanish contemporary poets, Cirlot, Valente and Gamoneda. By combining different eras and traditions, I intend to show the hermetism varieties and its central role in the discussions about poetry. I also intend to combine the perspectives of the author, the text and the reader to provide a better description of its operation.

Paracalanus quasimodo and Temora turbinata are two calanoid copepods prominent in the planktonic communities of the southeastern United States. Despite their prominence, the species and population level structure of these copepods is yet unexplored. The phylogeographic, temporal and phylogenetic structure of P. quasimodo and T. turbinata are examined in my study. Samples were collected from ten sites along the Gulf of Mexico and Florida peninsular coasts. Three sites were sampled quarterly for two years. Individuals were screened for unique ITS-1 sequences with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. Unique variants were sequenced at the nuclear ITS-1 and mitochondrial COI loci. Sampling sites were analyzed for pairwise community differences and for variances between geographic and temporal groupings. Genetic variants were analyzed for phylogenetic and coalescent topology. Paracalanus quasimodo is highly structured geographically with populations divided between the Gulf of Mexico, temperate Atlantic and subtropical Atlantic, in addition to isolation by distance. No significant differences were detected between the T. turbinata samples. Both P. quasimodo and T. turbinata are stable within sites over time and between sites within a sampling period, with two exceptions. The first was a pilot sample from Miami taken two years prior to the general sampling whose community showed significant differences from most of the other Miami samples. Paracalanus quasimodo had a positive correlation of Fst with time. The second was high temporal variability detected in the samples from Fort Pierce. Phylogenetically, both P. quasimodo and T. turbinata were in well supported, congeneric clades. Paracalanus quasimodo was not monophyletic, divided into two well-supported clades. Temora turbinata variants were in one clade with insignificant support for topology within the clade and very little intraspecific variation. Paracalanus quasimodo and T. turbinata populations show opposite trends. Paracalanus quasimodo occurs near shore and shows population structure mediated by hydrological features and distance, both geographic and temporal. The phylogeny shows two deeply divergent clades suggestive of cryptic speciation. In contrast, T. turbinata populations range further offshore and show little geographic or temporal structure. However, the low genetic variation detected in this region suggests a recent bottleneck event.

Blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate Karenia brevis are common on the West Florida Shelf (WFS), yet little is known of the relationships between zooplankton and K. brevis. A comprehensive analysis was undertaken to examine 1) perturbations in zooplankton community composition within K. brevis blooms 2) the contribution of zooplankton ammonium and phosphate excretion to K. brevis bloom nutrient requirements, and 3) the role of zooplankton grazing in K. brevis bloom termination. Prior to undertaking the first portion of the study, an examination of the perturbations in the normal zooplankton assemblage within K. brevis blooms, it was first necessary to define the normal zooplankton assemblage on the WFS. To this end, a seasonal analysis of abundance, biomass and community composition of zooplankton was undertaken at 6 stations on the WFS. Monthly sampling was conducted for one year at the 5, 25 and 50- m isobaths. Two major groups in community composition were observed at the near shore (5-m and 25-m) and offshore (50-m) stations. Considerable overlap was seen in community composition between the 5-m to 25-m and 25-m to 50-m isobaths, but little overlap in community composition was observed between the 5-m and 50-m isobaths. Of the 95 species identified, only 25 proved to be important (>90%) contributors to community composition. Near shore, important contributors were Parvocalanus crassirostris, Penilia avirostris, Paracalanus quasimodo, Oithona colcarva, Oikopleura dioica, Centropages velificatus and Pelecypod larvae. As distance offshore increased, important contributors to community composition were Euchonchoichiea chierchiae, Clausocalanus furcatus, Oithona plumifera, Oithona frigida, Oncaea mediteranea, Calaocalanus pavoninius, Oithona similis, and Gastropod larvae. Variations in abundance and biomass between non-bloom and bloom assemblages were evident, including the reduction in abundance of 3 key species within K. brevis blooms. One potential source of nutrients to support K. brevis blooms may be zooplankton regeneration of nutrients. To test this hypothesis, ammonium and phosphate excretion rates of several West Florida Shelf copepods (Labidocera aestiva, Acartia tonsa, Temora turbinata, and Paracalanus quasimodo) were measured and prorated to a 24-hour day. These excretion rates were then extrapolated to other West Florida Shelf zooplankton, combined with available literature excretion rates for some taxa, and applied to zooplankton abundances found for K. brevis blooms on the West Florida Shelf in 1999 and 2001. Ammonium excretion rates were found to be inadequate to support all but 104 cells l-1 of K. brevis, though phosphate excretion rates were adequate to support even 106 cells l-1 of K. brevis. Grazing assessment was conducted for three common zooplankton species that were found within two K. brevis blooms, A. tonsa, P. quasimodo, and L. aestiva, using 14C labeled K. brevis cells. Grazing rates were then applied to the zooplankton community and grazing assessed. Grazing pressure was occasionally heavy, and was capable of reducing K. brevis to background concentrations at stations in the 1999 bloom and at 1 station in the 2001 bloom. Generally, however, grazing pressure proved to be insufficient to reduce K. brevis to background concentrations during the 1999 and 2001 blooms.

This thesis defines ‘classical lyricism’ as any mode of appropriation of Greek and Latin monodic lyric whereby a poet may develop a wider discourse on poetry. Assuming classical lyricism as an internal category of enquiry, my thesis investigates the presence of Sappho and Catullus as lyric archetypes in Italian and North American poetry of the 20th century. The analysis concentrates on translations and appropriations of Sappho and Catullus in four case studies: Giovanni Pascoli (1855-1912) and Salvatore Quasimodo (1901-1968) in Italy; Ezra Pound (1885-1972) and Anne Carson (b. 1950) in North America. I first trace the poetic reception of Sappho and Catullus in the oeuvres of the four authors separately. I define and evaluate the role of the respective appropriations within each author’s work and poetics. I then contextualise the four case studies within the Italian and North American literary histories. Finally, through the new outlook afforded by the comparative angle of this thesis, I uncover some of the hidden threads connecting the different types of classical lyricism transnationally. The thesis shows that the course of classical lyricism takes two opposite aesthetic directions in Italy and in North America. Moreover, despite the two aesthetic trajectories diverging, I demonstrate that the four poets’ appropriations of Sappho and Catullus share certain topical characteristics. Three out of four types of classical lyricism are defined by a preference for Sappho’s and Catullus’ lyrics which deal with marriage rituals and defloration, patterns of death and rebirth, and solar myths. They stand out as the epiphenomena of the poets’ interest in the anthropological foundations of the lyric, which is grounded in a philosophical function associated with poetry as a quest for knowledge. I therefore ultimately propose that ‘classical lyricism’ may be considered as an independent historical and interpretative category of the classical legacy.