ABSTRACT
The relationship, or putative relationship, between the io and l'Altro and largely replaces the old io-tu axis and becomes a focus for figurations of the radical absence of meaning in the poet's world. The presence from Saturn onwards of what can broadly be termed religious motifs or motifs of theological speculation represents in part an innovation and in part provides a degree of continuity with the earlier collections. The portrayal of the relationship with Mosca as a possible key to a radically 'other' reality, confined largely to 'Xenia', represents a transitional moment in the treatment of the oltrevita and related themes. The relationship, or putative relationship, between the io and l'Altro largely replaces the old io-tu axis and becomes a focus for figurations of the radical absence of meaning in the poet's world. This relationship, depicted in a number of different metaphorical guises, is characterized throughout by varying degrees of ignorance, absence, indifference and antagonism on both sides.
