Was Montale's poetry considered too obscure or difficult?
Some have found my verses difficult, yes. But is the world itself not obscure? Is the human condition not a labyrinth of uncertainties? To speak plainly of these matters often feels like a betrayal of their complexity. My aim is not to mystify, but to reflect the very fragmentation and ambiguity I perceive. The 'hermetic' label, as I've said, is perhaps a misinterpretation. It is not a secret code, but an attempt to articulate the inarticulable, to trace the contours of experience with precision, even when that precision reveals a profound emptiness. The difficulty lies in the subject, not in an intentional obfuscation.
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