Editing Giosuè Carducci (section)

=== Early works ===
[[File:Amicipedanti.jpg|right|thumb|Giosuè Carducci with his friends Torquato Gargani and Giuseppe Chiarini, c. 1855]]
In 1855, Carducci published his first work, ''L'arpa del popolo'', an [[anthology]] of Italian poetry for use in schools, and a year later he received his [[doctorate]] and a certification for teaching. He took a position as a rhetoric teacher in a [[secondary school]] at the [[ginnasio|gymnasium]] in [[San Miniato]], Pisa.

In this period Carducci began working on his first major collection of poems. The collection was published in six books in 1871 under the title of ''Juvenilia''. Carducci's early verses exhibit the strong influence of classical models, of the ''[[stilnovisti]]'', of [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]] and [[Petrarch]] and, among the moderns, [[Vittorio Alfieri|Alfieri]], [[Vincenzo Monti|Monti]], [[Ugo Foscolo|Foscolo]] and [[Giacomo Leopardi|Leopardi]]. But the Carduccian spirit is already visible; his love for the beauty of style, the purity of sentiments and the celebration of liberty, as well as the ability to appreciate all that is genuine, therefore also the language of the common people.<ref name="Bickersteth" /><ref>G. Bertoni, ''La lingua poetica di Giosue Carducci'', in Regia Università di Bologna, cit., pp. 91–95</ref>

With several friends, among them Giuseppe Chiarini and Torquato Gargani, Carducci founded a literary society, ''Amici Pedanti'', a group that was essentially anti-Romantic and [[Anti-Catholicism|anti-Catholic]]. They believed that ltaly's only hope for the future was in the revival of the classical, [[Paganism|pagan]] spirit of the ancient world, which was emphasized as still existing in the Italian land and blood. Such opinions naturally provoked violent objections, both from Romantcs and from those who favored the ''status quo'', Carducci freely and ferociously responded in prose to the attacks many times. His first collection of poetry, ''Rime'', appeared in July, 1857.

Although Carducci won a competition for the Chair of Greek in a secondary school in [[Arezzo]], his political opinions and his father's political record as a revolutionary caused the granducal government to deny him the appointment.<ref>[[#Magill & Kohler 1958|Magill & Kohler 1958]], p. 182.</ref> Carducci was forced to return to Florence, where he eked out a living by giving private lessons. In November, his [[Depression (mood)|depression]] became worse when his brother Dante killed himself for unknown reasons. After the death of his father (1858), Carducci was compelled to take care of his family, whose affairs were in disarray. He moved with his mother and brother into a very poor house in Florence, continuing his private lessons. He also began to collaborate with the publisher Gaspero Barbera; together they founded a short-lived [[literary magazine]], ''Il Poliziano''. Despite his financial situation, Carducci married Elvira Menicucci in March, 1859.