the two twins, Leopardi dares to invoke only death, which is no longer symbolized by the horrid Ade of Saffo, but by a young virgin who grants peace for eternity. Death is the sister of love and is the great consoler who, along with her brother, is the best that the world can offer. Consalvo Also in 1832, inspired by a 17th-century poem by Girolamo Graziani titled Il Conquisto di Granata ("The Capture of Granada"), Leopardi wrote Consalvo. Consalvo obtains a kiss from the woman he has long loved unrequitedly only when, gravely injured, he is at the point of death. Consalvo is different from the other canti in that it has the form of a novella in verse or of a dramatic scene. It is the fruit of the sentimental and languid literature which characterized much of the romanticism outside of Italy. Aspasia Written in 1834, Aspasia emerges, like Consalvo, from the painful experience of desperate and unrequited love for Fanny Targioni Tozzetti. Aspasia-Fanny is the only real woman represented in the poetry of Leopardi. Aspasia is the able manipulator whose perfect body hides a corrupt and prosaic soul. She is the demonstration that beauty is dishonest. The poet, vainly searching for love, takes his revenge on destiny and the women who have rejected him, above all Targioni, whose memory continues to disturb the poet after more than a year away from her. The memory of the woman loved in vain constantly returns, but the canto, inspired by disdain for the provocative and, simultaneously, distancing behavior of the woman also expresses resignation to one's fate and the pride of having been able to recover one's own independence. Aspasia, in her limitedness as a woman cannot grasp the profundity of masculine thought. A se stesso "A se stesso" (To himself) is an 1833 canto in which Leopardi talks to his heart. The last deceit, love, is dead too. He thought that love was one of the few things that makes life worth living but he changed his mind after his beloved Fanny's refusal. She, moreover, was in love with Antonio Ranieri, Leopardi's best friend, who remained with the poet until the end. His desire, his hope, his "sweet deceits" are ended. His heart has beaten all his life but it's time for it to stop beating and staying still. There is no place for hope anymore. All he wants is