A Futurist Travel towards the Absolute. Vulcano of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti

Italian futurists, eulogists of movement and velocity, avail themselves of the theme of travel, which frequently becomes a travel towards the Absolute and is based on such philosophical foundations as Bergsonism and occultism. This topic also appears a few times in Marinetti’s dramaturgy. His protagonists always begin their journey hoping that it will bring them closer to the stars, but inevitably fail to achieve their target. Marinetti’s drama Vulcano, analyzed in this paper, is both a rich source of futurist leitmotifs associated with the spiritual ascent and an interesting example of the unexpected pessimism of the founder of that bellicose movement.

A Futurist Travel towards the Absolute. Vulcano of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti

Italian futurists, eulogists of movement and velocity, avail themselves of the theme of travel, which frequently becomes a travel towards the Absolute and is based on such philosophical foundations as Bergsonism and occultism. This topic also appears a few times in Marinetti’s dramaturgy. His protagonists always begin their journey hoping that it will bring them closer to the stars, but inevitably fail to achieve their target. Marinetti’s drama Vulcano, analyzed in this paper, is both a rich source of futurist leitmotifs associated with the spiritual ascent and an interesting example of the unexpected pessimism of the founder of that bellicose movement.