Describe symbolism in Variations on Nothing by Giuseppe Ungaretti

This style was a revolt against the realistic and naturalistic poetry of the time and was based on a belief that reality was internal and could only be suggested, not overtly described and labeled.

Hermeticism takes symbolism further, with deeper obscurity of meaning, a belief in the magical quality of single words, and the use of more truncated lines and images. Something that is "hermetically" sealed allows nothing to enter or escape, not even air, and members of this movement sought to keep their poems airtight as well. Ungaretti and fellow Italian poets Eugenio Montale and Salvatore Quasimodo are considered the foremost proponents of hermeticism, which both flourished and faded in the first half of the twentieth-century.