The Bad Poet (2021) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Comini was sent by Achille Starace to win over the poet and gather intelligence on his true opinions. The regime feared D'Annunzio's erratic behavior could damage Italy's alliance with Nazi Germany, so they needed someone with poetic sensibility to charm information out of the aging Vate while reporting back on any anti-Fascist sentiment.

Foreshadowing: The mission itself is foreshadowed by Comini's promotion to federal secretary of Brescia, a role designed to give him access to the poet.

• comini
• dannunzio
• spy mission
• starace
• fascism

D'Annunzio wanted to urge the Duce to reconsider the alliance with Hitler, believing it would lead Italy toward war. He asked Comini to arrange the meeting during Mussolini's 1936 trip to Germany, hoping to warn him about the dangers of aligning with Nazi Germany.

Foreshadowing: This political intervention was hinted at earlier when D'Annunzio's anti-Fascist stance was first mentioned.

• dannunzio
• mussolini
• hitler alliance
• war warning
• verona

Lina's anti-fascist half-brother was arrested during the regime's crackdown. The combination of losing her brother to Fascist imprisonment and the oppressive political atmosphere proved unbearable, leading her to take her own life. This tragedy deeply affected Comini and accelerated his doubts about the regime.

Foreshadowing: The affair between Comini and Lina was established earlier, making her personal loss part of the emotional landscape.

• lina
• suicide
• arrest
• half-brother
• fascism

In 1937, D'Annunzio confronted Mussolini at Verona Porta Nuova Station upon his return from Germany, warning him about the dangers of the Hitler alliance. Mussolini dismissed him with condescension, refusing to take his warnings seriously. This rejection triggered a mental and physical breakdown in the poet.

Foreshadowing: The confrontation was the culmination of D'Annunzio's earlier request to meet with Mussolini through Comini.

• verona
• mussolini
• confrontation
• breakdown
• hitler

D'Annunzio died in 1938 under unclear circumstances, a year after his breakdown following the Verona confrontation. The movie leaves his exact cause of death mysterious, though his health had been deteriorating from age and his reliance on cocaine. Mussolini attended his funeral, signaling the regime's continued involvement in his legacy.

Foreshadowing: The poet's physical and mental decline was shown after his confrontation with Mussolini at Verona.

• dannunzio death
• 1938
• mysterious
• mussolini funeral

Comini was demoted because he had opposed the Mussolini-Hitler alliance and had been reporting on the growing public unease about the partnership in his dossiers. His stance against the regime's direction, combined with his close relationship with the poet, led to professional consequences once D'Annunzio was gone and the regime tightened its discipline.

Foreshadowing: Starace had already reprimanded Comini in 1937 for documenting popular impatience with the alliance.

• comini demotion
• opposition
• alliance
• starace
• career

Comini's disillusionment grew through multiple factors: his growing respect for D'Annunzio and his principled stand against Hitler, witnessing the personal devastation caused by the regime through Lina's suicide, and his own reports revealing public discontent with the Mussolini-Hitler alliance. The contrast between the poet's integrity and the regime's intolerance gradually eroded his faith in Fascism.

Foreshadowing: His doubts began emerging after Lina's death and intensified when Starace reprimanded him for his dossier findings.

• comini disillusionment
• conscience
• fascism
• moral doubt

Luisa gave Comini a peacock feather that belonged to D'Annunzio during the funeral. It symbolized their friendship and the bond formed during Comini's time at the Vittoriale. The feather served as both a memento of affection and a tragic reminder of the poet's fading glory and the imminent loss of everything the Vittoriale represented.

Foreshadowing: The feather appears at the funeral, closing the circle from Comini's earlier visits to the estate.

• peacock feather
• luisa
• friendship
• memory
• vittoriale

After D'Annunzio's death, the regime cracked down on his legacy and those closest to him. Luisa and Amélie, who had lived with D'Annunzio at the Vittoriale for years, were forced to leave permanently. Their expulsion marked the end of the poet's household and symbolized the regime's final erasure of his independent presence.

Foreshadowing: The regime's tightening control was already evident in the reprimand of Comini and the political pressure on the poet.

• luisa
• amélie
• vittoriale
• exile
• regime

D'Annunzio had a complicated relationship with Mussolini's regime. While he had initially resisted Fascism, he was eventually absorbed into the system through positions like the presidency of the Accademia d'Italia. However, he remained skeptical of the Hitler alliance and continued to assert his independence, which ultimately led to his marginalization and the regime's dismissal of his warnings.

Foreshadowing: His early resistance to Fascism and retreat to the Vittoriale established his complicated political standing.

• dannunzio
• fascism
• mussolini
• independence
• accademia