biography
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1544–95)
|
| biography:
| Poet, born in Sorrento, SW Italy. He studied law and philosophy at Padua, where he published his first work, a romantic poem, Rinaldo. After joining the court of the Duke of Ferrara, he wrote his epic masterpiece on the capture of Jerusalem during the first crusade, Gerusalemme Liberata (1581, Jerusalem Liberated). The poem is characterized by a historic–religious background, a running commentary of the battles, heroes who are victims of fate, and a stylistic richness that anticipated the Baroque. He later rewrote his work, in response to criticisms, as Gerusalemme Conquistata (1593, Jerusalem Conquered). He died in Rome, where he was to have been crowned as poet laureate. |
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