Torquato Tasso , known in French under name the Cup (in Italian, it Tasso), is an Italian poet , born the March 11th 1544 with Sorrente (area of Campanie, Italy), dead the April 25th 1595 with Rome. He is in particular the author of Jerusalem delivered .

Its life

Its childhood

His/her mother, Porzia dei Rossi, were Neapolitan, but of a family originating in Pistoia. Torquato was born in the absence of his/her father, Bernardo Tasso, then with the service of Shoeing Sanseverino, prince of Salerno, which it had followed in Piedmont at the time of the war between Charles-Quint and François I {{er}}. Bernardo returned to Sorrente in January 1545, and, the summer of this same year, went to be fixed at Salerno, where Torquato spent its first years. The viceroy of Naples having constrained Shoeing to give up Salerno, Bernardo followed it in his exile, but it transported initially, towards the end of 1550, its family with Naples. Torquato there was the pupil of the Jésuite S, and studied, by making rapids progress, the Latin , the Greek and the Rhétorique.

When, in 1554, Bernardo Tasso obtained to be established with Rome, it wanted to make there come its family, but the parents of his wife opposed it for reasons of interests, and Torquato only went to join his/her father, separating with great sorrow from his/her mother. This one died suddenly in February 1556. One lived in Rome in the continual apprehension of the war. Bernardo, in September of this year, was solved to send Torquato to Bergamo near his/her parents; the child was accompanied by Don Giovanni Angeluzzo, who had been her tutor during her first years. As for Bernardo, it went to Urbin and was put at the service of Guidobaldo II della Rovere. At the end of a few months, Torquato came to find there, and it was at this court that it completed its education, in company of hereditary prince François-Marie. Bernardo having gone with Venice in spring of 1559, to supervise the impression of sound Amadis , Torquato joined there. It composed already of poetries, and in 1561 some appeared in a collection which contained also works of other poets.

First writings

The conquests of the Turkish S in Hungary, their frequent incursions on the coasts of Italy then woke up in all the spirits the idea of a new crusade. Torquato which, any child, had seen with the convent of Undermined of Tirreni fall it from the pope Urbain III and with which one had had, on this occasion, to tell the history of the first crusade, started to contemplate a poem on this subject. It wrote of it at once a part which was preserved and which contains the matter of the first three songs of the Jerusalem . But, indicator which work would be long and difficult and as it was impatient to become famous, it started to cover a simpler chivalrous subject, the Renaud . It continued this poem with Padoue, where his/her father had sent it in November 1560, so that it studied there the right to the Université, recommending it to the famous well-read man Sperone Speroni. Torquato followed the courses of right only during one year, his/her father having enabled him to be registered with those of philosophy and eloquence. Encouraged by his friends, it continued and completed its Renaud , which was published in Venice in 1562, and was worth great praises with the poet, who was yet only eighteen years old. Bernardo, after being remained one year with the service of the cardinal Louis d' Este, passed to the pledges duke of Mantoue, Guillaume Gonzague, auprès of which it remained until his death. For its third year of studies, Torquato went to Bologna where he attended private literary academies, then, during the holidays, he went near his father to Mantoue. It was again in Bologna for its fourth year of studies, when, in January 1564, it was shown to be the author of certain satires against his companions and one of its professors, and had to leave the city.

End of the studies and first agitations

On the invitation of the young prince Scipion Gonzague, it went to Padoue, where it was elected member of the Académie of Eterei (éthérés) with the name of Pentito (repented), and it resumed at the University its stopped studies. It lute with the Eterei various poetries, of which the ones had been inspired to him by a first love for Lucrezia Bendidio, young girl of noble family ferraraise, and of which the others were made up for Laura Peperara, of which he was enthusiast in Mantoue during the holidays of 1564. However, its attraction for the ladies seems to have found its limits and to have at the very least coexisted with the love of the boys. Giovanni Dall' Orto dated December 14th, 1576 evokes for example a letter, in which the writer evokes without ambiguity his passion for a boy of blackjack years (Giovanni Dall' Orto. " Socratic Love ace has Disguise for Same Sex Love in the Italian Renaisance " page 52 in Gerald and Hekma, The Continues Sodomy off: Homosexuality male in Rebirth and Enlightment Europe, Haarrington Park Near, 1989.) In the same way, Dominique Fernandez evokes this homosexuality in his Voyage from Italy: " Climate hysterical of intrigues of court and particular connections… scandal with a giton, known as moderately its translator. " (Fernandez Dominique, Voyage from Italy, Tempus, Perrin, 2004.) Its studies finished, during the summer of 1565, it knew that the cardinal Louis d' Este was been willing to take it with his service, thanks to the mediation of the count Fulvio Rangone, and in October it went to Ferrare, where, not having any determined employment, it had any leisure to work with the poem of the Jerusalem which it had taken again. Received at the court of the duke Alphonse II, it was soon extremely required there because of its beautiful youthful imposing presence, of the nobility in its manners and its poetic talents. In September 1569, it went in haste to Ostiglia to receive there the last sigh of his/her father who was governor there.

An itinerant life

In October 1570, the Louis cardinal going in France, the Cup followed it with some other characters. It arrived at Paris the February 10th 1571 and, congédié by the cardinal who missed money, it set out again about it the March 19th. During this short stay, it had become acquainted with Ronsard of which it spoke later in its dialog about the Cattaneo (1585). The April 15th 1571, the Cup was of return to Ferrare, where it remained a few days, then it left for Rome, from where it was allocated by Pesaro and Urbin, where was the princess Lucrèce d' Este, married since one year to prince François Marie. It returned with her in September to Ferrare: there he asked to belong to the continuation of the duke, and in January 1572, wages was allocated to him without he having of given load. In January 1573, it followed the duke to Rome, and on its return it composed in a few months its Amintas which it made represent in spring. The following year, at the time of the carnival, it went in Pesaro; in July, it accompanied the duke in Venice, at the time of the passage of Henri III which returned from Poland to go to take possession of the throne of France. It continued to work with the Jerusalem which it finished in April 1575. It lute in the current of the summer to the duke and the Lucrèce princess. At March of the same year, it had gone to Vicence and Padoue to ask council his friends about the poem, and it had requested the large Pinelli scholar to examine it. In June, it had also gone to Bologna to consult the inquisitor about certain religious concerns there. Little time afterwards, in September 1575, it went to Rome at the time of the Jubilé. It subjected its poem to it to Scipion Gonzague, in Flaminio of' Nobili, monsignore Silvio Antoniano, Pier Angelis Bargeo, Sperone Speroni. It set out again of Rome to the end of the year, stopped a few days with Florence to also consult there the famous well-read man Vincenzo Borghini; in the middle of January 1576, it was again in Ferrare.

Its poem

The revision of sound Poème was a long and hard task. Antoniano wanted that the Cup removed from them the episodes of Amour and made a crowned poem of it. This torment lasted all the year 1576. He learned whereas somebody who had copied his poem printed it for his own account. One needed the assistance of the duke to stop the thing. However the courtiers started to become jealous of the Cup, of a rather irritable nature besides. It went in April 1576 for the festivals of Easter to Modena. It returned in May and fell seriously sick from there. He was cured when on September 7th, in full day, he was treacherously attacked on the public place by Ercole Fucci, accompanied by his brother Maddalô, all the two attaches at the court. The Cup, some time before, had answered by bellows a denial which Ercole Fucci gave him. In this brawl, the poet was struck rather violently blow of stick to the head. The culprit flees and escaped research which the duke had ordered against him.

The Cup, made indignant, turned over to Modena; it became acquainted with beautiful and celebrates poetess Tarquinia Molza and it composed of the worms in its honor. Towards the end of January 1577, it returned in Ferrare and from there went to Comacchio where was the court. It was already reached of melancholy, religious mania and persecution mania; he saw enemies everywhere and also feared to be fallen in some sin from heresy. In June 1577, it wanted to be once again examined by the inquisitor of Ferrare which returned it exonerated. Such a mania was then dangerous in Ferrare, where the doctrines calvinists had been spread: the duke feared that its scruples did not arrive at the supreme court of Rome and did not alienate to him the friendship of the Pape for which it had great need. The discharge which the inquisitor gave him did not calm concerns of the Cup, which feared that one did not want by pity to leave it in the error. The evening of June 17th, while he entrusted his torments to the Lucrèce princess, thinking that a servant who passed had come the épier, he gave him a stab. The duke then made it lock up in a small room of the castle and made him give care. Shortly after it took it along in its beautiful villa of Belriguardo, thinking that the distractions of the countryside would be salutary for him, but it had almost at once to return it to Ferrare, where it entrusted it to the monks of the convent franciscain.

It remained there some time, unceasingly concerned about the disability of the sentence delivered by the inquisitor and being believed poisoned by the drugs that one gave him. He believed being fallen in disgrace near the duke. In the night of the July 25th 1577, it broke a door and flees of Ferrare. Vêtu as a peasant, it moved through fields towards Bologna. Riders which one sent could not find it. It arrived at Sorrente, where remained his/her Cornélie sister, and to her out of dress of shepherd (letter of the November 14th 1587), while announcing to him, so that Manso tells, the death of Torquato arised, to see which effect would produce on her this news. Accommodated with kindness by his sister, there remained some time near her, but, wishing to finish its poem, it took the party of going to Rome (at the end of January 1578). It found there initially a refuge in the cardinal Louis d' Este, then near monsignore Giulio Masetti, ambassador of Ferrare; then it stated that it was laid out to turn over from where it had left and to give of gladly its life between the hands of the duke. The duke answered that it would take it again readily, provided that it were let look after and entrusted to his friendship.

The Cup accepted and, about the middle of April 1578, it returned in Ferrare. But in early July, he flees again and went to Mantoue, where he sold what he had on him; from there it went to Padoue, then with Venice, then with Pesaro, where it was accepted with kindness by the new duke François Marie, its companion of childhood; but in September it left secretly for Piedmont. With Turin, the guards of the doors did not want to let it pass, because it was not provided with a certificate of good health: a Venetian well-read man, Angelo Ingegneri, which had known it in Ferrare, obtained that one let it enter. The prince Charles-Emmanuel offered to him to take it with his service; the cardinal archbishop Jerome della Rovere made him the same proposal, as well as the marquis Philippe d' Este, son-in-law of the duke Emmanuel-Philibert; the Cup was fixed at Philippe d' Este, but in November it made new attempts to turn over at Alphonse II and, in February 1579, it flees of Turin and one saw it arriving at Ferrare. One celebrated there at this time the weddings of Alphonse d' Este and Marguerite de Mantoue. The Cup required an audience of the duke; she was refused to him. The evening of March 11th, at Cornelio Bentivoglio, general captain of the duke, it was spread in violent invectives, then, being submitted to the court, one saw it in prey with however furious is delirious that one had to seize it and to lead it to the lunatic asylum of Holy-Anne where it was connected. At the end of a few days one gave him an apartment, and, while supervising it of close, one made him come his meals from the ducal court, the gentlemen of the court and his/her friends could come to see it. Montaigne, which passed to Ferrare in 1581, known as in its Essais (delivers II, chapter XII): “I have more despit that of compassion to veoir it in Ferrare in so piteous estat survivor with soy mesme, mescognoissant and soy and its works, which without his sceu and however with his veue one clarified incorrigez and formless. ” The Cup remained seven years with the asylum of Holy-Anne; one from time to time led it to the countryside, the walk during the carnival and, rather seldom, to the court. But the monitoring was continuous: it had sudden and dangerous accesses; for the periods of calm, he wrote letters and poetries and composed of the philosophical dialogs, where not only the thought is lucid, but still rigorous logic and the perfect form. To the bitternesses of its long detention was added sadness to see not very honest editors clandestinely publishing what he had written in prose and worms and even the Jerusalem. In 1580, certain Celio Malaspina very incorrectly published in Venice fourteen songs of the Jerusalem ; Angelo Ingegneri, which had a more correct manuscript of the poem, gave an edition of it supplements the following year with Parma and Casalmaggiore.

The Cup however was not satisfied with its poem, and he complained that these editions had been made. Its dissatisfaction increased, when violent controversies rose at the time of an opuscule of Camillo Pellegino (1584), where this one had sought to show the superiority of the Cup on the Arioste. It composed even a Apologie for the defense of Jerusalem delivered (Ferrare, 1585). The prince of Mantoue, Vincent Gonzague, often came in Ferrare to see there his sister the duchess, and it went several times to find the unhappy poet. In July 1586, it proposed to the duke to take along the Cup with him, while promising to him to bring back it to him to Ferrare. The duke agreed to it, and on July 13rd the poet could leave the hospital to go to Mantoue. He occupied his poems, took again to with it a tragedy already outlined in 1574 under the title of Galeatto, king of Norway , and he completed it by entitling it the King Torrismonde .

In 1587, it went to Bergamo where it had parents. Returned in Mantoue for the death of the duke Guillaume and the advent with the throne of Vincent I {{er}} Gonzague, it fell sick in October and, hardly cured, flees with the improvist. He passed by Bologna and Lorette and arrived at Rome on November 3rd; he was the host of Scipion Gonzague there, then, hoping to re-examine his sister and to have part of the fortune of his mother, he went to Naples, March 1588 and placed itself there with the monastery of Assembles Oliveto. He learned there that his/her sister had died. He was in Naples the host of many lords and mainly of Manso, marquis de Villa, who was its first biographer. November 25th, it set out again for Rome, was again the host of Scipion Gonzague which had been appointed cardinal, and lived in the palate of via della Scrofa, which bears today the name of palate Negroni-Galitzin. It remained there until August of the following year (1589). The people in service of the cardinal having driven out it because of its eccentricities, it was withdrawn in the monks olivétains and remained until November there. At that time, having fallen seriously sick, it was for one month at the hospital of the Bergamasks. When it left there, it turned over to Scipion Gonzague. The April 15th 1590, it left for Florence, where it was accommodated with much benevolence by the large-duke Ferdinand Ier. In September, it set out again for Rome. Vincent Gonzague then invited it pressing way to return to his court of Mantoue. Afterwards many hesitations, the Cup accepted; it arrived at Mantoue the March 17th 1591. During all this time, it continued to compose of the worms and to re-examine its poem. In August, it fell seriously sick; in November, it followed to Rome the duke who was going to pay homage to the new pope Innocent IX.

In January 1592, invited by Mathieu de Capoue, prince de Conca, it went to Naples where it began a new poem, Creation (It Mondo creato) , which remained unfinished and was published in 1607, after its death. In April, as it returned to Rome, it had to stop a few days with Mola de Gaëte, because the famous gangster Marco de Sciama made the road not very sure. In Rome, he lived until June at Vincent Gonzague, then of Cinzio and Pierre Aldobrandini, nephews of the pope Clément VIII; it is with them that it dedicated the following year (1593) its Jerusalem conquered . Its health worsened. In June 1594, it went however still to Naples and found there an asylum in the monks of San Severino. In November, the pope recalled it to Rome so that one decreed to him the poetic crown with the Capitole. It arrived there very sick, and while better days were prepared to him, because the pope allocated an annual pension to him and obtained a transaction about his maternal heritage, the evil made in him fast progress. At the beginning of April 1595, it was made transfer onto the Janicule, in the Monastère of Saint-Onuphre to breathe a more salubrious air there. The pope sent his Cesalpino doctor to him, but it expired the 25. The pope wanted that him solemn funeral was made. According to its desire, it was buried with Saint-Onuphre.

Its literary activity

The literary activity of the Cup was extraordinary, in spite of its bad health, its voyages and its tribulations. In addition to the already quoted poems, it composed a great number of lyric poetries, dialogs and speech.

In the Renaud ( it Rinaldo ) completed in 1561, the Cup already tried to reconcile the variety and the freedom of the chivalrous poem with the unit of action and the gravity of the heroic poem Classique. He wanted to give to Italy a great traditional poem; it is this end which it worked towards in the composition and the rehandlings of the Jerusalem . He wrote in 1564 - 1565 three speeches on the poetic Art; he took them again later and six in Naples under the title of Discours on the heroic poem published of them. The Cup prepared thus with its great poem which it initially hoped to entitle It Gerusalemme and to dedicate to the duke of Urbin. When it had been accommodated at the court of Ferrare, it modified it to celebrate there the house of Este, by introducing there the character of Renaud considered as the distance ancestor of the family.

Of a first outline which one can see with the library of the the Vatican, it preserved only some stanzas. He wanted to then give to the poem the title Goffredo . The twenty songs were completed in 1575.

Jerusalem delivered was published in entirety only in 1581 by the friends of the Cup. The subject is the catch of Jerusalem by Godefroy de Bouillon. This one is the main character; he points out the piles Énée, but he has at the same time his character of Christian knight. Renaud plays, in the Jerusalem , the same role as Achille in the Iliade; Tancrède is the type of perfect the knight. Among the heroes buckwheats are distinguished Aladin, king de Jérusalem, Soliman and Argante which holds at the same time of Turnus of Virgile and of Rodomond of the Arioste. In the same way, among heroins, Clorinde recalls Camille and Armide, Angélique. The marvellous one introduced into the poem is reconcilable with the Christian beliefs.

As of 1575, the Cup had undertaken to alter the delivered Jerusalem and it became little by little Jerusalem conquered , which it published in Rome in 1593. The new poem is divided no longer into twenty songs, but into twenty-four books: all the scenes and all the episodes which had appeared to the poet unworthy of the gravity of the epopee were removed; the history of Armide, inter alia, is extremely reduced. The Cup endeavors to be held more close to historical truth, to be more correct in its style and more faithful to the precepts of Aristote. It does not succeed however that to destroy the charm of the first poem.

the Seven Days of Creation are a didactic poem which it left unfinished. It is the same of the started poem with Naples and entitled Monte Oliveto . It is necessary to still quote To rough-hew It of Corinne , pastoral poem composed in 1588, and the Généalogie of Sérénissime Maison of Savoy, in 119 octaves, published after its Mort.

Amintas , the work of the most known Cup after the Jerusalem , is a pastoral drama in five acts with interludes. One sees there the Silvie shepherdess insensitive with the love which carries to him the Amintas shepherd: this one, learning that Silvie was devoured by the wolf S, is thrown in a chasm, and it is believed dead. Silvie, which has escaped with the wolves, are repent of its hardness, is in despair and wants to die, but, thanks to a bush on which fell Amintas, the fall was not mortal; when it takes again its directions, that which it likes is in tears near him and all will finish by a Mariage. Amintas, represented in 1573 before the court of Ferrare, had a great success.

The very many letters of the Cup are the best source for its Biographie.

Among its works in prose, let us quote the Discours about the sedition which rose in the kingdom of France in 1585 , where it is treated reasons which caused it and of the end which it will have (War of the three Henri).

The editions of the Cup are very numerous; here the best among the modern ones:

• Édition supplements in 33 volumes of Giovanni Rosini (Pisa, 1821-1832);
• Gerusalemme liberata , edition criticizes the same one, with speech of Carducci, Mazzoni, Cipolla (Bologna, 1897);
• Rhyme volgari , Solerti edition, in 2 volumes (Bologna, 1898); Carmi latini, edition Martini (Rome, 1895);
• Lettere E dialoghi , Guasti edition, in 8 volumes (Florence, 1853-1858; new edition with appendix by Solerti; Florence, 1892).

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