Tasso, Torquato
1544–1595 Italian poet and dramatist

Torquato Tasso was the last major poet of the Italian Renaissance. His artistic style combines intense emotion with a serious moral tone. In his most famous work, the epic* Jerusalem Delivered, he explored the themes of love and heroism, providing a rich and complex account of the tensions between the two. This work made Torquato famous as one of the greatest poets of his day.

Tasso's Life. Tasso was born in Sorrento, in southern Italy. His father, Bernardo, was a court poet in the city of Naples, which at the time belonged to Spain. In 1547 Bernardo Tasso became involved in a resistance movement against the introduction of the Spanish Inquisition* into Naples. He eventually had to flee the city, along with his son. Tasso spent the 1550s moving from court to court in central and northern Italy. In the course of his travels, he acquired an excellent education and became familiar with the literary culture of Italian courts.

Tasso studied at both the University of Padua and the University of Bologna, but he never received a degree. Instead he traveled to Ferrara and became a member of the household of Cardinal Luigi d'Este. He also enjoyed the patronage* of the cardinal's brother, Alfonso II, the duke of Ferrara. In 1575 Tasso completed the first draft of his epic Jerusalem Delivered. Before publishing it, he sought comments from five noted critics, hoping that their approval would protect him from later attacks on its political and religious views. Instead, the critics attacked his work so vigorously that the strain of defending it caused Tasso to have a nervous breakdown. He became suspicious of the court and all those around him. In the summer of 1577 he tried to stab a servant whom he accused of spying on him. Placed under strict guard for this crime, he managed to escape and fled south to Sorrento—leaving behind the precious manuscript of his epic.

When Tasso returned to Ferrara in 1579, he could not get his manuscript back. In a fit of anger he publicly attacked Alfonso II and his court. Tasso was taken to a nearby hospital, declared insane, and imprisoned for seven years. During this period, he recovered the text of Jerusalem Delivered and completed the poem, which appeared in 1581. After his release, Tasso spent the rest of his life wandering restlessly around Italy, producing various works of poetry and prose. He died in Rome.

Major Works. Like other Renaissance writers, Tasso aimed to master as many different literary forms as possible. He worked in the pastoral*, epic, lyric*, tragedy, and a variety of other forms. Tasso's great pastoral drama, Aminta (1573), relates the love of Aminta, a young shepherd-poet, for Silvia, a woman who at first rejects his advances. Aminta's love leads him into despair and attempted suicide before the two lovers finally unite. Tasso sets his work in an ancient golden age, a common Renaissance theme. However, his tone clearly shows that this idealized world is a fantasy as unrealistic as it is beautiful.

Renaissance authors viewed the epic as the highest form of poetry. In Jerusalem Delivered, Tasso attempted to live up to the classical* ideal that an epic should both delight and instruct. The poem, set during the period of the First Crusade (1096–1099), presents a contrast between the ideas of love and honor. In two different episodes, a hero must resist the temptations of a love that runs counter to his duty. Like other classical and Renaissance epics, Jerusalem Delivered contains many battle scenes, and Tasso combined the violent action of the battles with powerful emotional experience. Tasso's work expresses both the sorrows of war and the glory of military heroism, both pagan* and Christian.

Aside from these two famous works, Tasso is best known for his lyric poetry, which focuses on such typical Renaissance themes as love, religion, and the glory of his patrons. He also produced a tragic drama, a lengthy religious poem about the creation of the world, dialogues on a variety of topics, and works of literary criticism. These works earned Tasso a lasting reputation as one of the greatest poets of the Renaissance. Although his reputation declined during the 1900s, he remains a significant figure in the history of Renaissance literature.

(See alsoChivalry; Italian Language and Literature. )

* epic

long poem about the adventures of a hero

* Spanish Inquisition

court established by the Spanish monarchs that investigated Christians accused of straying from the official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, particularly during the period 1480–1530

* patronage

support or financial sponsorship

* pastoral

relating to the countryside; often used to draw a contrast between the innocence and serenity of rural life and the corruption and extravagance of court life

* lyric

refers to a type of verse that expresses feelings and thoughts rather than telling a story

* classical

in the tradition of ancient Greece and Rome

* pagan

referring to ancient religions that worshiped many gods, or more generally, to any non-Christian religion