Tasso, Torquato, << TAS oh, tawr KWAH taw >> (1544-1595), was an Italian poet of the late Renaissance period. The musicality of his language and his mournful moods are considered unsurpassed.
Tasso’s masterpiece is Jerusalem Delivered (completed 1575, published 1581), an epic poem about the First Crusade (1096-1099). Tasso departed from literary tradition by showing strong concern for historical truth in his epic. However, he still filled the poem with magic and miracles, as well as love and sensuality. The poem is written in eight-line stanzas common to Italian Renaissance poetry. Later, Tasso was bothered by criticisms of his work, and by worries that the Roman Catholic Church might censor his poem because of its mythical and sensual elements. These concerns, along with his respect for historical truth, led him to write a restrained version of his epic, Jerusalem Conquered (1593).
Besides his many lyrics, Tasso wrote philosophical dialogues, plays, and essays on literary theory. One of his greatest works is the pastoral drama Aminta (1573).
Tasso was born on March 11, 1544, in Sorrento. He spent a number of years at the court of Alfonso II d’Este, Duke of Ferrara. Tasso was hospitalized for mental illness in 1577 and from 1579 to 1586. He died on April 25, 1595.
