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Torquato Tasso Biography

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TASSO, Torquato, epic poet, born in Sorrento, Italy, March 11, 1544; died in Rome, April 25, 1595. He was the son of Bernardo Tasso (1493-1569), an eminent Italian epic and lyric poet. His father was exiled shortly after his birth, and his training devolved upon his mother, who sent him to a Jesuit school at Naples until 1554. He joined his father at Rome in the latter year, and under his superintendence studied in that city. Afterward he attended educational institutions at Bergamo, Pesaro, and Venice. In 1561 he entered the University of Padua to study law, but while there surprised his friends by publishing an epic poem in twelve cantos, entitled "Rinaldo." This production made him so famous that he was invited to the University of Bologna, where he studied philosophy, rhetoric, and literature. While there he began to write his celebrated poem of "Jerusalem Delivered," receiving financial aid from Cardinal Louis d' Este, to whom his "Rinaldo" had been dedicated. In 1575 he accepted a position in the court of Alfonso II., duke of Ferrara, where he completed his "Jerusalem Delivered." Instead of publishing this famous production upon his own responsibility, he submitted it for examination to several churchmen and critics at Rome. The criticisms suggested so preyed upon his mind that he became addicted to morbid fancies, imagining himself condemned to the Inquisition, and in a fit of excitement attempted to stab with his dagger a servant of the duchess of Urbino, in 1577. An arrest followed this rash act, but he was released after confinement for two days. Subsequently he was affected in a similar way, and Duke Alfonso caused him to be confined at the hospital of St. Anne at Ferrara, where he remained from 1579 to 1586. He was released in the latter year at the solicitation of Vincent di Gonzaga, and in 1595 was invited to Rome by Pope Clement VIII. to receive the laurel crown of the poet, but died before the ceremony took place. Among the writings of this eminent poet are "Aminta;" "Discourses on the Art of Poetry;" "Monte Oliveto;" "Rime," and "Amadis." Tasso gained the friendship of Charles IX. by visiting France in 1570. His "Jerusalem Delivered" and "Aminta" are considered his master productions.