Important Italian Poets
- Giacomo da Lentini a 13th Century poet who is believed to have invented the sonnet.
- Guido Cavalcanti (c.1255 - 1300) Tuscan poet, and a key figure in the Dolce Stil Novo movement.
- Dante Alighieri (1265 - 1321) wrote Divina Commedia, one of the pinnacles of Middle Ages literature.
- Francesco Petrarca (1304 - 1374) famous for developing the Petrarchan sonnet in a collection of 366 poems called Canzoniere.
- Matteo Maria Boiardo (1441 – 1494) wrote the epic poem Orlando innamorato
- Ludovico Ariosto (1474 – 1533) wrote the epic poem Orlando furioso (1516).
- Torquato Tasso (1544 – 1595) wrote La Gerusalemme liberata (1580) in which he describes the imaginary combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade.
- Ugo Foscolo (1778 - 1827): best known for his poem "Dei Sepolcri"
- Giacomo Leopardi (1798 – 1837): highly valued for his Canti and Operette morali, author of L'infinito, one of the most famous poems of Italian literary history.
- Giosuè Carducci (1835 - 1907) won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1906
- Giovanni Pascoli (1855 - 1912)
- Gabriele D'Annunzio (1863 - 1938) poet and novelist of the Decadent Movement
- Guido Gozzano (1883-1916) poet of the Decadent Movement, best known for his collection "I colloqui" (1911)
- Umberto Saba (1883 - 1957)
- Giuseppe Ungaretti (1888 - 1970)
- Eugenio Montale (1896 – 1981) won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1975
- Salvatore Quasimodo (1901 – 1968) won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1959
- Cesare Pavese (1908 – 1950)
- Leonardo Sinisgalli (1908 – 1981)
- Alfonso Gatto (1909 – 1976)
- Antonia Pozzi (1912 - 1938)
- Mario Luzi (1914 – 2005)
Read more about this topic: Italian Poetry
Famous quotes containing the words important, italian and/or poets:
““Which is more important to you, your field or your children?” the department head asked. She replied, “That’s like asking me if I could walk better if you amputated my right leg or my left leg.””
—Anonymous Parent. As quoted in Women and the Work Family Dilemma, by Deborah J. Swiss and Judith P. Walker, ch. 2 (1993)
“Until recently the word fascist was considered shameful. Fortunately, that period has passed. In fact, there is now a reassessment of how much grandpa Benito did for Italy.”
—Alessandra Mussolini, Italian actor, politician, and medical student. As quoted in Newsweek magazine, p. 19 (February 17, 1992)
“God, who gave to him the lyre,
Of all mortals the desire,
For all breathing men’s behoof,
Straitly charged him, “Sit aloof;”
Annexed a warning, poets say,
To the bright premium,—
Ever, when twain together play,
Shall the harp be dumb.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)