Chapter XIV: Burlesque Poetry and Satire

Relation of Satiric to Serious Literature--Italy has more Parody and Caricature than Satire or Comedy--Life of Folengo--His _Orlandino_--Critique of Previous Romances--Lutheran Doctrines--Orlando's Boyhood--Griffarosto--Invective against Friars--Maccaronic Poetry--The Travesty of Humanism--Pedantesque Poetry--Glottogrysio Ludimagistro--Tifi Odassi of Padua--The Pedant Vigonca--Evangelista Fossa--Giorgio Alione--Folengo employs the Maccaronic Style for an Epic--His Address to the Muses--His Hero Baldus--Boyhood and Youth--Cingar--The Travels of the Barons--Gulfora--Witchcraft in Italy--Folengo's Conception of Witchcraft--Entrance into Hell--The Zany and the Pumpkin--Nature of Folengo's Satire--His Relation to Rabelais--The _Moscheis_--The _Zanitonella_--Maccaronic Poetry was Lombard--Another and Tuscan Type of Burlesque--_Capitoli_--Their Popular Growth--Berni--His Life--His Mysterious Death--His Character and Style--Three Classes of _Capitoli_--The pure Bernesque Manner--Berni's Imitators--The Indecency of this Burlesque--Such Humor was Indigenous--_Terza Rima_--Berni's Satires on Adrian VI. and Clement VII.--His Caricatures--His Sonnet on Aretino--The _Rifacimento_ of Boiardo's _Orlando_--The Mystery of its Publication--Albicante and Aretino--The Publishers Giunta and Calvi--Berni's Protestant Opinions--Eighteen Stanzas of the _Rifacimento_ printed by Vergerio--Hypothesis respecting the Mutilation of the _Rifacimento_--Satire in Italy 309

CHAPTER XV.

PIETRO ARETINO.

Aretino's Place in Italian Literature and Society--His Birth and Boyhood--Goes to Rome--In the Service of Agostino Chigi--At Mantua--Gradual Emergence into Celebrity--The Incident of Giulio Romano's Postures--Giovanni delle Bande Nere--Aretino settles at Venice--The Mystery of his Influence--Discerns the Power of the Press--Satire on the Courts--Magnificent Life--Aretino's Wealth--His Tributary Princes--Bullying and Flattery--The Divine Aretino--His Letter to Vittoria Colonna--To Michelangelo--His Admiration of Artists--Relations with Men of Letters--Epistle to Bernardo Tasso--His Lack of Learning--Disengagement from Puristic Prejudices--Belief in his own Powers--Rapidity of Composition--His Style--Originality and Independence--Prologue to _Talanta_--Bohemian Comrades--Niccolo Franco--Quarrel with Doni--Aretino's Literary Influence--His Death--The Anomaly of the Renaissance--Estimate of Aretino's Character 383