Marinism

Giambattista Marino

Marinism (Italian marinismo, or secentismo, "17th century") is the name now given to an ornate, witty style of poetry and verse drama written in imitation of Giambattista Marino (1569-1625), following in particular La Lira and L'Adone.

Features

The critic James V. Mirollo, the author of the first monograph in English on the subject, distinguished the terms as follows:[1]

Marinismo first appeared in the last [19th] century as a label for the themes and techniques of Marino and his followers. It continues to be used synonymously with secentismo and concettismo, although the former has more pejorative connotations as well as wider cultural implications, while the latter embraces the European practice of the witty style. Marinista and Marinisti go back to the seicento [17th century]: Stigliani [a detractor] refers [in 1627] to Marino's followers as i Marinisti (Occhiale, p.516). Elsewhere (Epist., II, p. 304) he speaks of la trama marinesca (the Marinesque intrigue).

The following discussion is based on Mirollo's analysis.

Themes

Ornament

Similitude and metaphor

The Marinist poet never hesitated to embark on a long string of comparisons with nature, most of them couched as metaphor rather than simile because this allowed for more striking statements. "There was hardly an area of human experience that could not be pressed into service for a comparison." Nevertheless, Marino leans heavily on both classical mythology and Christian imagery, adapting it freely to create a huge number of memorable word-pictures: "gems, minerals, and precious metals [...] flowers (especially the rose and the lily), birds, fire, snow, the seasons, the sea, and, above all, sun and stars [...] milk, ivory, parturition, the arts and sciences, and a variety of actions and emotions useful for personification."

References

  1. James V. Mirollo. The Poet of the Marvelous. Columbia University Press, New York, 1963.

See also

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