Ludovico Ariosto is a popular playwright and poet who lived in Italy during the Renaissance. His most famous work is the poem "Raging Roland", which had a great influence on the development of modern literature in Europe.
Writer Biography
Ludovico Ariosto was born in 1474. He was born in a small Italian town called Reggio Emilia. His father was a lawyer, but his son chose a creative specialty. From childhood, the young man did not find an addiction to jurisprudence, devoting education to the study of classical literature.
To this, Ludovico Ariosto turned out to be a real talent. He well mastered the dimensions and forms of Roman poetry, successfully wrote poems in Latin on any topic. One of them was dedicated to the marriage of Duke Alphonse I with Lucretia Borgia. After that, the court began to respect and value the young poet. In 1503, Ludovico Ariosto began serving with Cardinal Hippolytus d'Este, who was the brother of the very Duke Alphonse I. Ariosto was organizing all kinds of festivities at court, he also did it brilliantly.
Personal life
The biography of Ludovico Ariosto has many interesting pages. In 1522 he was appointed Governor of Garfagnana. Leaving this post, he settled with his lover by the name of Alessandra Benucci in a small house with a garden and a garden. They lived in it until his death.
Alessandra was 7 years younger than her husband, she came from a family of wealthy Florentine merchants. The marriage with Ariosto became the second in her life, before that she was married to Titus di Leonardo Strozzi, who was a cousin of the popular Renaissance poet Titus Vespasian Strozzi.
Relations with Ariosto
Alessandra gave birth to her husband six children, in 1513 began a relationship with Ariosto, which for a long time remained secret for most of those around him. In 1515, her husband passed away, but even then the lovers did not advertise their passion. The marriage between Ludovico and Alessandra was concluded only in 1528, but it was officially secret. According to the most common version of historians and researchers, this was done so that Alessandra could preserve the inheritance rights of her first husband. Ariosto maintained this secret, never once saying the name of a lover in his writings.
Creative heritage
The work of Ludovico Ariosto is rich and very diverse. He worked on his most famous work for almost a quarter century. This is the poem "Frantic Roland." Ludovico Ariosto began working on it in 1507 and finished only in 1532.
The plot of this work is based on the Carolingian epic, it is the imperial and royal dynasty, which ruled in the state of the Franks. After it broke up, Carolings were seen in the West and East Frankish kingdoms, in Italy and in some other small states. The dynasty lasted from 751 to 987. In the poem, one can clearly trace the author’s desire to adopt the romantic style of novels about the Knights of the Round Table, which at that time were very popular.
The plot of "Frantic Roland"
In this work, Ludovico Ariosto refers to the classic plots of French chivalric novels, as well as Italian folk tales. And this is not by chance. For the first time, the predecessor of the hero of our article named Matteo Maria Boyardo succeeded in combining the exploits of the knights of King Arthur and the adventures of the brave paladins of Charlemagne. He did this in a poem with a similar name, "Orlando's In Love."
Boyardo worked on the creation of this poem for about ten years - from 1483 to 1494. But she remained incomplete until the end due to the death of the author. Ariosto decides to continue the many storylines of “Orlando in Love” in his poem. It is worth noting that they are very stereotypical and typical of Italian folk poems, which can be attributed to the Breton or Carolingian cycles.
Heroes of the poem
There are three episodes at the center of the narrative in Raging Roland. This is the invasion of France by the Moors, the frenzy of Roland himself, and the romantic relationship that arises between Bradmantha and Ruggerio. These three main parts of the work are accompanied by a large number of minor episodes, and together they make up a full-fledged picture, thanks to which you can appreciate the poet's talent.
The heroes of the poem are true adventurers who fight with the Saracens, as well as mythical monsters and giants. The work lacks lyrical motifs, most heroes are noble, remain faithful to their beloved until the end of their lives, perform feats in their honor.
Orladno himself is madly in love with Angelica, which, incidentally, is a feature of many heroes of medieval novels. I immediately recall Tristan, who is crazy about Isolde, the passion that the famous Lancelot experiences.
Features of the work
Plots and characters seem traditional only at first glance, because in the poem they gain a new interpretation. The author manages to create a harmonious synthesis, which is characteristic of the stylistics and aesthetics of the era of the High Renaissance. Although Ariosto uses well-known motives and plots of medieval novels, they find a new reading in him. The poet categorically refuses moralization, while he ironizes a lot, creating a truly heroic comic poem.
Ariosto as freely as possible deals with the composition of his work, the storylines are sometimes intertwined, then develop in parallel. At the same time, they begin to mirror each other. The result is a unity that has the features of proportionality, more inherent in the Renaissance.
Meaning of "Frantic Roland"
Based on the material of a medieval knightly novel, Ariosto accepts his genre rules, but not his ideology. Its heroes are characterized by fresh renaissance features, sincere human feelings - this is earthly love, the joy of feeling life, a strong will, which is the key to victory in any dramatic situations.
Researchers say that the so-called "golden octaves" are present in Ariosto's poem, thanks to which he makes a huge contribution to the formation of the literary Italian language. In the XVI century, the poem "Raging Roland" survived many reprints and as a result became available to any competent reader.
"Comedy about the chest"
Almost all the works of Ludovico Ariosto were very popular among contemporary readers. For a long time, he almost officially served as a court comedian in Ferrara. It was there that he wrote his comedies, which became the basis of his literary heritage.
Ludovico Ariosto's "comedy about the chest" is considered the first "learned" comedy written in Italy. Its action takes place on an island called Metellino in ancient times. In a poetic form, it tells about the young man Erofilo, who gives orders to his slaves to go to Philostrato. At the same time, he swears heavily at Nebby, who refuses to leave the house.
It turns out that the reason for this is that the pimp Lucrano, who lives in the neighborhood, has two pretty girls, one of whom Erofilo fell in love with. The trader set a high price for pandering, intending to make good money on this deal. But Erofilo is not able to freely manage the money, as it depends entirely on his father.
Erofilo takes the opportunity when his father leaves for business for a short while, sends all the slaves out of the house and puts his hand into his father’s good, intending to blame everything on Nebby. This is the plot of the hilarious comedy Ariosto, which many readers love.
When a young man in love and his friend, who became interested in the second girl, meets with them, they begin to reproach them for being generous only with sighs and oaths, and they themselves do nothing to rescue them. Young men blame on stingy parents.
At this time, the girl trader is thinking about how to get as much money as possible for them. However, a ship appears, which is about to go to Syria the other day. Lucrano agrees with the captain to let him aboard, along with all his property and relatives. Only then did Erofilo decide to fork out.
After that, in the comedy, the servants of young people come to the forefront - these are Fulcho and Volpino. The latter came up with a plan - he offers Erofilo to steal a small chest from his father's room, which is decorated with gold. A friend of Volpino will change clothes as a merchant and hand over this thing as a guarantee for Eulalia. And when the guard appears, and Lukrano begins to open, no one will believe him, because they want about 50 ducats for the beauty, and the chest will cost at least a thousand. Everyone will decide that Lucrano simply stole it himself, and will be sent to prison. Erofilo does not hesitate for long, but nevertheless agrees to this plan.
Trappolo dress up as a merchant and send with a chest to Lucrano. He turns everything up very quickly, but then events unexpectedly for most characters in the comedy begin to develop in a completely different scenario.
Substituted
In the comedy "Replaced" Ludovico Ariosto talks about life in Italy during the Renaissance. In the play, one can trace a clear anti-basket orientation, as well as a bold disrespect for religion and cheerfulness, which permeates the entire work. For the first time this comedy was released in 1519. It was staged at the court of Pope Leo X, which was distinguished by liberalism, so it allowed to stage works in which it was allowed to speak unflattering about religion.
Features of creativity
In most of the works of the hero of our article, common features can be distinguished. Ariosto seeks to find the source of comic in the surrounding reality, recognizably creates images of real people who meet on his way, vividly draws how they are embraced by a passion for carnal pleasures and banal gain.
This can be seen not only in the comedies already listed, but also, for example, in The Warlock by Ludovico Ariosto. Beyond criticism, only the Duke of Ferrara himself remains, at whose court the poet serves. As a result, it was here that back in the 80s of the 15th century, a Renaissance comedy was actually born, so that Ariosto fell on fertile soil. Most of the productions were dedicated to carnival holidays, which took place more than one day. The performances were large-scale and colorful, the audience most often remained delighted.