Niccolo Machiavelli, L'asino d'oro [The Golden Ass]

Alessia Palanti (Columbia University)
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Between 1514 and 1517, Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) composed The Golden Ass (L’asino d’oro), an eight-chapter satirical poem in terza rima that mimics (or, perhaps, mocks) the structure of Dante’s Divine Comedy and is inspired by—if not a direct parody of—The Metamorphosis (La metamorfosi), also commonly referred to as The Golden Ass, by the classical Latin prose writer Apuleius (125-170). Apuleius’s protagonist, characterized by curiositas and a fascination for magic, is turned into a donkey in a failed attempt at performing a spell, and after a long journey finds salvation and recovers his human form w…

1572 words

Citation: Palanti, Alessia. "L'asino d'oro". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 September 2018 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=34870, accessed 29 March 2024.]

34870 L'asino d'oro 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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