Giovanni Meli, The Lyric Poetry of Giovanni Meli

Gaetano Cipolla (St. John's University)
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Although Giovanni Meli’s Buccolica (Bucolic Poetry) is considered by many as his masterpiece -- it was regarded by Attilio Momigliano as “the only genuine bucolic work that Italian literature has ever produced” (346) -- Luigi Pirandello pointed out that Meli did not always use the shepherd’s flute, but expressed himself across many genres. Regarding specifically his lyric output, Meli produced an impressive array of odes, sonnets, canzoni, canzonette, capitoli, elegies, epigrams, satires and occasional poems. The themes he explored in his work range from gallant-erotic odes to pessimistic philosophical reflections on the meaning of life, from playful and joyful “cicalate” to barbed satires …

2430 words

Citation: Cipolla, Gaetano. "The Lyric Poetry of Giovanni Meli". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 January 2019 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38929, accessed 29 March 2024.]

38929 The Lyric Poetry of Giovanni Meli 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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