|
|
Article: Rinaldo: Character and Intertext in Ariosto and Tasso.
- Article from:
- Renaissance Quarterly
- Article date:
- March 22, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 The Renaissance Society of America. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
There is more to this book than its title suggests. The author's focus on the permutations of the paladin Rinaldo from Boiardo (and the "cantari") through Ariosto to Tasso becomes an occasion to consider how a literary and cultural tradition (in this case, the Carolingian heritage of the Ferrarese Renaissance) accommodates change. In the hands of these poets from Ferrara, the Matter of France, as it is called, proves to be amazingly supple, especially when combined with the Arthurian Matter of Britain.
At the same time, this book draws attention to problems of characterization in a literary tradition that would eventually contribute to the development of the novel. ...