The simile in Pulci’s Morgante

Abstract

This study examines the form and function of simile in Luigi Pulci’s Morgante. Particular attention is given to the Pulcian tendency to establish logical relations – which are not immediately recognizable – between the two elements of comparison and of the transformation of simile into metaphor. In contrast with Renaissance poetry and Ariosto’s extensive and well-structured similes, Pulcian similitude in certain ways anticipates Baroque ingenuity.