The ode in the Venetian context of the mid-sixteenth century: general notes

Abstract

The essay analyses the fortune and forms of the ode in the mid-sixteenth-century Veneto scene. The main directions are then traced, to be contextualised within a precise network of influences, which include the rediscovery of Greek and Latin poetry, as well as the role of contemporaries, both on the Italian side (first and foremost Bernardo Tasso), and on the French side, with reference to Pierre de Ronsard. Through a close examination of some exemplary cases, classical remakes, encomiastic and love odes, and the sacred tradition of psalmic inspiration are then reviewed.