Episode Details

This biographical episode chronicles the life and literary contributions of Torquato Tasso, a prominent sixteenth-century Italian poet celebrated for his epic work, Jerusalem Delivered. The text details his upbringing in a refined courtly environment and his subsequent rise to fame, which was eventually overshadowed by a long struggle with mental illness. It describes his complicated relationships with the Court of Ferrara, including a seven-year confinement in a madhouse where he continued to produce significant prose and verse. Beyond his primary epic, the sources list his other creative achievements in pastoral drama and philosophical dialogues. Tasso’s enduring legacy is evidenced by his profound influence on subsequent European literature, music, and the visual arts. He died in Rome just before he was to be honored as the king of poets by the Pope.