Sperone Speroni

In 1562, the young Tasso described Sperone Speroni as “Sperone, who possesses fully all the arts and sciences” (translated from T. Tasso, Il Rinaldo, edited by L. Bonfigli, Bari, Laterza, 1936, 6). Speroni was indeed one of the important cultural figures of the time, and had already acquired an impressive list of achievements. Born in 1500, he had taught at the Studium in Padua since 1520. In 1542 he published a series of dialogues in the vernacular and above all composed the Canace, a tragedy that was printed in 1546 and whose stylistic choices, including the mixing of hendecasyllables and seven-syllable lines, were used by Tasso in the Aminta. An active member also of Padua’s Accademia degli Infiammati (Academy of the Burning Ones), Speroni guided Tasso’s early literary studies, although the Preface to Rinaldo and above all the Discorsi dell’arte poetica clearly showed the independent nature of Tasso’s own vision. The divergence between the two increased as the years passed and especially in the Roman revision, during which Speroni was the fiercest opponent to Tasso’s theoretical solutions (the main disagreements concerned the fundamental question of the unity of action required in epic poetry). This acrimony resulted in identifying the unpleasant character Mopso in the Aminta as Speroni, a hypothesis which today is still the most convincing. At this point they went their separate ways, marked by mutual distrust, Speroni dedicating his last years to his role as venerable master, and Tasso afflicted with the troubles that were to land him at Sant’Anna.