While in the service of Cardinal Luigi d’Este, but also at the Este court in general, with its numerous men of letters and poets, Tasso’s reputation grew. At the end of 1567 he was appointed to deliver the inaugural lecture at Ferrara’s Academy. In the following months and before the end of the decade, he prepared lectures on a sonnet by Giovanni Della Casa and three canzoni by Giovan Battista Pigna. In both cases, the two samples of sixteenth century lyric poetry, although very different, were examined against the paradigm of Petrarch’s Fragmenta, with insights of direct relevance to Tasso’s own lyric production. There were further occasions of public activity in later years. In January 1570, for example, Tasso defended the conclusions, definitions and maxims on love inspired by the philosopher Antonio Montecatini that were publicly discussed at the time of the marriage between Francesco Maria della Rovere and Lucrezia d’Este. In spite of a stammer and limited skills as an orator, Tasso stood out at the court of Duke Alfonso II. Some years later, in January 1574, the Duke appointed Tasso as professor of geometry at Ferrara’s Studium, thus securing his position and finances.

Scipione Pulzone, Portrait of Tasso before 1573, Nice, Musée des Beaux-Arts