Fra Satire e Rime ariostesche (Gargnano del Garda 14-16 ottobre 1999) by Claudia Berra (review)

Abstract

MLRy 99.1, 2004 215 even ifit could almost certainly have been just as effectivelyargued without frequent reference to the 'Bakhtinian reading', to which it is presented as an alternative, and to other seemingly tangential theories of the grotesque referredto in the final chapter. Papio's book is, as its cover claims, 'the firstthorough analysis of [Masuccio's] tales in English'. But it is also an important addition to the whole critical literature on Masuccio. It is a handsomely produced volume with minimal typographical errors and containing the most complete and up-to-date bibliography of the short-story writer who?and I would fully concur with the author on this?'has found new life in a modern age accustomed to finding aesthetic pleasure in the juxtaposition of comic and horrificevents'. University of Wales Swansea Howard Moss Fra Satire e Rime ariostesche (Gargnano del Garda 14-16 ottobre 1999). Ed. by Claudia Berra. (Quaderni di Acme, 43) Milan: Cisalpino (Istituto Editoriale Universitario?MonduzzoEditore). 2000. 591pp. ?31. ISBN 88-323-4593-3. This volume contains a series of essays on Ariosto's 'minor' poetic works, the Satire and the Rime. The firstsection, dealing with the Satire, opens with a series of general essays. Eduardo Saccone discusses the creation of the narrating voice through a series of comparisons between the poet's values and those attributed to others. Michel Paoli's essay argues against traditional readings of the satires as autobiographically 'true', providing convincing evidence for an alternative chronology, with the fifth satire being the first in order of composition. Simone Albonico adduces further arguments for the literary nature of the Satire with a detailed reading of the first satira, noting a series of thematic and textual links with the seventh poem in order to demonstrate the collection's complex structure. Angelo Romano discusses Ariosto's ambiguous view of Rome, to which he was a frequent visitor,and the contrast between the vices of the Papal city and the literary ideal of humanistic Rome. Alessandra Villa examines the various fables recounted in the Satire with reference to both their function within the texts and Ariosto's sources. These essays are complemented by some in-depth considerations of individual poems. Anna Maria Cabrini discusses the firstsatira, with particular reference to Ariosto's debts to Horace's satirical poetry, and the presentation of Ippolito d'Este as a 'failed' Maecenas. Antonio Corsaro's essay maps the background to the sixth satire, and Ariosto's relationship to the humanist tradition and the accusations of misbelief frequently directed at literature and its creators. Claudia Berra examines the function ofthe seventh satira as a conclusion to the collection, and its recapitulation and reformulation of two recurring themes, the death of hope, and the author's 'madness', here interpreted as an implicit criticism of the worldly preoccupations of others. On a differentnote, Piero Floriani discusses the Cinquecento satire in general, and then goes on to examine Ariosto's influence on Pietro Nelli. The section on the Rime opens with Claudio Vela's discussion of Cesare Bozzetti's seminal work on Ariosto's lyric verse, including his unfinished edition of and com? mentary on the poems contained in MS Vaticano Rossiano 639 (Vr), published here for the firsttime. Bozzetti's 1985 essay on the Rime represents the starting point for almost all the studies which follow. Andrea Comboni notes some furtherinstances of intratextual links within Vr, and examines the textual presence of Gasparo Visconti, Niccolo da Correggio, and Antonio Tebaldeo in the Rime. Rinaldo Rinaldi surveys the importance ofthe themes of magic and silence, and of Celio Calcagnini's influence on Ariosto, with particular reference to the capitoli. Paola Vecchi Galli discusses the attribution of the capitolo 'Or che la terra di bei fiori e piena', concluding that its 216 Reviews attribution to Ariosto is at best unproven, and suggesting a more likely authorship by Tebaldeo. Stefano Carrai surveys Ariosto's use of classical Latin sources in the lyrics, alongside a series of Petrarchan citations. Massimo Malinverni takes the capitolo 'O piu che '1 giorno luminosa notte' as the starting point for a detailed investigation of the theme of the 'luminous night' from Propertius to Ariosto, with special reference...