Editing Torquato Tasso (section)

===France and Ferrara===
From 1565, Tasso's life was centered on the castle at Ferrara, the scene of many later glories and cruel sufferings. After the publication of ''Rinaldo'' he had expressed his views upon the epic in some ''Discourses on the Art of Poetry'', which committed him to a distinct theory and gained for him the additional celebrity of a philosophical critic. The next five years seem to have been the happiest of Tasso's life, although his father's death in 1569 caused his affectionate nature profound pain. Young, handsome, accomplished in all the exercises of a well-bred gentleman, accustomed to the society of the great and learned, illustrious by his published works in [[Poetry|verse]] and prose, he became the idol of the most brilliant court in Italy. The first two books of his five-hundred-odd love poems were addressed to [[Lucrezia Bendidio]] and [[Laura Peverara]]. The princesses [[Lucrezia d'Este (1535–1598)|Lucrezia]] and [[Eleonora d'Este (1537–1581)|Eleonora d'Este]], both unmarried, both his seniors by about ten years, took him under their protection. He was admitted to their familiarity. He owed much to the constant kindness of both sisters. In 1570 he traveled to Paris with the cardinal.{{sfn|Symonds|1911|p=443}}

Frankness of speech and a certain habitual want of tact caused a disagreement with his worldly patron. He left France next year, and took service under [[Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara|Duke Alfonso II of Ferrara]], the Cardinal's brother. The most important events in Tasso's biography during the following four years are the completion of ''[[Aminta]]'' in 1573 and ''[[Jerusalem Delivered|Gerusalemme Liberata]]'' in 1574. ''Aminta'' is a [[pastoral]] drama of very simple plot, but of exquisite lyrical charm. It appeared at the moment when music, under the influence of composers like [[Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina|Palestrina]], [[Claudio Monteverdi|Monteverdi]], [[Luca Marenzio|Marenzio]] and others, was becoming the dominant art of Italy. The honeyed melodies and sensuous melancholy of ''Aminta'' exactly suited and interpreted the spirit of its age. Its influence, in opera and [[cantata]], was felt through two successive centuries.{{sfn|Symonds|1911|p=443}} ''Aminta'', played by courtiers in an island of [[River Po|Po river]] where the duke had his ''[[The Garden of Earthly Delights|Giardino di delizie]]'', was first printed by [[Aldus Manutius the Younger]] in Venice in January 1581. A [[Croat language|Croatian]] translation of ''Aminta'' by the poet [[Dominko Zlatarić]], ''Ljubmir, pripovijest pastijerska'', was printed one year before the original, also in Venice.