Giovanni Meli, The Lyric Poetry of Giovanni Meli

Gaetano Cipolla (St. John's University)

Ed. by Jo Ann Cavallo, Columbia University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.6.1: Italian Writing and Culture, 453-present.
Vol. editors: Carla Bregman (Independent Scholar - North America), Jo Ann Cavallo (Columbia University)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1779 - 1815

Places

Italy (Country of Origin; Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Lyric

Resources

Save to Bookshelf

Although Giovanni Meli’s

Buccolica

(Bucolic Poetry) is considered by many as his masterpiece -- it was regarded by Attilio Momigliano as “the only genuine bucolic work that Italian literature has ever produced” (346) -- Luigi Pirandello pointed out that Meli did not always use the shepherd’s flute, but expressed himself across many genres. Regarding specifically his lyric output, Meli produced an impressive array of odes, sonnets, canzoni, canzonette, capitoli, elegies, epigrams, satires and occasional poems. The themes he explored in his work range from gallant-erotic odes to pessimistic philosophical reflections on the meaning of life, from playful and joyful “cicalate” to barbed satires castigating the mores of Palermitan society. His life-long search was for a

modus vivendi

…

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

2430 words

Citation: Cipolla, Gaetano. "The Lyric Poetry of Giovanni Meli". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 January 2019 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38929, accessed 23 November 2024.]

Giovanni Meli, The Lyric Poetry of Giovanni Meli

Dates

Places

Genres and Modes

Resources

Save this article

Leave Feedback