Aminta: A Pastoral Play (Italica Press Dual-Language Poetry Series) (Documentary History of Naples) [Paperback]

Torquato Tasso (Author), Charles Jernigan (Translator), Irene Marchegiani Jones (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Documentary History of Naples | Publication Date: November 1, 2000

Tasso's masterpiece "Aminta" is perhaps the most famous pastoral play ever. It is also the work that launched the reputation of the author of the famed Italian epic poem of the First Crusade, Gerusalemme liberata. This story of satyrs and nymphs, shepherds and lovers is set in the ideal forest, far from the world of urban sophistication and decadence. It is presented here in the first Italian-English, dual-language edition of the play, and is the first new English translation published since the 19th century. Aminta's importance can not be overestimated; and its influence has been phenomenal, spawning over 200 plays by 1700 in Italy alone. This Italian pastoral is the source of numerous plays in France, Spain and England. Indirectly at least, it is also an inspiration for Shakespeare's pastoral comedies, such as "As You Like It," "Twelfth Night," and "A Midsummer Night's Dream." This volume is illustrated with the original woodcuts of the 1589 Aldine edition. Winner of the 2002 Premio Internazionale Diego Valeri of the Premio Monselice. DUAL-LANGUAGE POETRY. Introduction, notes, bibliography, illustrated.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Italian (translation)
Original Language: Italian

From the Publisher

Winner of the Premio Internazionale "Diego Valeri" (Premio Monselice) 2002

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 214 pages
• Publisher: Italica Press (November 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0934977658
• ISBN-13: 978-0934977654
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,114,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A core addition to definitive European literary history, May 22, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aminta: A Pastoral Play (Italica Press Dual-Language Poetry Series) (Documentary History of Naples) (Paperback)

Torquato Tasso's Aminta is a pastoral play thought by scholarship to have been written sometime in the spring of 1573 and first performed on the island of Belvedere del Po (near Ferrara, Italy) July 31 that same year. First published in 1581 by Aldine Press of Venice, Aminta made Tasso' reputation as a playwright and was eventually translated into French, English, Latin, Spanish, Dutch, Danish, Polish, Hungarian, Slavic-Illinic, and Greek. Aminta has inspired writers down through the last two centuries, including Edmund Spenser, William Shakespear, and John Milton. This new edition of a European classic has been ably translated and deftly edited for an English readership by Charles Jernigan and Irene Marchegiani Jones. Aminta is an invaluable, indispensable, core addition to definitive European literary history and pastoral plays reference collections.