Overview

Lyric Poetry by Women of the Italian Renaissance is the first modern anthology of verse by Italian women of this period to give a full representation of the richness and diversity of their output. Although familiar authors such as Vittoria Colonna, Gaspara Stampa, and Veronica Gambara are well represented, half of the fifty-four poets featured are unknown even to many specialists. Especially noteworthy is an extensive selection of verse from the period following 1560, which has received little or no critical attention. This later, strikingly experimental, proto-Baroque tradition of verse is reconstructed here for the first time. Virginia Cox creates both a scholarly teaching resource and a collection of poetry accessible to general readers with no previous knowledge of the Italian poetic tradition. Each poem is presented in its original language, accompanied by a translation and commentary. This is an introduction that traces the history of Italian lyric poetry from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century. Cox also provides a guide to meter, rhythm, and rhyme, as well as a glossary of rhetorical terms and a biographical dictionary of authors. Organized thematically, this book offers poems about love, religion, and politics; verse addressed to patrons, friends, family, and places; and polemical and correspondence verse. Four languages are represented: Greek, Latin, literary Tuscan of various levels of standardization, and the stylized rustic dialect of pavan. The volume contains more than 200 poems, of which about a quarter have never before been published in a modern edition and more than a third have not previously been available in English translation. ""Exhaustive and insightful...This is an amazing book, a major achievement in the field of women's studies."" (Renaissance Quarterly, reviewing Women's Writing in Italy, 1400-1650).

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9781421408873

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Reviews

Richly enjoyable and informative collection of lyric poems... Cox frames the poems with an admirably detailed historical introduction, a guide to technical issues (form, meter, rhythm, rhyme), capsule biographies of the poets, and consistently helpful footnotes. The result is a unique and valuable anthology that will appeal to any reader of Renaissance poetry. Highly recommended. Choice There is no doubt that Virginia Cox's work in the field has had a transformative impact on the study of Renaissance women writers in Italy in recent years. This fascinating anthology positively vibrates with the quality and interest of its contents... -- Abigail Brundin, University of Cambridge Renaissance Quarterly Lyric Poetry by Women of the Italian Renaissance is thus a monumental work in both purpose and design. Not only does it anthologize 211 poems by fifty-five women authors (both familiar and obscure), it presents a corpus of literature that while known to be vast, had no singular entry point for study... In sum, Lyric Poetry is a valuable book for both student and scholar. -- Gerry Milligan Early Modern Women It is impossible to overestimate the role that Virginia Cox has played in bringing to light, researching, and promoting awareness of and appreciation for writings by women in early modern Italy... Cox's tireless work and elegant, timely writing continue to expand our horizon and field of enquiry. -- Maria Galli Stampino Modern Language Review

Richly enjoyable and informative collection of lyric poems... Cox frames the poems with an admirably detailed historical introduction, a guide to technical issues (form, meter, rhythm, rhyme), capsule biographies of the poets, and consistently helpful footnotes. The result is a unique and valuable anthology that will appeal to any reader of Renaissance poetry. Highly recommended. Choice There is no doubt that Virginia Cox's work in the field has had a transformative impact on the study of Renaissance women writers in Italy in recent years. This fascinating anthology positively vibrates with the quality and interest of its contents... -- Abigail Brundin, University of Cambridge Renaissance Quarterly

Richly enjoyable and informative collection of lyric poems... Cox frames the poems with an admirably detailed historical introduction, a guide to technical issues (form, meter, rhythm, rhyme), capsule biographies of the poets, and consistently helpful footnotes. The result is a unique and valuable anthology that will appeal to any reader of Renaissance poetry. Highly recommended. Choice

Richly enjoyable and informative collection of lyric poems... Cox frames the poems with an admirably detailed historical introduction, a guide to technical issues (form, meter, rhythm, rhyme), capsule biographies of the poets, and consistently helpful footnotes. The result is a unique and valuable anthology that will appeal to any reader of Renaissance poetry. Highly recommended. * Choice * There is no doubt that Virginia Cox's work in the field has had a transformative impact on the study of Renaissance women writers in Italy in recent years. This fascinating anthology positively vibrates with the quality and interest of its contents... -- Abigail Brundin, University of Cambridge * Renaissance Quarterly * Lyric Poetry by Women of the Italian Renaissance is thus a monumental work in both purpose and design. Not only does it anthologize 211 poems by fifty-five women authors (both familiar and obscure), it presents a corpus of literature that while known to be vast, had no singular entry point for study... In sum, Lyric Poetry is a valuable book for both student and scholar. -- Gerry Milligan * Early Modern Women * It is impossible to overestimate the role that Virginia Cox has played in bringing to light, researching, and promoting awareness of and appreciation for writings by women in early modern Italy... Cox's tireless work and elegant, timely writing continue to expand our horizon and field of enquiry. -- Maria Galli Stampino * Modern Language Review * An invaluable anthology. -- Bryan Brazeau * Year's Work in Modern Language Studies * A rich source for those interested in early modern women's lyric in Italy. Particularly impressive is the overview of the field in the detailed introduction... The text could well serve the novice interested in an overview of the period and also the more experienced reader by providing access to lesser-known writers and texts. -- Veena Carlson * Sixteenth Century Journal *

Author Information

Virginia Cox is a professor of Italian and director of graduate studies at New York University. She is author of The Prodigious Muse: Women's Writing in Counter-Reformation Italy and Women's Writing in Italy, 1400-1650, both published by Johns Hopkins.

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