Guido Guinizelli (1276) was an Italian love

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and is considered the "father" of the Dolce Stil Novo. He was the first to write in this new style of poetry writing, and thus is held to be the '' ipso facto'' founder. He was born in, and later exiled from,

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, Italy. It is speculated that he died in Verona, Italy.

Life

His precise identity is uncertain, but he may have been Guido di Guinizello di Magnano, exiled from Bologna with the Lambertazzi Ghibellines in 1274 and dying in Monselice about two years later. He corresponded with Guittone d'Arezzo, whom he respectfully addressed as ‘caro padre meo’ and by whom he was called in return ‘figlio dilettoso’. Assuming the sonnet in question is indeed addressed to him, he was later accused by Guittone of the ‘laido errore’ of wishing to praise his lady using ideas and terms from

natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe, while ignoring any supernatural influence. It was dominant before the develop ...

. Bonagiunta Orbicciani also charged him with making love poetry obscure through his philosophical importations. But these were the very reasons for which Dante admired him, and increasingly so as time went by.

Poetry

We have five canzoni and fifteen

sonnets A sonnet is a fixed poetic form with a structure traditionally consisting of fourteen lines adhering to a set Rhyme scheme, rhyming scheme. The term derives from the Italian word ''sonetto'' (, from the Latin word ''sonus'', ). Originating in ...

which are definitely his, plus fragments of two other poems. Guinizelli's

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

can be briefly described as a conciliation between

divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...

and earthly love with deep psychological

introspection Introspection is the examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings. In psychology, the process of introspection relies on the observation of one's mental state, while in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one's s ...

. His major works are ''Al cor gentil rempaira sempre Amore''
Within the gentle heart abideth Love
, which Peter Dronke considers "perhaps the most influential love-song of the thirteenth century", as well as ''Io vogli del ver la mia donna laudare'' and ''Vedut'ho la lucente stella Diana''.See ''Al cor gentil rempaira sempre amore'' insists on the unity of noble love and true ‘gentilesse’: This, and the way in which Guido combined passion and intellect to create a philosophical poetry of love, profoundly impressed Dante, who quotes and echoes the canzone several times. The main themes of the Dolce Stil Novo can be found in Guinizelli's poem: the angelic beauty of the beloved women, the comparison of nobility to the sun and the rampant use of topoi such as ''cor gentil'' and ''Amore''.

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

's lines in ''

Troilus and Criseyde ''Troilus and Criseyde'' () is an epic poem by Geoffrey Chaucer which re-tells in Middle English the tragic story of the lovers Troilus and Cressida, Criseyde set against a backdrop of war during the siege of Troy. It was written in ''rhyme ro ...

'' ‘Plesance of love, O goodly debonaire, , In gentil hertes ay redy to repaire’ (III.4–5) seem to be a clear echo of the poem's opening. The sonnets too display motifs which will reappear in Cavalcanti and Dante, such as the lady's salvific greeting (‘saluto’), the use of natural imagery to praise her (recalling the

Song of Songs The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a Biblical poetry, biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, i ...

), and the idea of love as a passion that carries all before it, though a poem such as ‘Vedut'ho la lucente stella diana’ actually fuses together new and old styles.

Role in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''

''Purgatorio'' XI

Guido Guinizelli appears twice in Dante Alighieri's '' Purgatorio''. At first, he is briefly mentioned in ''Purgatorio'' XI, when Dante encounters the great Italian artist, Oderisi da Gubbio, on the terrace of Pride. While discussing the fleeting nature of fame and recognition, Oderisi refers to Guido Guinizelli and his successor,

Guido Cavalcanti Guido Cavalcanti (between 1250 and 1259 – August 1300) was an Italians, Italian poet. He was also a friend of and intellectual influence on Dante Alighieri. Historical background Cavalcanti was born in Florence at a time when the comune was b ...

(ca. 1250–1300):

''Purgatorio'' XXVI

In ''Purgatorio'' XXVI, Dante journeys through the terrace of Lust, where he finally meets Guido Guinizelli. Like the other shades on this terrace, Guido is engulfed in flames to repent for his burning desires while alive. Once Guido reveals his identity, Dante narrates the awe and respect he has for the poet: In this tercet, Dante refers to Guinizelli's influence on Italian poetry and the style of Dolce Stil Novo.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guinizelli, Guido 1220s births 1276 deaths Writers from Bologna Guinizzelli Italian poets Characters in the Divine Comedy