Gaspara Stampa

Jane Tylus (New York University)
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One of the most accomplished poets of the Renaissance – and probably the most accomplished woman ever to write in Italian – Gaspara Stampa had a brief but tumultuous life. In an era when the chaste widow Vittoria Colonna provided the dominant model for women poets, Stampa's poetry of tormented passion directed to not one but at least two men offered an intriguingly original and for many, no doubt, unacceptable perspective. The three hundred and ten sonnets, canzoni, madrigals, and

capitoli

published posthumously by her sister Cassandra as

Rime di Madonna Gaspara Stampa

in 1554 convey an immediacy and frankness rare for their time. This is clear from the opening sonnet, which deliberately echoes the first poem of Petrarch's

Canzoniere

while refusing to convey Petrarch's tone of…

2205 words

Citation: Tylus, Jane. "Gaspara Stampa". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 September 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12294, accessed 19 March 2024.]

12294 Gaspara Stampa 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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