ABSTRACT
Giangiorgio Trissino, poet, dramatist, critic, grammarian, courtier, was one of the most distinguished letterati of his time. Born in Vicenza, he studied in most of the cities of northern Italy, applying himself to Latin and Greek and then to the Italian language and literature. In 1513-15 he wrote the first 'regular' tragedy of the Renaissance, Sofonisba, in which he tried to arrange Livy's historical narrative within the framework of a classical Greek play. Into his tragedy he introduced Italian 'blank' verse, that is, versi sciolti or verses 'freed' from rhyme. In 1547 he completed L'ltalia liberata dai Goti, the first heroic poem of the Renaissance that was composed in the classical manner. His source was Procopius's history of the Gothic War in Italy, his guide Aristotle's Poetics, his model Homer, and his medium verso sciolto. There is little or no positive evidence, then, that Sidney or other Elizabethan critics read Trissino's Poetica.
