ABSTRACT
The idea of labyrinthicity is a familiar one in contemporary criticism, as is attested, among other things, by the studies that have been produced on the labyrinthine aspects of modern culture and on the ideological and structural labyrinths in twentieth-century narrative. The ideological significance of the popularity of dialogue in the Renaissance has been dealt with by many historians of humanism like Eugenio Garin and Cesare Vasoli, who have shown how dialogical literature is a viable form of multivocal expression indicative of the antidogmatic thought of the period. One of the principal terms of comparison that Speroni employs in the connection is the labyrinth. The particular manner in which he develops his concept of labyrinthine dialogue in the Apologia also merits careful analysis. Labyrinth, game, and dance, important concepts in modern criticism, are the three ancillary metaphors devised by Speroni to describe the sparklike dialogic way.
