Writer, born in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, N Italy. He spent some time at the Savoy court, than at Modena. A highly anticonformist mind, he argued in favour of literature's renewal in Considerazioni sopra le rime del Petrarca (1609), and attacked Spanish domination in Filippiche (1615). His most successful work remains La secchia rapita, a mock-heroic poem in which the abduction of a bucket and the ensuing war is used to satirize contemporary events.
Alessandro Tassoni (Modena 1565 – Modena 1635) was an Italian poet and writer.
The work
Besides the above mentioned "Filippiche", and other works, some of poetry and some of literary criticism (such as the Varieta' di pensieri di Alessandro Tassoni - Diverse meditations by A.T.), Tassoni is best known for authoring the satirical poem La Secchia Rapita (The Rape of the Bucket): it is by virtue of this work that he is remembered as Modena's poet laureate.
La Secchia Rapita
Written by Tassoni in 1622, the poem tells the tale of a 13th century war between Modena and Bologna.
The narration is dotted by references to situations and persons contemporary to the author, and with farcical appearances such as the "Conte di Culagna" (Count of Ass-land) probably the best known character of the book. In the third chapter of the poem, armies from all over the country arrive to take part in the war, and the Conte of Culagna makes his first appearance:
[...]Quest'era un cavalier bravo e galante,
filosofo poeta e bacchettone
ch'era fuor de' perigli un Sacripante,
ma ne' perigli un pezzo di polmone.
Spesso ammazzato avea qualche gigante,
e si scopriva poi ch'era un cappone,
onde i fanciulli dietro di lontano
gli soleano gridar: - Viva Martano. - Avea ducento scrocchi in una schiera,
mangiati da la fame e pidocchiosi;
ma egli dicea ch'eran duo mila e ch'era
una falange d'uomini famosi:
dipinto avea un pavon ne la bandiera
con ricami di seta e d'or pomposi:
l'armatura d'argento e molto adorna;
e in testa un gran cimier di piume e corna.
[...]
This roughly translates to:
[...]He was a brave and gallant knight
A philosopher a poet and a moralist,
A devil out of the fight,
A meek guy when close to peril.
He often claimed he had killed a giant,
which was then discoverd to be a chicken,
and for this the kids, seeing him approaching,
would follow him shouting "Long live Martano!"
He had two hundred armed men,
hungry and lousy;
but he claimed it was an army of two thousand
famous knights;
his coat of arms was a peacock,
his armour silver;
on the head he wore an helmet decorated with feathers
and horns(*) [...]
(*)The feathers recall the peacock and its vanity, the horns are the traditional symbol of the cuckold.
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