Introductions to Extreme Passions: Boiardo, Bembo and the theory of Feelings

Abstract

A brief introduction on the theory of emotions and passions in Italian literature reveals two important facts: the presence of a sophisticated lexicon for love that articulates the concept of passion in multiple directions (individual, political and family), and the idea that extreme passion is what causes any distress of the soul. Poets, humanists and storytellers have devoted themselves to the study of the abysses of human passions with great meticulousness. In fact, some humanists could be considered forerunners of more recent studies of the emotional sphere. Finally, the representation of love in the fiction of poets is an expression of a broader cultural vision that involves the society and the politics of the time. Matteo Maria Boiardo is an example: his works represent a moment of transition between the poetic and narrative tradition of the fourteenth century and the Renaissance.