Hard as it is to give a clear conception of the complicated adventures told in the Orlando Furioso, it is perhaps still harder to give an idea of its charm to these who have not read it. We are introduced at once into a world of fancy, a sort of fairy-book for grown-up people. The poem is not deeply impressive like the Divine Comedy, it has no elements of tragedy. Ariosto did not aim at moral effect, but merely sought to amuse his readers. Dante represents the deep, mystical religious feeling of his times; Ariosto represents the worldliness of the neo-paganism of the Renaissance. The asceticism of the Middle Ages now gives way to intense delight in the life that now is. The artist and poet sought to represent the pomp and circumstance of life, man in his physical and intellectual power, woman in her beauty, nature in all its picturesque variety, art in its magnificence. This was the ideal followed by Ariosto; this was the ideal of the Italian Renaissance. The great charm of Ariosto is his style. Here form reaches its highest expression. He worked over and polished his verses unceasingly, yet so natural are they that they seem to have been written spontaneously. The Orlando is full of beautiful descriptions, of pathetic scenes, alternating skilfully with humorous ones. Ariosto's humor, however, is not coarse or grotesque, but refined and elegant. He does not caricature the stories of chivalry, as Cervantes does in Don Quixote; but living in a skeptical age he cannot take seriously the creatures of his own fancy, and accompanies the prodigious deeds of his heroes with a smile of good-natured irony. We have already said that Ariosto was a man of good sense. From the quiet of his own home he looked out upon the ruffled sea of life and mused on what he saw. His reflections are contained in his satires; but they likewise add a peculiar and original charm to the Orlando Furioso. Among the parts most popular with the serious reader are the short introductions to the various cantos, each containing some wise reflection, some rule of life, or some kindly satire; this charm is well known to the genuine lover of Thackeray. SUMMARY AND QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW Progress of the revival of learning--Florence the center of the movement--Poggio Bracciolini; Pico della Mirandola; Politian; their services to scholarship--The chivalrous romance in Italy--Boiardo's influence--Ariosto (1474-1533); Comedies and Satires--His Orlando Furioso reflects the age. 1. Trace the development of the Renaissance from Petrarch to Politian. 2. Name some of the more important writers of this period. 3. Who was Lorenzo the Magnificent? 4. Who was the first to introduce chivalrous romances into Italian literature? 5. Who was Boiardo? What were his services to Italian literature? 6. Give a sketch of Ariosto's life. 7. Describe his character. 8. Give a list of his works.