- Original name:
- Niccolò Foscolo
- Born:
- February 6 [January 26, Greek calendar], 1778, Zacynthus, Venetian republic [now Zákinthos, Greece]
- Died:
- September 10, 1827, Turnham Green, near London, England (aged 49)
Ugo Foscolo
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Who was Ugo Foscolo?
Ugo Foscolo (1778-1827) was an Italian writer and poet, whose works mirrored the feelings of Italians during the French Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, and Austrian rule. His novel Ultime lettere di Jacopo Ortis (1802) critiques Italy's political situation and is considered by some to be the first modern Italian novel. His poem, "Dei sepolcri" (1807), influenced the Italian Risorgimento, inspiring Italians to live up to their heritage by contemplating the tombs of the great.
Foscolo's early support for Napoleon shifted to disappointment when Napoleon ceded Venetia to Austria in 1797. After serving in the French army, he faced suspicion due to satirical references to Napoleon in his tragedy Aiace. Foscolo went into exile in England where he wrote critical essays on Italian literature. His remains were eventually moved to the church of Santa Croce in Florence in 1871.
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Where and when was Ugo Foscolo born?
Ugo Foscolo, an Italian poet and novelist, was born on February 6, 1778 (January 26, according to the Greek calendar), in Zacynthus, which was then part of the Venetian Republic and is now Zákynthos, Greece. Foscolo's works mirrored the feelings of Italians during the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and the restoration of Austrian rule. His masterpieces rank among the finest in Italian literature.
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What type of literature did Ugo Foscolo write?
Ugo Foscolo was an Italian writer known for works reflecting Italian sentiments during the French Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, and Austrian rule. His notable works include the tragedy Tieste, which brought him fame, and the novel Ultime lettere di Jacopo Ortis, which critiques Italy's political situation and is considered by some as the first modern Italian novel. Foscolo also translated classical works and wrote odes and sonnets. His patriotic poem, Dei sepolcri, protested Napoleon's decree against tomb inscriptions. Additionally, he wrote the tragedy Aiace and the unfinished poem Le grazie.
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What are some of Ugo Foscolo's most famous works?
Ugo Foscolo, an Italian writer born in 1778, is renowned for works reflecting Italian sentiments during the French Revolution and Napoleonic eras. His notable works include the tragedy Tieste, which brought him initial fame in 1797, and the novel Ultime lettere di Jacopo Ortis (1802), which critiques Italy's political state and is considered by some to be the first modern Italian novel. Foscolo's patriotic poem, Dei sepolcri (1807), protested Napoleon's decree against tomb inscriptions and secured him a position at the University of Pavia. He also wrote the tragedy Aiace and the unfinished poem Le grazie.
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How did events in Italy influence Foscolo's writing?
Ugo Foscolo's writings were deeply influenced by the turbulent events in Italy during his lifetime. His initial enthusiasm for Napoleon turned to disillusionment when Napoleon ceded Venetia to Austria in the Treaty of Campo Formio (1797). This is reflected in his novel Ultime lettere di Jacopo Ortis, which expresses disgust with Italy’s social and political situation. Foscolo's poem, "Dei sepolcri," written in protest against Napoleon’s decree forbidding tomb inscriptions, also reflects his patriotism and desire for Italian unity.
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Why is Ugo Foscolo considered important in Italian literature?
Ugo Foscolo is a key figure in Italian literature because his writings captured the feelings of Italians during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. His works blend passionate emotion with classical form.
His novel, Ultime lettere di Jacopo Ortis, is considered by some critics as the first modern Italian novel. Foscolo's patriotic poem, "Dei sepolcri," influenced the Italian Risorgimento, or national revival, and his odes and sonnets are highly regarded. As an exile in England, he wrote critical essays on Italian literature. Foscolo's remains were interred in the church of Santa Croce, in Florence, in 1871.
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Ugo Foscolo (born February 6 [January 26, Greek calendar], 1778, Zacynthus, Venetian republic [now Zákinthos, Greece]—died September 10, 1827, Turnham Green, near London, England) was a poet and novelist whose works articulate the feelings of many Italians during the turbulent epoch of the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and the restoration of Austrian rule; they rank among the masterpieces of Italian literature.
Foscolo, born of a Greek mother and a Venetian father, was educated at Spalato (now Split, Croatia) and Padua, in Italy, and moved with his family to Venice about 1793. There he moved in literary circles. In 1797 the performance of his tragedy Tieste (“Thyestes”) made him famous.
Foscolo’s early enthusiasm for Napoleon, proclaimed in his ode A Bonaparte liberatore (1797; “To Bonaparte the Liberator”), quickly turned to disillusionment when Napoleon ceded Venetia to Austria in the Treaty of Campo Formio (1797). Foscolo’s very popular novel Ultime lettere di Jacopo Ortis (1802; The Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis, 1970) contains a bitter denunciation of that transaction and shows the author’s disgust with Italy’s social and political situation. Some critics consider this story the first modern Italian novel.
When the Austrians and Russians invaded Italy in 1799, Foscolo, with other Italian patriots, joined the French side. Made a captain in the Italian division of the French army after the defense of Genoa in 1800, he had commissions in Milan, Bologna, and Florence, where he found time to involve himself in many love affairs.
Finally Foscolo was sent to serve in France (1804–06). During that period he translated some classical works and Laurence Sterne’s Sentimental Journey into Italian and wrote odes and sonnets.
In 1807 Foscolo returned to Milan and established his literary reputation with “Dei sepolcri” (Eng. trans., “Of the Sepulchres,” c. 1820), a patriotic poem in blank verse, written as a protest against Napoleon’s decree forbidding tomb inscriptions. In 1808 the poem won for its author the chair of Italian rhetoric at the University of Pavia. When the chair was abolished by Napoleon the next year, Foscolo moved on to Milan. The satirical references to Napoleon in his tragedy Aiace (first performed 1811; “Ajax”) again brought suspicion on him; in 1812 he moved to Florence, where he wrote another tragedy, Ricciarda, and most of his highly acclaimed unfinished poem, Le grazie (published in fragments 1803 and 1818, in full 1822; “The Graces”). In 1813 Foscolo returned to Milan.
Napoleon fell the following year, the Austrians returned to Italy, and Foscolo, refusing to take the oath of allegiance, fled first to Switzerland and then in 1816 to England. Popular for a time in English society because he was an Italian patriot, Foscolo supported himself by teaching and writing commentaries on Dante, Boccaccio, and Petrarch for The Edinburgh Review and The Quarterly Review. He died in poverty. In 1871, with great national ceremony, his remains were moved from England and interred in the church of Santa Croce, in Florence.
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