La sampogna

work by Marino

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July 13, 2026

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La sampogna is a collection of sensual idylls written by the Italian poet Giambattista Marino in 1596. Though completed early in his career, it was not published until 1620 due to censorship issues. The work uses mythological and pastoral subjects to explore themes of sensuality. Marino was a prominent figure in 17th-century Italian poetry, founding the school of Marinism, known for its elaborate conceits and metaphors. While his style was widely imitated, it eventually became a pejorative term for excessive ornamentation in poetry.12

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Giambattista Marino
In 1596 he wrote La sampogna (“The Syrinx”), a series of sensual idylls using mythological and pastoral subjects, but he was unable to publish it until 1620.
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In 1596 he wrote La sampogna (“The Syrinx”), a series of sensual idylls using mythological and pastoral subjects, but he was unable to publish it until 1620.
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Italian literature
Poetry and prose
…lira [1608–14; “The Lyre”] and La sampogna [1620; “The Syrinx”]) and a long mythological poem, Adone (1623), in which the Ovidian myth of the love of Venus and Adonis, told by Shakespeare in 200 stanzas, is inflated by Marino to more than 8,000. Marino derived inspiration from the poetry of…
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…lira [1608–14; “The Lyre”] and La sampogna [1620; “The Syrinx”]) and a long mythological poem, Adone (1623), in which the Ovidian myth of the love of Venus and Adonis, told by Shakespeare in 200 stanzas, is inflated by Marino to more than 8,000. Marino derived inspiration from the poetry of…
Read More