GUARINI, Giovanni Battista, Italian poet: b. Ferrara, 10 Dec. 1537; d. Venice, 1612. He studied in the universities of Pisa, Padua and Ferrara and was appointed to the chair of lit erature in the latter, and soon published some sonnets which obtained great popularity. At the age of 30, he accepted service at the court of Ferrara and was intrusted by Duke Alfonso II with various diplomatic missions. He with drew from the court about 1587. Having re sided successively in Savoy, Mantua, Florence and Urbino, he returned to his native Ferrara. An irascible sensitiveness, joined to an exag gerated estimate of his personal dignity, neu tralized many qualities both brilliant and solid, which seemed to fit Guarini exactly for a court career. To these defects, in part, may be at tributed the frequent mortification which tracked him through life. As a poet, he is re markable for refined grace of language and sweetness of sentiment, while his defects are occasional artificiality, a too constant recur rence of antithetical imagery, and an affected dallying with his ideas. His chief work, Pastor Fido,' is regarded in Italy as a stand ard of elegant pastoral composition. The writer
designed it as a tragio-comic pastoral, its first dramatic representation was in honor of the nuptials of the Duke of Savoy and Catherine of Austria in 1585. It ran through 40 editions during Guarini's life and was translated into most modern languages. Its superb and per fect diction is flooded with sensuousness. Car dinal Bellarmine told Guarini that he had done more harm to Christianity by his blandishments in poetry than Luther by his heresies in theol ogy. Tasso and Guarini have been frequently compared; the two poets were literary friends and reciprocal admirers, though rivals in love. Guarini's varied writings, including sonnets, comedies, satires and political treatises, were published at Ferrara (4 vols., 1737). Consult Everett, W., 'Italian Poets since Dante' (New York 1904) ; Rossi, V.. '13. Guarini e Il pastor (Turin 1886) ; Sanctis, F. de, della letteratura italianal (Vol. II, Naples 1903) ; Saviotti, A., ecc.) (Pesaro 1888) ; Shelley, M. W., 'Lives of the -Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of Italy' (Vol. II, London 1835). See IL PASTOR Finn.