Giacomino Pugliese

(early 13th century)

   Giacomino Pugliese was a lesser-known poet of the Sicilian school of Italian poetry (see GIACOMO DA LENTINO), who was active in the first half of the 13th century. Eight of his CANZONI are extant.We know nothing of his life at all save what might be gleaned from his poems, and all attempts to identify him have been unsuccessful. Giacomino does have his admirers, however: Though his poetry tends toward a loose structure, it has been praised for going beyond the COURTLY LOVE conventions to include a fresh use of language, perhaps inspired by popular poetic tradition or by realistic detail. Some critics have suggested that Giacomino’s eight poems be arranged to follow the chronology of a love affair: They describe the passion of the lovers, their parting, and ultimately the death of the lady. In any case, his best-known poem is the one dealing with the beloved’s death, entitled “Morte, perchè m’ài fatta sì gran Guerra” (Death, why have you made so great a war against me?). The poem has been praised for what seems a realistic (rather than conventional) expression of personal emotion. In this poem Giacomino also deals with the theme of memory, alluding to the memory of the lady’s voice and its effects on his emotions:

   I remember and go over the time when she

   was with me,

   she often called me Sweet Friend—

   she does not do it now,

   (Goldin 1973, 247, ll. 55–57)

   It was a theme that PETRARCH was to pick up with great success in the following century.

   Bibliography

   ■ Goldin, Frederick, trans. German and Italian Lyrics of the Middle Ages: An Anthology and a History. New York: Doubleday, 1973.

   ■ Tusiani, Joseph, ed. The Age of Dante: An Anthology of Early Italian Poetry. New York: Baroque Press, 1974.