Tutte le rime della illustriss. et eccellentiss.

Tutte le rime della illustriss. et eccellentiss.

Poetry

Vittoria Colonna was a sixteenth century poet who wrote Tutte Le Rime della Illustrius (above text). She was born in 1492 and died in 1547. Notably one of the most recognizable poets of her time, Colonna wrote perhaps the most influential work of the sixteenth century. The work above was published posthumously in 1558 in Venice. Although no evidence exists to prove that Shakespeare read or incorporated Colonna’s poetry into Othello, her legacy as an Italian woman serves to illustrate common ideas of the “anatomy” of Desdemona and her role in the text. Colonna was betrothed to Francesco d’Avlos in 1496, when she was only four years old, and then married him at nineteen. Throughout her life (and engagement), Colonna received the finest education and was famed for her ability to write letters. However, in 1525, her husband died in battle and Colonna was left to be a widow at the age of thirty-three. It was after her husband’s death that she was really able to spend time writing and spend time with other poets and artists. This close circle of friends eventually led her to artist Michelangelo, who later became her closest friend. Colonna eventually became a part of the church reform movement in Rome, and although never herself denounced the Catholic church, she was an important piece of a movement, that later, led to the protestant church. Moreover, her life was one of freedom and persistence for a woman of that era. One could assume that Colonna was a woman who led narratives of others to a more liberated place. In Othello, Desdemona was a woman who lost her life subsequently after marriage, whereas, Vittoria Colonna gained one. Overall, when I think about the “anatomy” of Italian women in Othello, the audience may have considered the accoutrements of Colonna’s life.

Vittoria Colonna

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In Venetia : Per Giouan Battista et Melchior Sessa fratelli

1558

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Used in permission from Rose Library, Emory University.

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Book

Italian

Poetry

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