Wretch, Otherwise Known As Guerrino: Written in ottava rima: A Work in Which One May See and Learn to Know Main Parts of Whole World, Along with Many Other Very Pleasant Things, Which Wil. Cet article n’est pas disponible.Wretch, Otherwise Known As Guerrino: Written in ottava rima: A Work in Which One May See and Learn to Know Main Parts of Whole World, Along with Many Other Very Pleasant Things, Which Wil

The only English translation of the first epic poem to be authored by an Italian woman.

This is an unabridged bilingual, fully annotated edition of Tullia d'Aragona's epic poem The Wretch. This mid-century epic reflects the many historical and religious changes taking place in the first half of the sixteenth century in Europe and the burgeoning literary debates following the publication of another Italian epic poem, Ariosto's Orlando Furioso. The Wretch recounts the adventures of Guerrino, a nobleman captured by pirates as an infant and sold into slavery. His famous quest in search of his parents and his identity involves abductions, same-sex seductions, and skirmishes with fantastical beasts as he travels through Europe, Turkey, Africa, India, Arabia, and the Purgatory of St. Patrick. The poem occupies an important position in the development of the prestigious epic genre, the highest step on the ladder to literary recognition and fame, and Tullia's work paved the way for the epics of other women writers in subsequent decades.

Tullia d'Aragona (1501/4-1556) was a courtesan, poet, and philosopher who frequented the highest echelons of Italian Renaissance society.

John C. McLucas is professor emeritus of Italian at Towson University.

Julia L. Hairston is a researcher whose focus is on gender in Italian literature and society from the fifteenth to the sixteenth centuries.