The history and progress of the world . n-nets, madrigals and other forms of verse. But the deep-reaching social and political ideas which were circulatedin France, and eventually produced the Revolution, madetheir way also into Italy. The Arcadian school of feeble,languishing poets vanished. The mighty but uncultivatedgenius of Alfieri was aroused. Inspired with love ofliberty and hatred of tyrants, he poured forth twenty-onetragedies, chiefly founded on incidents and characters ofclassical history. He swept away the foolish trifling thathad usurped the place of literature, and directed the i
The history and progress of the world . n-nets, madrigals and other forms of verse. But the deep-reaching social and political ideas which were circulatedin France, and eventually produced the Revolution, madetheir way also into Italy. The Arcadian school of feeble,languishing poets vanished. The mighty but uncultivatedgenius of Alfieri was aroused. Inspired with love ofliberty and hatred of tyrants, he poured forth twenty-onetragedies, chiefly founded on incidents and characters ofclassical history. He swept away the foolish trifling thathad usurped the place of literature, and directed the intel-lectual movement to liberal and national aims. The Italian poets who were excited by the same causesand inspired by his example, looked back to the ancientglory of their land for subjects and to the ancient classicsfor models of style. Hence they were careful to obser\^ethe rules and methods which had long been stamped asclassical. In thought they were really modern, full ofnew ideas of the rights of man and universal freedom, 372. ITALIAN 373 but in form they followed that stiff and antiquated stylewhich the French Romanticists opposed and it must be admitted that the richness and easy graceof the Italian language are seen to advantage in theirworks. The most remarkable of these modern classical poetswas Vincenzo Monti (1754-1828), who illustrated in hiscareer the frequent political changes which swept overhis country. Kindly received at the Papal court, he wasearly admitted to the Academy of the Arcadians, but pro-voked his fellow-members by his sharp satire and impa-tience of criticism. Then he wrote a classical drama inrivalry with Alfieri. In 1793 the murder of the Frenchminister, Basseville, at Rome called forth his splendidpoem, Bassvilliana, written in imitation of Dante. Thespirit of Basseville is represented as condemned to wanderover France under an angels guidance, beholding the suf-ferings brought upon the land by the Revolutionaryprinciples whic
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