Marinism, also called marinismo or secentismo (meaning "17th century" in Italian), is a type of poetry and dramatic writing known for its elaborate and clever style. It was inspired by the work of Giambattista Marino, an Italian poet who lived from 1569 to 1625. This style is especially linked to his poems La Lira and L'Adone.

Features

James V. Mirollo, a critic who wrote the first book in English about this topic, explained the differences between these terms as follows:

The discussion that follows is based on Mirollo's analysis.

Marinist poets often used many comparisons with nature. They mostly used metaphors instead of similes because metaphors allowed for more powerful expressions. "Almost every part of human life could be used as a comparison." However, Marino used both classical mythology and Christian symbols, changing them creatively to make many vivid word pictures: "gems, minerals, and precious metals […] flowers (especially the rose and the lily), birds, fire, snow, the seasons, the sea, and, above all, sun and stars […] milk, ivory, birth, the arts and sciences, and a variety of actions and emotions useful for giving human traits to abstract ideas."

Legacy

Marinism is primarily an Italian literary movement, though it shares some features with other European Baroque styles, such as Euphuism, préciosité, and Culteranismo. The influence of Marinism can be seen in the work of English poets, including Richard Crashaw, who translated part of Marino’s religious poem La strage degli innocenti (The Massacre of the Innocents), William Drummond of Hawthornden, whose poetry shows evidence of studying Marino’s work, and Edward Sherburne. In addition to Marino himself, other notable Marinists include Claudio Achillini, Giuseppe Artale, Ciro di Pers, Vincenzo da Filicaja, Girolamo Fontanella, Giacomo Lubrano, Marcello Macedonio, Giovan Francesco Maia Materdona, Bernardo Morando, Girolamo Preti, and Giovan Leone Sempronio.