es."

This is not the place for a discussion of Poliziano's importance in
literature, but it is essential that we should understand the
significance of his achievement in the "Orfeo." The philosophic and
poetic spirit of the period and of this poem has already been discussed.
But we may not dismiss the subject without noting that Poliziano
powerfully forwarded the impulse toward the employment of Italian as a
literary vehicle. Too many of the Italian humanists had preferred Latin,
and had looked down upon the native language as uncouth and fit only for
the masses. But when the authority of Poliziano was thrown upon the side
of Italian and when he made such a triumphant demonstration of its
beauties in his "Stanze" and his "Orfeo," he carried conviction to all
the writers of his country.

According to Poliziano's own statement he wrote the "Orfeo" at the
request of the Cardinal of Mantua in the space of two days, "among
continual disturbances, and in the vulgar tongue, that it might be the
better comprehended by the spectators." It was his opinion that this
creation would bring him more shame than honor. There are only 434 lines
in the "Orfeo" and therefore the feat of writing it in two days was no
great one for a man of Poliziano's ability.

Sismondi[14] regards this work as an eclogue rather than a drama. He
says: "The universal homage paid to Virgil had a decided influence on
the rising drama. The scholars were persuaded that this cherished poet
combined in himself all the different kinds of excellence; and as they
created a drama before they possessed a theater, they imagined that
dialogue rather than action, was the essence of the dramatic art. The
Buccolics appeared to them a species of comedies or tragedies, less
animated it is true, but more poetical than the dramas of Terence and of
Seneca, or perhaps of the Greeks. They attempted indeed to unite these
two kinds, to give interest by action to the tranquil reveries of the
shepherds, and to preserve a pastoral charm in the more violent
expression of passion. The Orpheus, though divided into five acts,
though mingled with chorus, and terminating with a tragic incident, is
still an eclogue rather than a drama."

[Footnote 14: "Historical View of the Literature of the South of
Europe," by J. C. L. Simonde de Sismondi, translated by Thomas
Roscoe. London, 1895.]

Sismondi's perception of the survival of the pastoral character in this
new form of ente