Torquato Tasso (1544-95), Italian poet, considered the most influential poet of the Italian Renaissance, author of the verse epic Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem Delivered).

Tasso was born March 11, 1544, in Sorrento, son of the poet Bernardo Tasso. After studying at the University of Bologna, in 1560 he continued his education in law and philosophy at the University of Padua. There he composed his first epic poem Rinaldo (1562). In 1565 he entered the service of Luigi Cardinal d'Este and went to live in Ferrara, where he became an admired member of the court of Alfonso II, duke of Ferrara, and the cardinal's brother. The Este family was known for its patronage of the arts, and since the 15th century the dukes of Ferrara had employed the talents of the great poets Lodovico Ariosto and Matteo Maria Boiardo. In 1573 Tasso completed the pastoral drama Aminta (1580; trans. 1627), a lyrical idealization of court life. Its presentation at a court fete in 1573 was highly acclaimed, and it is recognized today as one of the finest works of its genre.

In 1575 Tasso completed his epic on the First Crusade, Gerusalemme liberata (1581; Jerusalem Delivered,1600). It is the culmination of Renaissance literary tradition, in that it attempts to revive the classical heroic epic and to reconcile it with the religious requirements of the Counter Reformation. Before publishing the work, Tasso requested the opinions of the notable critics of the day, and the unfavorable reception given the poem, combined with a blow on the head, convinced the author that he was being persecuted. In 1579, following several violent outbursts, Tasso was confined in the hospital of Sant'Anna in Ferrara, where he remained for seven years. During this period, he revised Gerusalemme, defended it in dialogues and essays, and wrote occasional poems. In July 1586, because of the intervention of the prince of Mantua (reigned 1587-1612), Tasso was allowed to leave the hospital.

Tasso next went to Mantua (Mantova), where he composed a poetic tragedy, Torrismondo (1586). In 1587 he left Mantua and spent several years in restless wandering, while further revising his epic according to the judgment of his critics. The result, considered markedly inferior to the original poem, was published in Rome in 1593 as Gerusalemme conquistata (The Conquest of Jerusalem), and was dedicated to Tasso's latest patron, Cinzio Cardinal Aldobrandini. In 1594 plans were made for Tasso to be crowned in Rome as poet laureate. He died in Rome, on April 25, 1595, however, before the honor could be conferred.