Il Pastor Fido in Lingua Napolitana
1590
Il Pastor Fido in Lingua Napolitana
1590
Translated by Domenico, active 17th century Basile
Battista Guarini's masterpiece of the Italian pastoral tradition comes alive in this Neapolitan dialect rendering, where Arcadian shepherds and nymphs navigate love, jealousy, and betrayal in a world where desire and honor collide. The play follows Mertillo, heartbroken over the elusive Amarille, as he wanders the hills of pastoral Greece suffering for love while Corisca, a cunning shepherdess, schemes and manipulates around him. The dialogue crackles with the raw energy of Neapolitan speech: declarations of devotion blur into accusations of betrayal, desperate pleas into bitter reproaches. Originally written in Italian in 1590, this translation captures something the polished courtly language could not: the visceral,unvarnished emotion of lovers speaking in their truest voice. The dialect adds salt to every line, earth to every sigh. For readers who think Renaissance drama is all formality and withheld passion, this version offers the opposite: a world where love makes people reckless, cruel, and magnificently alive.
