L'Adone

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L'Adone (Adonis) is an epic poem in Italian by Giovan Battista Marino, first published in Paris in 1623 by Olivier de Varennes (1598-1666) and dedicated to Louis XIII. It tells the love story of Venus and the eponymous Adonis and with 5,124 ottave and 40,992 verses is one of the longest poems in Italian literature - it is slightly longer than Orlando furioso and around three times as long as the Divina Commedia and Gerusalemme liberata. Before its twenty canti, the volume also contains a preface by the French critic Jean Chapelain justifying the poem as an epic but not heroic "poem of peace", followed by an introductory letter addressed to queen Marie de' Medici (then ruling as regent for her son Louis) asking her to intercede with the king on the poet's behalf. Before each canto is a prose 'Argomenti' ('Arguments') by Fortuniano Sanvitale and Allegorie ('Allegories'), attributed to don Lorenzo Scoto. These are both intended to demonstrate the text's moral significance and its message that (as stated in the preface) "immoderate pleasure ends in pain". Each canto is preceded by prose "Arguments" composed by Fortuniano Sanvitale and "Allegories" attributed to Don Lorenzo Scoto, which are supposed to explain the moral meaning of the text (whose teaching, as stated in the preface, is "immoderate pleasure ends in pain"). The last nineteen canti each have a title and a six-octave preface, though the first canto has a twelve octave preface.