Cavalcanti, Guido

Cavalcanti, Guido (gwē`dō kävälkän`tē), c.1255–1300, Italian poet; friend of Dante, whose work was greatly influenced by Cavalcanti's style. He belonged to the White faction in the struggle of the Guelphs in Florence and was exiled to Sarzana. There he fell ill with malaria and died soon after his recall. Much of his verse, very little of which remains, is in the Canzone d'amore [song of love]. For translations, see his Sonnets and Ballate (tr. by Ezra Pound, 1912) and Lorna de' Lucchi, An Anthology of Italian Poems (1922).

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Cavalcanti, Guido

(born c. 1255, Florence—died Aug. 27/28, 1300, Florence) Italian poet. Born into an influential Florentine family, he studied with the philosopher and scholar Brunetto Latini, who had earlier taught Dante, Cavalcanti's close friend. After Dante, he is considered the greatest Italian poet and personality in 13th-century Italian literature. He left about 50 poems, many addressed to two women and on the theme of love. His language demonstrates the grace and directness of the dolce stil nuovo (“sweet new style”). Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Ezra Pound translated his poems.