Parini, Giuseppe (1729–1799)

Italian poet. He is best known for Il giorno/The Day, which appeared in four books; Il mattino/Morning 1763, Il mezzogiorno/Midday 1765, Il vespro/Evening, and La notte/Night, the last two published posthumously 1801. His other important works include Le odi/Odes 1757.

Parini was born at Bosisio. A poet of good sense and strict morals, he was a typical product of the Age of Reason. He was a skilful satirist, particularly concerned with morality; his works are full of immense detail, gathered during periods he spent in aristocratic households, and were conscientiously and constantly revised. The essential aspect of the antihero of Il mattino is that he is useless, while Parini's personal sentiments are found in La Caduta. In the Arcadian movement, Parini was known as Ripulano Eupilino, and he also became a member of the Milanese Academy of the Trasformati.