Le invereconde. Riflessioni sulla vergogna nella poesia del Rinascimento

The essay explores the work in prose and verse of the Renaissance women poets named “honest courtisans”, in search of their own interpretation of shame between life and literature, starting from the surprising, very humble presence of this word and experience in their pages. This is a data wich imposed to look into the ancient and medieval tradition of female shame, asking in wich way these women could find a personal way of thinking this emotion, and to live it freely, among a number of heavy and oppressive principles and norms of moral living coined for them by men during the course of centuries. While the essay assumes that the answer is related to the project of their human and female achievement, and deeply connected with their wish to find fulfillment in their intellectual life. A project, and a wish, strong enough to upset ethical, social and literary issues of the XVI century.