Written in 1581, this Italian work on the topic of the First Crusade was known by contemporaries, and indeed by subsequent critics, as a modern epic comparable to the ILIAD. Tasso endeavored to write a Christian epic, and thus, drawing on Crusader chronicles, portrayed in the character of Goffredo a truly heroic Christian soldier. With sidekick knights Rinaldo and Tancredi, and a good dose each of romance and sorcery, Tasso achieved an epic poem with chivalric overtones. Originally written in a-b-a-b-a-b-c-c stanza structure, this English translation most often renders the form by honoring the b rhymes and concluding couplet, though it frequently preserves them all. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.