Gabriele Pasquale Giuseppe Rossetti (28 February 1783 – 24 April 1854) was an Italian nobleman, poet, constitutionalist, scholar, and founder of the secret society Carbonari. Rossetti was born in Vasto in the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

. He was Roman Catholic. His support for Italian revolutionary nationalism forced him into political

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

in England in 1821.

Early career and exile

Rossetti's first edition of poems was printed in 1807 by Giovanni Avalloni, who offered to have Rossetti's poems published after hearing him recite a few passages. Throughout his early career, Rossetti published poems that were "patriotic" and supported the "popular movement" in Sicily which resulted in him receiving a grant from Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies in 1820. When the king revoked the constitution in 1821, many supporters of the constitution were persecuted, but Rossetti instead, was forced into exile in Malta for three years before a British admiral of the Royal Navy sent Rossetti to London in 1824. He held the post of Professor of Italian at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

from 1831, as well as teaching Italian at King's College School, until failing eyesight led to his retirement in 1847.Rossettie, Dante Gabriel. William Michael Rossetti, Mark Twain, Clara Clemens. ''The Poetical Works of Dante Gabriel Rosseti''. Ellis and Elvey, (1893)p.xvi Vasto piazza Rossetti

Works

Rossetti's published works include

literary criticism Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

, Romantic poetry such as his long poem ''Il veggente in solitudine'' of 1846, and his ''Autobiography''. He is thought to be the basis of the character Pesca in Wilkie Collins' 1860 novel '' The Woman in White''. He also wrote commentaries on Dante Alighieri in which he attempted to show evidence of mysterious ancient conspiracies in his works.The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Seventh Edition, Volume 2; M.H. Abrams, et al, eds; New York, London: Norton, 2000 - pg 1583

Personal life

In 1826 he married Frances Mary Lavinia Polidori, daughter of another Italian exile

Gaetano Polidori Gaetano Fedele Polidori (1763–1853) was an Italian writer, political and scholar living in Highgate. He was the son of Agostino Ansano Polidori (1714–1778), a physician and poet who lived and practised in his native Bientina, near Pisa, ...

, and they had four children, all distinguished writers or artists: Rossetti family grave in Highgate Cemetery

* Maria Francesca Rossetti * Dante Gabriel Rossetti * William Michael Rossetti *

Christina Georgina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romantic, devotional and children's poems, including "Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in Brit ...

Rossetti died on 24 April 1854 in London, aged 71, and is buried on the western side of Highgate Cemetery, adjacent to the grave of Elizabeth Madox Brown, the first wife of Ford Madox Brown. Later burials in the Rossetti family grave are Elizabeth Siddal, wife of Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1862), Frances Rossetti, wife of Gabriele (1886), Christina Georgina Rossetti (1895) and William Michael Rossetti (1919). The ashes of four grandchildren have also been buried in the grave.

Early career and exile

Works

Personal life

See also

References

Further reading