Torquato Tasso

Jerusalem Delivered is an epic poem about the First Crusade and the Christian capture of Jerusalem. Tasso centers the poem on leaders such as Godfrey of Bouillon while adding romance, magic, and inner conflict.

Jerusalem Delivered appeared in 1581, after years of revision and anxiety over its religious and poetic form. It became one of the major Italian epics after Ariosto's Orlando Furioso.

Tasso spent years confined in the hospital of Sant'Anna in Ferrara beginning in 1579. The episode is linked to his mental distress, conflicts at the Este court, and fears about religious scrutiny.

Yes, he revised the poem into Gerusalemme conquistata, published in 1593. The later version is more severe and religiously controlled than the 1581 Jerusalem Delivered.