born Dec. 10, 1538, Ferrara
died Oct. 7, 1612, Venice
Italian poet.
In 1567 he entered the service of Alfonso II, duke of Ferrara, as courtier and diplomat. In 1579 he replaced his friend Torquato Tasso as court poet. With Tasso, he is credited with developing the genre of pastoral drama. Guarini retired in 1582 and wrote his best-known work, The Faithful Shepherd (1590), a pastoral tragicomedy that became one of the most famous and widely translated works of the age.