Marino's _ars poetica_ was summed up in this sentence: 'Chi non sa far stupir, vada alia striglia.' Therefore, he finds periphrases for the simplest expressions.

He calls the nightingale _sirena de'boschi_, gunpowder _l'irreparabil fulmine terreno_, Columbus _il ligure Argonauta_, Galileo _il novello Endimione_.

In these instances, what might have been expanded into a simile, is substituted for the proper word in order to surprise the reader.

When he alludes to Dante, he poses a conundrum on that poet's surname: _Ben sull'ali liggier tre mondi canta_.

The younger Palma is complimented on wresting the _palm_ from Titian and Veronese.