Den italienske filosof Giambattista Vico (1668-1744) var barn af barokken, men led den uheldige skæbne at skulle tænke og gøre karriere i rationalismen og den moderne naturvidenskabs æra. Et fascinerende træk ved barokkens litterære retorik er dens reflektioner over, hvordan mennesket kan orientere sig i en kaotisk og omskiftelig virkelighed. Retorikken, som siden antikken havde teoretiseret over hvilket sprog der skulle udtrykke det sociale liv i dets organiske sammenhænge, blev central for barokken og dens litteratur. Da Descartes sammen med neoklassicismen fordømte barokken, udviklede Vico et interessant forsvar for sin baggrund i barokken, hvad der vises i denne bog.

English
The Italian philosopher Giambattista Vico (1668-1744) was a child of the Baroque, but suffered the unfornate fate to have to think and make a career for himself within Rationalism and the era of modern natural science. What is fascinating about the literary rhetoric of the Baroque is its reflections on how man can find his bearings in a chaotic and changeable reality. The rhetoric that since antiquity had theorized over which language should express social life in its organic contexts became central to the Baroque and its literature. When Descartes together with neoclassicism condemned the Baroque, Vico developed an interesting defence for his background in the Baroque as illustrated in this publication.