of Napoleon, in 1805, was appointed his historiographer. He filled this office rather as court poet than historian, and lavished a profusion of eulogistic verses on the emperor and his family. He was created by him a chevalier of the Legion of Honour and of the Iron Crown, and was chosen a member of the Institute of the Kingdom of Italy. After the fall of Napoleon in 1815, Monti tries to win back the Austrian regime with his last poems "Il mistico omaggio" and "Il ritorno di Astrea", before committing to the development of Italian linguistics during his last years. Criticism Many authors have given different opinions about the poet's value. Two factors are generally agreed upon, but they are given different weight yielding a more or less favourable judgement: the lack of ideals and authenticity, and the superior technical skills. In the fast-changing political scenario of his time, Monti appears not to live up to his ideals: he is blamed from the political point of view for being first an opposer to the French revolution, then an open supporter of Napoleon, then eventually a supporter of the Austrian Empire. Furthermore, he is accused of expressing insincere feelings in his works and of only caring about the formal aspects of his productions. In a time of strong political ideals such as the "Risorgimento" and strong interior passions such as Romanticism, famous representatives of Italian literature such as Ugo Foscolo and Giacomo Leopardi pointed to these as unforgivable flaws, whereas in their opinion a poet should never give up his beliefs in exchange for practical advantages, and should prefer a worthy content over a much refined literary technique. Works 1776 – "La visione di Ezechiello" 1779 – "Prosopopea di Pericle" (ode) and "Saggio di poesie" 1781 – "La bellezza dell'universo" (short poem) 1782 – "Sciolti a Sigismondo Chigi" and "Pensieri d'amore" 1783 – "Versi" 1784 – "Al signor di Montgolfier" (ode) 1787 – "Aristodemo" (tragedy) 1788 – "Galeotto Manfredi" 1793 – "Bassvilliana"/"In morte di Ugo di Bassville" (left unfinished) 1797 – "La Musogonia" and "Prometeo" 1800 – "Poesie", "Dopo la battaglia di Marengo", and translation of Voltaire's "La Pucelle d'Orléans" -> "La pulcella d'Orleans" 1802 – "Mascheroniana"/"In morte di Lorenzo Mascheroni" (poem) and "Caio Gracco" (tragedy) 1803 – translation: "Satire" (Persius) 1805 – "Alla maestà di Napoleone" 1806 – "Il bardo della Selva Nera", translated into French by Jacques-Marie Deschamps (le