Petrarch 4

3. In sonnets 358-366 it is implied that Laura has died. Petrarch begins the sonnets in a state of deep mourning. He claims that, "Death cannot make her sweet face bitter, but her sweet face can make death sweet," a very strong statement in my mind. In making such a bold claim, it seems that he is implying that he would welcome death, so long as Laura accompanies it. Petrarch would rather be with Laura in death than without her in life. I find this kind of ironic, though, considering he was never really with her in life either. At one point, Petrarch suggests that Laura's ghost has spoken to him, telling him to feel no sorrow in her death. Again, extremely far-fetched, given the fact that they did not know one another. I feel like at this point Petrarch is delusional, grasping for any hope he can find. I was really confused by the lines "Sometimes my heart trembles with a sweet chill, hearing her for whom I grow pale say to me: "Friend, now I love you and now I honor you, because you have changed your habits and your hair."" Laura is dead, and she died NOT loving Petrarch. I don't think "changing his hair" would have that tremendous of an effect, unless he's suggesting she was incredibly shallow in life. If that is the case, why does Petrarch praise her moral strength? This line seems to contradict everything Petrarch built up in the first few sonnets. He also implies that they will be together when he reaches heaven, but if she wouldn't have him on earth, I doubt this is the way it will work in the afterlife. Soon after, the theme of the sonnets changes dramatically. In sonnet 364, Petrarch acknowledges his foolishness in wasting his time on a woman who did not love him back. He asks for God's forgiveness and guidance. Here again, Petrarch strays from what he built. The entire 363 preceding sonnets appeared to be written over the course of one year, but sonnet 364 mentions that "Love held [him] twenty-one years gladly burning in the fire and full of hope amid sorrow; since my lady, and my heart with her, rose to Heaven, ten more years of weeping." This suggests that he has been in love with Laura for twenty-one years, which certainly does not fit the one year idea.


4. The biggest change in the progression of these poems obviously stems from Laura's death. Petrarch can no longer gaze upon her beauty; he can no longer physically long for something he cannot have. While he has the memory of her, he no longer has her. While most of the previous sonnets were melancholy in his unrequited love, none were as sorrowful as the poems following her death. He speaks of wishing for death, something he would not have ever done had Laura been alive. I still fail to see how it's such a big deal to him, as he never really knew her. Another change occurs when Petrarch acknowledges his wasted time. For the first time through all of the poems, he recognizes the lost time and asks for forgiveness. He realizes that Laura never loved him and that he should have given it up. This is a HUGE change from previous sonnets, in which his obliviousness and naivety allowed him to imagine a world where Laura would one day leap into his arms, proclaiming her love for him.


5. I did not encounter anything in my research that warned me of the change from sorrow to remorse. Nobody mentioned that he realized he wasted years of his life. Because of this, and because it is so unlike Petrarch throughout his earlier poems to admit flaw in loving Laura, I certainly did not see his change in heart coming. I was completely surprised when he acknowledged his foolishness and prayed for guidance. However, some scholars did mention Laura's death, so that didn't surprise me, although scholars admit that it was years later, and the whole romance did not take place over one year. I wonder why Petrarch chose to present it as a single year?


6. There are two deviations from typical Petrarchan-style sonnets in this block of poems. The first comes in 359, which is incredibly long. It is written in somewhat typical format, just much longer than the usual sonnet. It is 33 lines, as opposed to the usual 14. The second different poem is also the final poem, number 366. This poem is 13 lines long and is not at all in sonnet form. It appears to have irregular rhyme scheme, with no direct pattern, although there are some ABAB patterns.

Petrarch 3

3. Poems six through fifteen further glorify Laura, although there are a few random sonnets within as well. Petrarch asserts that his desire "flies ahead of [his] slow running" in its pursuit of she who is "light and free of the snares of Love." This indicates a very one-sided attraction, where Petrarch is in love with a woman who does not feel the same toward him. Petrarch also suggests that Love has the power to deeply wound him, "as against [his] will [Love] carries [him] off to death." This is obviously an exaggeration, as Petrarch was not fatally wounded by love, but the point comes across quite strongly. Love has a tremendous hold on Petrarch, one that leaves him helpless and wounded. According to a later sonnet, Petrarch had no choice but to fall in love. He was "free and in peace... passing through this mortal life, which every living thing desires, without fear of finding on the way anything to snare us." However, as soon as he saw Laura, his life changed forever. Now "he remains in the power of another, near his end, bound with a greater chain." Whether he chose his fate or not, there is no escaping it now. He is in the reign of a lady so beautiful that "she among ladies is a sun," clearly possessing unparalleled beauty. As the poems progress it seems that Petrarch's feelings have become known to Laura, but that she dismisses them. Since "Love has made [her] aware of [him], [her] blond hair has been veiled and [her] lovely gaze kept to itself." It appears that Laura has become bashful in her morality, refusing to lead on a man while she is married to another. I respect this in her; as we talked about in class, one of my big issues was whether he wanted her solely for lust or whether he truly loved her. I feel that if Petrarch was content to watch her from afar in order to preserve her purity and dignity, it could be love that he was feeling. However, if Petrarch tried desperately to win her affections, even if it meant asking her to commit adultery, he was simply in lust. If one truly loves someone, he or she would never ask the beloved to abandon his or her moral standards. I'm not sure what this says about Petrarch, but I respect Laura for putting her veil on, so to speak, and ignoring his advances. Backing up my lust vs. love argument, Petrarch makes a lot of physical-based comments about Laura once again in this section. He mentions the "light of [her] lovely eyes," pines for her "hair of fine gold made silver," speaks of her "garlands and clothes of green," and yearns to live long enough to see her "face lose its hue." As touching as these sentiments may be, they are all appearance-based. Relationships based wholly on appearance are lustful relationships, which makes me question Petrarch's motives. However, a slightly redeeming factor occurs in his mention of her valor. Petrarch claims that "from [Laura] comes the courageous joy that leads you to Heaven along a straight path, so that already I go high with hope." He mentions his eyes looking "so high" upon seeing her, indicating either a heavenly appearance or a heavenly demeanor. I'll give Petrarch the benefit of the doubt and assume that in this case he is not referring to her beauty, as he so often does, but her character. Petrarch ends these ten sonnets on a dramatic note, claiming that "death alone can cut off [his] thoughts from the amorous path that leads them to the sweet port of their healing." He says that the only cure for his incomparable love is death, in my opinion a very dramatic thing to say.


4. Most of the poems within this section seem to remain similar in progression to what we've seen so far; however, there have been a few differences. The first "odd" poem, so to speak, is number seven. While written in the standard style, the actual message of the sonnet does not fit with the Laura theme. Sonnet seven speaks of "gluttony and sleep and the pillow of idleness" banishing "all virtue" from the world, and the "benign light of heaven by which human life should be shaped." It also makes a reference to poetry, claiming that those interested in creating poetry are frowned upon. "Philosophy, you go poor and naked!" asserts a mob. Petrarch seems to be emphasizing the importance of religion, poetry, and philosophy, which would go along with his humanistic views. However, the poem definitely sticks out in context, as it doesn't fit with the flow of the other sonnets. Sonnet ten is the other sonnet that does not fit naturally into the progression: it once again talks about poetry, this time speaks of how there are "no palaces, no theater or gallery, but in their stead a fir tree, a beech, a pine... and the nearby mountain where we climb and descend poetizing." Once again he seems to be expression admiration for poetry, but once again it seems out of place within the sonnets.


5. The love vs. lust debate seems to be heating up, at least for me. The more of the sonnets I read, the more I notice the physical descriptions and praise but the lack of mention of character. Even when he does mention her virtuous nature, it could be taken multiple ways, one of which is a lust-driven frenzy. I would like to believe that Petrarch truly loved Laura, but as I mentioned previously, him apparently making his feelings known makes me question whether he was being entirely genuine. Overall it still fits with my research: Petrarch loved a woman who could not, or would not, love him back. He continues to pine for her, but she continues to ignore his advances. The "misfit" sonnets point to humanism, an ideology which Petrarch is said to be the founder of.


6. There has been nothing notable about any of the sonnets in this section regarding style and format. Petrarch continues to use Petrarchan sonnet form. The rhymes remain the same, and there are no hidden "LAU-RE-TA"s. As far as style goes, this section was fairly monotone. Not necessarily boring, but nothing to report.

Petrarch 2

3. Poems 1-5 jump straight into Petrarch's love for Laura. He begins by declaring his sorrow found through love, and asking that anyone who understands love would treat him with compassion and pardon his ways, as well as pity him for his struggles. He also acknowledges that he was "the talk of the crowd, for which [he is] ashamed," and that his "raving, shame is the fruit, and repentance, and the clear knowledge that whatever pleases in the world is a brief dream." This is a rather sorrowful way to begin a long set of poems, but it certainly gets the point across: Petrarch, or the speaker in this case, has been deeply wounded by love. Love, Petrarch claims, has taken "a graceful revenge" and "took up his bow again secretly, like a man who waits for the time and place to hurt." This bold statement accuses love of desiring to hurt the poor souls it affects, and Petrarch obviously sees himself as a victim. Petrarch eventually gets around to explaining his love, a love which began when Petrarch "did not defend [himself] against... your lovely eyes, Lady." This raises the love versus lust question, seeing as it appears to have been "love at first sight." Apparently Petrarch was unguarded, seeing no reason for alarm or fear in the face of such powerful feelings. He traipsed boldly into love, multiplying his hurt. "Love found me altogether disarmed," implies that Petrarch was struck without any forewarning. He compares Laura to the sun, saying that "Nature is thanked and the place where so beautiful a lady was born to the world." Once again, is Petrarch suffering from unrequited love or unrequited lust? The relationship thus far seems rather appearance-based.


4. So far there have been no major changes in the progression of the poems. Petrarch spends the first poem telling the reader how love has affected him. The second poem is furthering this, saying how love hit him with a "fatal blow." The third poem is when he tells of meeting Laura and of Love attacking him while he was disarmed. The fourth sonnet compares Laura to a piece of heaven and the sun, obviously flaunting her beauty and attempting to talk her up greatly. The fifth sonnet puts Laura on an even higher pedestal, as she is "worthy of all reverence and honor." Petrarch remains smitten yet sorrowful throughout, leading the reader to infer that the feelings were one-sided.


5. So far this fits with everything I uncovered in my research. The poems indeed seem to revolve around Petrarch's love for Laura. It appears to be unrequited, as he would not be nearly so melancholy had she returned his "love." I find his admiration of her somewhat lust-based thus far, but maybe it will change as the poem progresses. It will be interesting to see whether he mentions her husband, and whether he makes advances on her. From what I've read, Petrarch might go after Laura, but if so she rejects his advances. Five sonnets in there has been no mention of this, but he is heartbroken and I'd imagine more will come out as the sonnets continue. As far as the style goes, it seems regular for Petrarch.


6. Petrarch is the father of the Petrarchan sonnet form, so it comes as no surprise that his poems (in Italian) follow this pattern. The translations obviously do not follow pattern, and as I'm not familiar with Italian phonics, it's difficult to decipher word patterns and sounds. From what I can tell, there seem to be a lot of end rhymes, and this fits with my knowledge of Petrarchan form. Poem five is interesting in its clever use of Laura's name - LAU - RE -TA is isolated from words within the stanza, and Laureta is the Latin version of Laura. This is the first time Laura is identified, although research would leave the reader with no doubts about the intended recipient of the sonnets.

Petrarch 1

1. Francesco Petrarch was born in 1304 in Arezzo, Italy, to exiled nobles. He was a devout Catholic throughout his life. Petrarch spent early childhood near Florence and then much of his early life in Avignon. His father, a lawyer, insisted that Petrarch also study law, so from 1316-1320 he attended Montpellier and from 1320-1323 he attended Bologna. However, Petrarch was entirely uninterested in law, instead preferring writing and literature. In fact, his fervor for writing was so great that he felt he could not relate to anyone else, so he wrote letters to Cicero, who had died over 1200 years prior. Petrarch's life took a turn when he met Laura in church in Avignon following law school. He began writing sonnets addressing his love for her, and the sonnets gained an immediate following. Petrarch's work became very popular, and he was a celebrity of sorts in his time. He was declared poet laureate in Rome and spent much of his later life traveling at his leisure. Petrarch settled down near the end of his life in Padua, and he died soon after. He eventually became known as one of the first Renaissance humanists, as well as an extremely successful poet and scholar.


2. It is rumored that Petrarch wrote most of his sonnets and all of the Canzoniere for Laura de Noves. Scholars believe that Laura was the love of Petrarch's life, but that she was married before he met her. It is uncertain whether she knew of his love, or whether she was oblivious, but Petrarch perfected his sonnet in her honor and pined for her for many years. Other scholars believe that Laura is a fictitious character, invented solely for his works. EIther way, the Canzoniere, also known as Rime sparse, was written in her honor. The vast majority of the pieces of the Rime sparse are in sonnet form, but there are also canzoni, madrigal, sestine, and ballate as well. The poems were written over a time period spanning forty years, and are now often recognized as the most influential love poems of the Renaissance era. The central theme of the Canzoniere is Petrarch's admiration of Laura; however, there are other themes as well. Faith and religion are questioned throughout, and the paradox of Petrarchan love makes a steady appearance. This paradox is the issue of love being both painful and highly desirable. The passage of time, man's changing of mind, desire, isolation, the vanity of youth, glory, and antithesis are also central themes and issues throughout the poetry. It can be said that Petrarch's desire for Laura is a theme leading to a string of major themes: his love leads him to strive for glory, which he believes can fight time and its destruction. However, based on Christian theology, even glory cannot fight time and guarantee eternity, because only faith in salvation can. Petrarch is believed to have based parts of the Rime sparse on the Metamorphoses of Ovid and Virgil's Aeneid. He also borrowed structure and rhetoric from Sicilian court poetry, especially Giacomo de Lentini.