Petrarch

  14. not denied you yet: “Do not judge yourself prematurely.”

  34 SONNET

  According to Wilkins, this sonnet was the initial poem of the first collection Petrarch made of his verse in 1342; the collection contained a number of sonnets and half of poem 23, a canzone. Probably written early (with certainty before 1337), the poem was transcribed at the later date with these words written above it: “ceptù trascribi et incep. ab hoc loco, 1342, Aug. 21, hora 6.” Its invocational qualities place it in the tradition of classical dedications to the sun god.

  1. if the lovely wish still lives: The yearning of Apollo for Daphne in Ovid’s myth (Metamorphoses I, 452).

  2. Thessalian wave: The waters of the Peneus, where Daphne was transformed into the laurel tree.

  5. lazy frost: Apollo’s rays have been too weak to burn away the cold that lies upon the land. The image recalls poem 7 and “gluttony, sleep, pillows of idleness.” The connection between frost, gluttony, and idleness is made by Dante (Inferno XXIV, 1–15 and 46–51) and laments a poor climate for great poetry.

  6. conceal your face: The sun’s rays are covered by clouds.

  7. honored, sacred leaf: Poetry, the lauro, is threatened now by loss of inspiration.

  8. was snared: As a bird is caught, or Daphne herself, as a consequence of possessive desire. The metaphor appears also in 83.6, 99.8, 189.3, 195.3.

  10. your bitter life: His love for Daphne unrequited.

  11. make clear: Apollo may return poetry to its former healthy state in his capacity as healer. “Impression” has the sense of “wounds.”

  14. her arms casting their shade: As a reincarnation of Minerva, goddess of wisdom.

  35 SONNET

  This sonnet is considered a high point of the early verse. It seems a profound departure from poem 34.

  1. I measure out: Reproduced in the cadence of these lines.

  2. with slow, late steps: Slow to repent.

  4. left within the sand: Fleeing to a completely undiscovered place or time.

  5. I find no other shield: He knows his burning love is visible in his bearing, as Dante did in Vita nuova VII.

  7–8. all bereft of joy: There is a suggestion here of ambivalence. How he appears may reveal and conceal at the same time.

  12–13. a path / too harsh: Words that echo Dante, Inferno I, 5.

  14. to speak to me: Sapegno refers to this “whispered confession” of his slavery to Love as a morbid condition. Or this loving whisper may belie his bearing “bereft of joy” in line 7 with its note of suppressed exultation.

  36 SONNET

  He has been so ill his body seems more dead than alive. The tone of the sonnet suggests that he writes to a friend to let him know he survived.

  4. loathsome limbs: Racked with illness, either spiritual or physical.

  5–6. a passage / from grief to grief: From misery to eternal punishment.

  7. still closed to me: To his passing from life to death.

  8. half cross over: Wishing that he might die. Cf. Dante, Inferno XXXIV, 25: “I did not die—I was not living either!”

  9. cord: Of Love, which would deliver the coup de grace.

  11. stained with others’ blood: Of other lovers.

  12. I beg Love: The unorthodoxy of this prayer to Love has been noted.

  13. of her own color: The paleness of death.

  14. who forgets: Death failed to take him.

  37 CANZONE

  Because Petrarch noted next to poem 38 that it was written during his voyage to Rome in 1337, when he was absent from Avignon for several months, it has been assumed that the separation he speaks of here resulted from that trip. The changing length of line in this canzone imitates the action, like the rapid rotating of a spindle and stretching of thread.

  3. if help does not come: Some healing force.

  8. until now: Since first seeing her, amorous hope has been all that sustained him. Cf. 34.9.

  18. terminate the journey: Referring to the movement of Phoebus’s chariot across the sky.

  20. how I race to death: Cf. Dante, Purgatorio XXXIII, 54: “of Life that is merely a race to Death.” See also St. Augustine, De Civitate Dei XIII, 10.

  24. long and coiling path: The spiraling path of the zodiac which the sun follows.

  30. without power: The line has sagged, the bowstring is no longer taut. “To fly with my desire” refers to the flight of the spirit toward blessedness (cf. Dante, Purgatorio XI, 38).

  35. the keys: To paraphrase Castelvetro: “To think of her eyes is to open myself to joy.”

  40. having seen them: He may have seen her only once with that loving expression that unlocked his soul.

  45. make all of my darkness: Cf. Isa. 58:10, “Et tenebrae tuae erunt sicut meridies.”

  46. remembering may consume me more: In his present hell he would know what he has lost.

  49–50. can renew/that ardent wish: In 23.4 he sang so that his pain might be made less bitter. Here he seeks renewal of strength in an inner dialogue with his wretchedness.

  56. Why not choose: He could, instead of freshening his pain by speaking of it, become mute, with possibly more grievous effects.

  62. savage sweetness: Cf. 23.149. A sharp passionate flooding of memory results from these words.

  69. thrives on weeping: The nourishment that he derives from his pain is well known to those who find solace in Provençal love poetry. Bernard de Ventadorn sang of it. Francesca lamented it, for all eternity. Zingarelli comments that Petrarchism is founded on this famous line, largely misunderstood.

  77–78. I often run and hide/therein: In the heart, the space within where he converses with his soul (ragionar).

  80. they were my guides: The eyes were the threshold and the door through which love entered his heart. Cf. 3.11.

  81–89. The golden hair …: He turns to the praise of Laura.

  89. are gone now: Mi son tolte, literally, “taken from me.”

  92. the graciousness of her angelic greeting: Petrarch speaks for the first time here of her resemblance to an angel.

  93. wake up my heart: The effect of the greeting was to awaken in him a force or power (vertute) greater than all pain or pleasure.

  97. with still greater delight: With a parenthesis of teasing self-mockery, he returns to calling up Lauras image, this time to her more purely physical beauties.

  98–99. white and slender: The Provençal poet Arnaud de Mareuil is cited by Zingarelli as a source for these lines. Cf. also Ovid, Metamorphoses I, 498, for a reference to Daphne.

  104. wild and rocky places: The natural barriers between them, but also, in the figurative sense, his current life of alienation from her.

  109. and falling reaffirms: Sense determines here the sound and the length of line, as if wings were feebly rising and falling from lack of strength. He uses the same device in poem 365.

  112. make my home: Albergo (home) is an enigmatic term that implies source, rest, and renewal—a link between temporal and eternal.

  113. that sweet place: He directs his song to the place where Laura dwells, made sweet by her presence.

  115. I know: The words echo Dante, Inferno XIII, 25: “I think perhaps he thought I might be thinking,” suggesting double distance from the truth.

  116. she will offer you her lovely hand: She does so in her merciful aspect, from which he is so distant.

  118. do not touch it: Do not show your hand. Cf. 208.12–14.

  119. soon as possible: “As soon as I am able,” that is, when the strength of his wings is sufficient to lift his spirit.

  120. as naked soul: Cf. lines 105–110. He fears he will not live to see her again in the flesh, although thoughts of reaching her with his words have buoyed his soul.

  38 SONNET

  This sonnet addressed to his friend Orso dell’Anguillara was also written when he journeyed to Rome in 1337. He is said to have lodged for a time in Capranica, in the hills outside the city. The sonnet is distinctive because of its repeti
tion of the words né (neither) and o (or), and its artful use of Q-words that trace his progress over the obstacles separating him from her.

  2. where every stream: The Mediterranean into which so many rivers merge. Cf. 148.1.

  3. nor shadow of a wall: Wall, hill, and branch, like the maternal sea, are symbols of the workings of time.

  6. hinders human sight: Separates him from his goal.

  7. more than a veil: The created form of Laura.

  8. Now weep: Speak in lamentations.

  9. That downward glance: Laura’s eyes disdaining him.

  10. smothers: The syntax is equivocal: either joy smothers or her downward glance smothers, illustrating the sense of “either-or.”

  12. complain as well of a white hand: Laura’s hand that threatens or denies him.

  14. like a reef: A hidden obstacle preventing him from reaching harbor.

  39 SONNET

  The sonnet apologizes (perhaps to Giovanni Colonna) for a late return to Avignon.

  1. that attack: Memory of her glance.

  3. flees the rod: Her eyes chastised him. The terms of the sonnet recall the schoolroom—she the teacher, he the recalcitrant child.

  4. my first leap: From the heat of her disapproval. Salto (leap) implies he had been skipping school.

  8. cold stone: Mute with shame and humiliation.

  9. return so late: No longer in a timely fashion, as if he had been absent for an important event (Zingarelli).

  14. were no small pledge: The encouragement that he receives from this friend subdues his fear of returning to the eyes he fled.

  40 SONNET

  A tapestry undertaken by the poet-weaver has been interrupted for lack of essential materials. Written between 1337 and 1341, this sonnet may have been addressed to Gia como Colonna in Rome, upon whose generosity Petrarch depended. Mixing several metaphors in an exuberant style, it plays on the idea of doubling.

  1. If Love: Love and Death in consort appear in a series of recent poems.

  2. this new cloth: He has begun a new work.

  3. from the thick glue: The lime that lures the bird and catches it fast is a metaphor for the entanglements of everyday life.

  4. one truth with the other: The truths of love coupled with those of death.

  5. so doubled: A fabric so much stronger for being interwoven.

  6. modern style and ancient tongue: Combining ancient Latin and vernacular Italian, perhaps, although he might be speaking of modern vernacular and ancient Italian with its cognates in French. A bit of Roman dialect appears in the sonnet.

  7. (and I dare say it, fearfully): Lest he cause his words to detonate.

  8. you’ll hear the bang: Slumbering Rome, so needy of reawakening, will know an explosion of fame.

  11. cherished father: Variously identified as St. Augustine, Livy, Cicero, or Seneca. Petrarch was active in unearthing ancient works that had been known to scholars only in derivative form.

  12–14. why are your hands … : The brash delivery of this question corresponds to the explosive sound of his verse. He asks why his patron is no longer so generous.

  41 SONNET

  This and the following two sonnets employ the same rhymes, reversed in order in poem 42 and restored to the order of this sonnet in poem 43. They date from the earliest period and were included in the first collection of 1342, along with poems 44–48.

  1. when from its proper dwelling place departs: Laura is absent from Avignon.

  3. Vulcan pants and sweats: The god of fire whose art was ingenious but utilitarian. He labors here, mobilizing for battle. Cf. Dante, Inferno XIV, 52 ff., and Virgil, Aeneid VIII, 414–25.

  5–6. who now thunders … : Caesar is associated with the month of July, Janus with January.

  7. the earth weeps: All the people suffer.

  7–8. the sun stays far away: Apollo (Phoebus) is languishing in exile.

  9. Mars and Saturn: Malign stars, ascendant in winter and associated with struggle and melancholy.

  10. armed Orion: A southern constellation associated with winter storms and shipwreck.

  11. shrouds and rudders: Spiritual (and political) aids to navigating through life. The language is Virgilian.

  12. Aeolus, angry: Keeper of the winds. Neptune and Juno represent sea and air churned into tempests by those winds.

  13. how it feels: The poet strains for comparisons with this allusion, more in the style of Vulcan than Apollo.

  14. sweet face awaited: Laura’s return is expected to restore peace and harmony.

  42 SONNET

  As foreseen, Laura returns, and skies and nature are restored to peace and a springlike loveliness. This sonnet uses the same rhymes but reverses the order of poems 41 and 43.

  2. beauties so unusual: As if fresh and new when they reappear.

  3. in vain: Love’s return disarms Vulcan.

  4. very ancient smith of Sicily: Vulcan was believed to have his forge inside Etna’s volcano.

  7. his sister: Latona (Leto), known in legend to be Earth.

  9. from the western shore: Cf. 28.10, and Ovid, Metamorphoses I, 60. The west wind, a Zephyr, is optimal for setting sail to the east, perhaps on the crusade Petrarch envisions in poem 28.

  12. malignant planets: Mars and Saturn, spoken of in poem 41. The season has turned.

  13. of her loving face: By her sunlike qualities.

  43 SONNET

  This completes a cycle of three sonnets all using the same rhymes.

  1. Latona’s son: Apollo, god of poetry and rejected suitor of Daphne.

  1–2. nine / times: The number of the Muses, and also Dante’s sacred number. Cf. Vita nuova II.

  2. lofty balcony: A prominence above human life but connected with it. Cf. 325.42.

  4. of someone else: Of another love poet.

  6. where she lived: Where she might have taken refuge (albergasse).

  7. gone mad with grief: He raved and wept in despair of ever seeing her restored to life.

  8. he greatly treasured: The art of ancient poetry.

  9. fixed off by himself: In exile. Cf. poem 41.

  10. the face return: The reappearance of Laura. Cf. poem 42.

  12. changed by his compassion: Apollo became a different god as a consequence of his love for Daphne, returning from exile as a prophet, poet, and father of healers.

  14. retained its previous state: Nothing has changed. The world still awaits the reappearance of this new and strange star.

  44 SONNET

  He turns to history and Scripture for dubious examples of pity to hold up as a mirror to his lady’s anger and disdain.

  1. The man in Thessaly: Julius Caesar. After the war against Pompey (Caesar’s rival and son-in-law), Ptolemy put Pompey to death treacherously and presented his head to the victorious Caesar. Caesar was said to have wept, perhaps not with genuine feeling.

  4. recognized by his features: The man’s noble character being visible in his face. Pompey was much admired by Petrarch.

  5. the shepherd: David. In 2 Sam. 18:33, David wept for his rebellious son Absalom, who died from blows delivered treacherously by David’s own men.

  7. and changed expression: In 2 Sam. 1, King David received news of the death of Saul, whom he succeeded as king. The biblical passage strongly suggests rivalry between the father and son.

  8. the wild mountain: David cursed the hills of Gilboa where Saul died, making them arid.

  9. whom pity never can discolor: He addresses Laura, whose face would never pale with compassion for his suffering.

  12. torn … to death: His heart torn from his self. Cf. Dante, Inferno XXVII, 139–41.

  45 SONNET

  Laura’s mirror has enamored her. The sonnet draws on the legends of Echo and Narcissus in Ovid’s Metamorphoses III, 344–510.

  1. My enemy: Her mirror has become a rival for his affections.

  3. with beauties not its own: Cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses III, 434: “The vision is only shadow, only reflection, lacking any sub
stance.”

  4. sweet and happy supernaturally: Given to her by God.

  5. On his advice: Zingarelli points out the antiquity of the phrase “on the advice of the mirror.”

  5–6. expelled me/from the sweet place: She has exiled him from his own heart, as Echo was by Narcissus.

  7–8. may not be / worthy: Only she, being perfection itself, is worthy. Weak echoing is heard at the center of the poem in the form of an equivocal rhyme (fora-fora) expressing doubt.

  9. by strong nails: By his martyrdom. Nails allude to the crucifixion of Christ. Cf. Dante, Purgatorio VIII, 136, where Dante’s exile is predicted by a similar image.

  10–11. no mirror… you pleased yourself: To find harshness and pride in her reflection should be, in the light of her perfection, a contradiction in terms.

  13. lead to the same end: Death. Cf. notes to 23.138, 140.

  14. although no grass is fit: Such a celestial beauty is fit not for earth but for heaven.

  46 SONNET

  Her eyes absorbed in self-love are murderous mirrors that leave Love speechless.

  1. The gold and pearls: Laura’s beauties.

  2. that winter should have weakened: Her disappearance (poem 41) should have caused these beauties to wither.

  3. bitter, poisonous thorns: Stecchi (thorns) have a figurative meaning of barrenness and deprivation.

  4. that I feel: That he experiences whenever he thinks of her, like a self-applied pain.

  6. for seldom does: The words are Seneca’s, from his Epistulae XXX: “Nullum … dolorem esse longum, qui magnus est.”

  8. loving yourself: Cf. 45.1–4.

  10. he was speechless: Love had no object, no sweet enemy to overwhelm with words.

  11. your desire was for you: For her own proud beauty.

  12. such mirrors were constructed: Fabbricati alludes perhaps to the work of Vulcan, an analogy for Petrarch’s recent poems. Cf. poems 41–43.