Who is petrarch speaking to in sonnet 159

Laura, left behind in France, is his better part; even at a great distance she commands his heart and voice. Petrarch made the story in the Metamorphoses the dominant myth of the longest poem in the sequence, Canzoniere This incorporation of the Metamorphoses into lyricism has momentous consequences for the following history of Petrarchanism, whereas poets such as Pierre de Ronsard and Barnabe Barnes , used each of the Ovidian myths as a figure for achieved sexual intercourse.

Ovid never writes this way of Corinna in his Amores, where she is only an occasional longing; it is unmistakably his desire, not her merit that animates the Amores.

Shakespeare, however, regards the beloved object highly as the all-inclusive focus. Shakespeare tended to ban mythology from his Sonnets. Of the few mythological allusions Shakespeare incorporates into the sonnets, seldom are they depicted in the same way Ovid depicts them in his Metamorphoses. In Sonnet 53, Adonis is paired with Helen as an exemplar of human beauty In the procreation sonnets, a reference to the myth of Narcissus is clearly intended by Shakespeare.

Moreover, the latter half of the Sonnets depicts less flesh in the form of seduction. In the dark lady poems, the seduction has already succeeded; its consequences [11] are overwhelmingly shame and anger. Desire in the young man is of a different order, intense but also idealized and Platonic in a way which male Petrarchists writing about women often attempt but seldom achieve. Although Petrarch is accredited with perfection of the sonnet, Shakespeare still made changes in sonnet form and composition years after Petrarch's death.

Despite creating complicated plots, Shakespeare also manages to place ulterior motifs among his two lovers, building new poetic form where Petrarch left off. Petrarch wrote his poems to a beloved from afar. His interactions were based only on his viewing Laura; his love for her was purely invented.

After the fair youth, the dark lady brings a completely opposite literary figure into play. The dark lady is both of a different gender and she displays aspects contrary to Laura. Lines one and two of Shakespeare's Sonnet The dark lady is not shown as beautiful or idolized as Petrarch portrayed his love, Laura Sedgwick. His adoration changes from an earthly love, Laura, to a love of the Virgin Mary. This love is a way to explain his erotic desire and spiritual aspiration.

Shakespeare, similarly to Petrarch, shows an eroticized love to the fair youth, a love that also fits nicely under pretense of courtly love. Going, Modern Language Notes, Vol. June, , pp. Penny's poetry pages Wiki Explore.

Recent blog posts Forum. Explore Wikis Community Central. Register Don't have an account? Petrarch's and Shakespeare's sonnets. Edit source History Talk 0. A reference is noted for the one exception in paragraph four. And why do I not first turn to stone in silence.

Canzoniere Ovid, Petrarch, and Shakespeare's Sonnets. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, I have felt it, I know now my own image. I burn with love of my own self; I both kindle the flames and suffer them…. The very abundance of my riches beggars me. Sonnet 1. Petrarch has described her as "lovely to look at, fair-haired, with a modest and dignified bearing. In reality they had little or no personal contact and she refused Petrarch's affections because she was married.

Therefore, Petrarch channeled his feelings into love poems. So, in il Canzione, all the sonnets are written to and about "Laura. Her death in , caused Petrarch "a grief that was as difficult to live with as his former despair of not attaining her. Petrarch was the ardent lover, and because of his former vocation as a priest, a mystic Christian. It was impossible for him to reconcile the two and his quest for love was a hopeless, endless agony.

Laura was unreachable and unattainable in his sonnets. Petrarch's other conflict was that even though Laura was his muse and the subject of his Song Book, his love for her also equaled his love for writing. In Sonnet 23, Petrarch's subject is that of Ovid's Metamorphoses, from the classics, and is his nod to Ovid's legacy in writing. Petrarch strove to be a great writer on the level of the classics and his one of his lasting legacys is his solidifying of the sonnet as a form of lyric poety for all of posterity.

Of course, he influenced greatly Willliam Shakepseare and Edmund Spenser during the English Renaissance, who wrote sonnets and created their own rhyme schemes and styles for them. All three men made great contributions to literature. In this sonnet Petrarch poses a series of questions in the octave of admiration of a beloved and in the sestet he laments that he has not experienced love. He describes Laura as delicate and dazzling and with golden tresses.

But, He has not had the chance to look into her deep blue orbs. But he does not know her deeply in a deep, intimate and loving manner. This is why Petrarch has been called "the father of the Renaissance". He truly began this flowering in writing and literature in Italy that eventually spread throughout the Renaissance and Europe. Devika: Thanks so much for reading this and tweeting it.

I have always enjoy Petrarch and his poetry and I enjoyed writing this. I have not been on HP lately so I am slow in responding, but thanks as always for reading my hubs.

I have been doing a lot of substitute teaching lately. Thank you so much and I appreciate your comments. I love sonnets - just with I could write them! I enjoyed writing this. I agree with you, it is amazing when someone changes history forever as Petrarch did. We are each, hopefully, one of those drops of water in the ocean. Lovely thought your mum had! Thanks for sharing it. It always surprises me when someone changes history whether in a small way or huge way.

The Renaissance was a time of change and great art whether poetry or painting, I must admit to not knowing of him before, so this was fascinating, as my mum used to say, one little drop in the ocean will change the world!

I am a sucker for love poetry. I am so glad you enjoyed this piece. From you, that is quite a compliment! Very nice job of research and presentation! This is the type of hub I never attempt to write, but you do it beautifully. Personal Finance. Welcome to HubPages. Related Articles.

By MG Singh. By Benjamin Cox.