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Petrarch

            Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374), or Petrarch was an Italian humanist and poet and is considered to be the first modern poet of the Italian Renaissance. Many historians consider him the "modern man" because of his innovative poems focusing on individuality. His use of the sonnet form of poetry influenced future English poets such as Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare. Petrarch believed that Italy should continue in the cultural tradition of the Roman Empire and wrote in both classical Latin and Italian. He also believed in the study and importance of the Greek and Roman classics as great works of literature. .
             Petrarch was born on July 20, 1304, in Arezzo. He lived in Tuscany until he was eight, when he and his family moved to Avignon, France. He studied law in Bologna but in 1326 his father died and Petrarch returned to Avignon to take minor orders in the church and would devote much of his life in the service of the church. In 1327, he would meet his life long love Laura de Noves, (a Frenchwoman) who would give him inspiration for his sonnets in his collection written in Italian and entitled Rime in vite di Madonna Laura or Canzoniere (Songbook). Laura never returned his love and his lifelong, constant love for her was intense, personal and pure. This type of feeling was new in European poetry. Sonnets are made up of 14-line verses usually having one of several conventional rhyme schemes and are mostly dedicated to love. Canzoniere was translated into English in1931. .
             Petrarch is a symbol of the Renaissance and a "modern man" because of his interest in writing about individual feelings and suffering. An example of this is his Vita Solitaria (1480), which was translated in 1924 as Solitary Life. He also wrote many letters during his travels that are important historical descriptions of the changing time in which he lived. He had a close friendship with the writer Giovanni Boccaccio and together with Dante; the three of them were responsible for making the Tuscan dialect of Italian the written language of Italy.


Essays Related to Petrarch

1. Petrarch: The Father of The Re

Petrarch was born in Arezzo in 1304 the son of a Florentine notary. ... During Petrarch's lifetime, he was famed primarily as a poet and scholar. ... Petrarch expected to achieve great fame from his epic biographical poem Africa, which was based on the life of Scipio Africanus who, to Petrarch, embodies the valiant and pious virtues of the ancient Romans. ... Morris Bishop in Petrarch and His World calls Petrarch "one of the rare men of his time, perhaps the only one, who had learned to read critically" (Bishop, 331). ... Augustine, Petrarch's favorite ecclesiastic. ...

  • Word Count: 2254
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Francesco Petrarch

Francesco Petrarch's poetry had a great effect on the poems of later poets such as Shakespeare and Chaucer. ... Here Petrarch found the peace and the inspiration that produced some of his best poems. ... Petrarch did not approve of Pope Innocent VI and moved to Milan for eight years. ... Petrarch once said, "I am a dweller nowhere, a wanderer everywhere." ... Petrarch and his works changed the world forever. ...

  • Word Count: 675
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Italian Renaissance

As this era ended, Petrarch was the first to look back at many years of late Roman antiquity down to the Dark Age. ... Petrarch's discoveries came to be called the humanistic approach because he occupied himself with the humanities. ... The values of individual right to be educated came about in this time because Petrarch believed; through education, humans can progress with their lives and thinking. ...

  • Word Count: 272
  • Approx Pages: 1

4. Marie De France And Petrach

In Petrarch's opinion, Laura exemplifies perfection. ... (Petrarch 37) At first, Petrarch seeks physical consummation with Laura. ... In short, Petrarch reaches a new, more fulfilling understanding of God. ... (Petrarch 57) Petrarch's love for Laura has been described as "contemplative." (Bernardo 108) Indeed, Petrarch devotes much of his conscious and uncons...

  • Word Count: 2427
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Grade Level: High School

5. The Sonnet

The first person to write sonnets was Francis Petrarch. ... In his sonnets Petrarch praises her beauty and perfection by using various metaphors (usually connected with natural beauties). The sonnet form spread throughout Europe to England where Sir Thomas Wyatt introduced it to readers in translating Petrarch in the 16th century. ... They were both influenced by Petrarch and saw the lover as dutiful, anxious and full of praises of his mistress, whereas the mistress was seen as proud, unreceptive and very desirable. ... The metaphors Petrarch used had become a cliché in Shakespeare&#x...

  • Word Count: 539
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

6. Humanism

Petrarch began to research earlier writers, for example, Cicero. Petrarch was referring back to the classics, the early humanists, and he was learning from them. ... Petrarch wrote lyric poetry dealing with individuals; he wanted to share knowledge for the public good. ... Boccaccio lived in Florence with Petrarch and Dante in 1350. He was a life long friend of Petrarch. ...

  • Word Count: 656
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Humanism and Renaissance

The letter, written by Petrarch in 1362 to his friend Boccaccio offered reassurance and responded to charges made against humanistic learning. ... (Petrarch, pg. 272) From the quote one can see that the people started to use their own mind because they saw the beauty of learning. ... (Petrarch, pg. 272) This quote discusses how one does not have to completely turn away from the church and God in order to educate himself. ... Petrarch also says that people choose different paths, but all lead to the same goal that every one is trying to reach which is happiness. ... What Petrarch means by this ...

  • Word Count: 1049
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

8. The Dawn of the Italian Renaissance

Later in chapter eleven, Petrarch, a well-known as well as talented author and poet, is described. In this chapter, many similarities between Petrarch's life and how society as a whole was living, become evident. ... Petrarch, the poet who would write endlessly on the beauty of love, was touched by how short life is, and how many hardships there are, one of the greatest hardships at this time of course being the scourge of the Black Death. Petrarch himself lost his one true love, Laura, to the disease. ... Petrarch wrote his autobiography, "Letter to Posterity." ...

  • Word Count: 576
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Dante

Petrarch's letter is in the form of a confession. ... Petrarch talked about vision of space, as extended before him from the mountain top. ... Once Petrarch reaches the summit, his letter becomes upsetting. ... Petrarch's letter was mainly an extension of man's view of the world. ... Dante and Petrarch both look at the world in a way that no one in their time ever had. ...

  • Word Count: 1592
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

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