The Petrarchan Craze

Reading: Petrarch, the progenitor of the sonnet (pub. 1374):

• Il Canzoniere 1, ‘Voi ch’ascoltate in rime sparse il suono’
• Il Canzoniere 3, ‘Era il giorno ch’al sol si scoloraro’
• Il Canzoniere 190, ‘Una candida cerva sopra l’erba’

Reading: selected poems of Sidney, Shakespeare, Donne, Behn:

• Sir Philip Sidney, Astrophil and Stella “1: Loving in truth” (pub. 1591)
• Christopher Marlowe, “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” (pub. 1599)
• Shakespeare, Sonnet 106, “When in the chronicle of wasted time” (pub. 1609)
• John Donne, “The Good-Morrow” (pub. 1633)
• Aphra Behn, “Love Armed” (from a 1676 play)

Writing: Respond to ONE of the following prompts. Keep your response short, posting as a reply under the appropriate heading in the comments section:

1. Several of these poems invite the beloved to join the poet somewhere. Quote a line where this happens, name the poet, and comment on the kind of place that’s imagined as conducive to love.
2. Many of these poems praise or elevate the beloved. Quote a line where this happens, name the poet, and comment on the rhetorical strategy for praise.
3. If you have a favorite love poem from this era that I failed to include on the list, introduce us to it and briefly explain why I should add it for next year.
4. There are a host of lovely phrases in the reading today. Cite a short passage and comment on what makes it beautiful.