Francis Petrarch was an Italian scholar, poet, and humanist born at the start of the Renaissance. He studied in Montpellier and Bologna, taking interest in writing, Latin literature, and law. In 1341, he was crowned poet laureate in Rome. Though most proud of his Latin writings, his Italian sonnets became his most famous works. One of his sonnets was inspired by his unrequited love for Laura, whom he first saw in 1327. Petrarch died in 1374, leaving behind a significant body of work that influenced generations of writers.

1. Francis Petrarch

2. Petrarch was born at the
beginning of the
Renaissance. He
became a widely known
scholar, humanist, and
poet.

3. Petrarch spent time studying in Montpellier
for several years, then moved on to study
in Bologna for two years. He took an
interest in writing, Latin literature, and law.

4. FATHER
OF
HUMANIS
M“Five enemies of peace
inhabit with us /
avarice, ambition, envy, anger
, and pride; if these were to
be banished, we should
infallibly enjoy perpetual
peace.”

5. Easter Sunday, 1341
Petrarch was invited to Rome. On this day he was crowned
publicly as the poet Laureate and historian in the Capitol.

6. Petrarch was most proud
of his writings in
Latin, especially his epic
poem Africa. Ironically, his
most read and well-loved
works are his
sonnets, which he
considered trifling. He
often wrote about human
emotion.

7. Petrarch wrote sonnets, essays, and poems by the
hundreds, but two of his most famous are the
“Trionfi” and the “Canzoniere.”
The “Trionfi” is a moral allegory, featuring six
figures: Love, Chastity, Death, Fame, Time, and
Divinity; the former being ultimately triumphant.
The “Conzoniere” is a compilation of sonnets with
themes of love and patriotism.

8. On April 6, 1327 Petrarchwas
attending church at Sainte-
Claire d'Avignon. There it is
said he first met a young
woman by the name of
Laura, the “most beautiful
woman he had ever seen.”
There has been some debate
as to whether Laura actually
existed, but some historians
are able to identify her with the
wife of Hugues de Sade

9. You’re the inspiration…
Whether fabricated or not, Laura inspired many of Petrarch’s
most famous lyrics and even provided the inspiration for many
of the pieces in the “Canzoniere.” If Laura truly existed
Petrarch’s love went unreciprocated and no relationship ever
came from his obsession.

10. From the Italian sonetto, which means “a little sound or
song," the sonnet is a popular classical form that has
compelled poets for centuries.
Traditionally, the sonnet is a fourteen-line poem written in
iambic pentameter, which employ one of several rhyme
schemes and adhere to a tightly structured thematic
organization.
Two sonnet forms provide the models from which all other
sonnets are formed: the Petrarchan and the
Shakespearean.
Two Types of Sonnets

11. The first and most common sonnet is the Petrarchan,
or Italian.
Named after one of its greatest practitioners, the
Italian poet Petrarch, the Petrarchan sonnet is divided
into 2 stanzas, the octave (the first eight lines)
followed by the answering sestet (the final six lines).
The Petrarchan rhyme scheme is abba, abba, cdecde
or cdcdcd.
These letters refer to the last word in each line of the
poem and the sound of the word. If “bed” is “a” then
“red” would also be “a” in this rhyme scheme.
Example of a rhyme scheme:
Roses are red (a)
Violets are blue (b)
Sugar is sweet (c)
And so are you (b)

12. Since the Petrarchan presents an argument,
observation, question, or some other answerable
charge in the octave, a turn, or volta, occurs
between the eighth and ninth lines.
This turn marks a shift in the direction of the
foregoing argument or narrative, turning the
sestet into the vehicle for the counterargument,
clarification, or whatever answer the octave
demands.

14. Line Rhyme
Schem
e
Notes
1 Those eyes, ’neath which my passionate
rapture rose,
A First eight lines is the octave
2 The arms, hands, feet, the beauty that erewhile B very physical descriptors
3 Could my own soul from its own self beguile, B love is a celestial island
4 And in a separate world of dreams enclose, A
5 The hair’s bright tresses, full of golden glows, A
6 And the soft lightning of the angelic smile B
7 That changed this earth to some celestial
isle,—
B
8 Are now but dust, poor dust, that nothing
knows.
A Question: can I capture and keep love?
No. Love dies.
9 And yet I live! Myself I grieve and scorn, C
10 Left dark without the light I loved in vain, D
11 Adrift in tempest on a bark forlorn; C ”bark” means ship
12 Dead is the source of all my amorous strain, D
13 Dry is the channel of my thoughts outworn, C uses a metaphor that compares his
lost love to a ship adrift in a storm and
the source of his love and his thoughts
to a dry river channel
14 And my sad harp can sound but notes of pain. D Nothing but pain
Petrarch's Sonnet 116

15. July 18, 1374
Petrarch died in Arqua. He left behind his writing, and an
influence on writing and literature for hundreds of years to
come.