Petrarch's and Shakespeare's Lovers
Although Petrarch is accredited with perfection of the sonnet, Shakespeare still made changes in sonnet form and composition 200 years after Petrarch's death. While Petrarch’s sonnets focused mainly on one hub, Shakespeare developed many subjects within his themes such as insomnia, slave of love, blame, dishonesty, and sickness. Despite creating complicated plots, Shakespeare also manages to place ulterior motifs among his two lovers, building new poetic form where Petrarch left off.
Petrarch’s sonnets were dedicated solely to Laura. She is thought to be an imaginary figure and a play on the name Laurel, the leaves with which Petrarch was honored for being the poet laureate and the very same honor he longed for in his sonnets as a “Laurel Wreath”. The name game has a further layer: "L'aura" is also "gold", the colour of her hair. In the allegorical canzone 323 (Standomi un giorno solo a la fenestra), we see that the mysterious phoenix has a head of gold. "Una strania fenice, ambedue l'ale di porpora vestita, e 'l capo d'oro..." The Focus of love within Petrarch’s sonnets contains a unique contrast with Shakespeare’s. 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. Shakespeare on the other hand shared a reciprocal love with both his lovers; the objects of his love were “articulate, active partners.” Shakespeare’s sonnets are divided between his two lovers: sonnets 1-126 for a male, and sonnets 127-152 for a female; the first to a fair youth, and the second to a dark lady. Petrarch’s sonnets in opposition are focused solely on one lover, Laura. Shakespeare copies the female love in Petrarch’s poetry with the beloved youth who is created, cherished, adored, and eternized. 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. One point that Shakespeare made while writing about the dark lady is a satirical comment on Petrarch’s love:
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun
Coral is far more red than her lips' red
—Lines 1 and 2 of Shakespeare's Sonnet 130
The dark lady is not shown as beautiful or idolized as Petrarch portrayed his love, Laura. This idolization analyzed from a stand point of courtly love draws an interesting segue to the death of Laura in Petrarch’s sonnets, which leads to “the sublimation and transformation of desire”. His adoration changes from an earthly love, Laura, to a love of the Virgin Mary. Petrarch’s obsessive feelings toward Laura fit remarkably well under the title courtly love. 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. Then like with the death of Laura, this switch to a more divine love can be seen in Shakespeare’s last two sonnets which are dedicated to Cupid, the Roman god of love.
Read more about this topic: Petrarch's And Shakespeare's Sonnets
Famous quotes containing the words shakespeare and/or lovers:
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