Sicilian School - Style and Subject-matter

Style and Subject-matter

Though the Sicilian School is generally considered conventional in theme or content it rather "stands out for his refined lexicon, near to the style of trobar clus and for the wise treatment of figures of speech and metaphors of stylnovistic taste taken from natural philosophy" (Cesare Segre). There is a visible move towards neoplatonic models, which will be embraced by Dolce Stil Novo in the later 13th century Bologna and Florence, and more markedly by Petrarch. Unlike the Northern Italian troubadours, no line is ever written in Occitan. Rather, the Occitan repertoire of chivalry terms is adapted to the Siculo-Italian phonetics and morphology, so that new Italian words are actually coined, some adapted, but none really loaned. A most famous specimen is Io m'aggio posto in core by Giacomo da Lentini, who apparently inspired the movement. Giacomo da Lentini is also widely credited by scholars (as Francesco Bruni, Cesare Segre et al.) for inventing the sonnet, a literary form later perfected by Dante and, most of all, Petrarch. He uses it in a number of poems. We quote here the most famous that probably inspired the whole school:

Io m'aggio posto in core a Dio servire,

com'io potesse gire in paradiso,

al santo loco c'aggio audito dire,

o' si mantien sollazzo, gioco e riso.

sanza mia donna non vi voria gire,

quella c'ha blonda testa e claro viso,

che sanza lei non poteria gaudere,

estando da la mia donna diviso.

Ma no lo dico a tale intendimento,

perch'io pecato ci volesse fare;

se non veder lo suo bel portamento

e lo bel viso e 'l morbido sguardare:

che 'l mi teria in gran consolamento,

veggendo la mia donna in ghiora stare.

Translation:

I have a place in my heart for God reserved,

So that I may go to Heaven,

To the Holy Place where, I have heard,

People are always happy and joyous and merry.

I wouldn't want to go there without my lady

The one with fair hair and pale complexion,

Because without her I could never be happy,

Being separated from my lady.

But I do not say that with blasphemous intent,

As if I wanted to sin with her:

If I did not see her shapely figure

And her beautiful face and tender look:

Since it would greatly comfort me

To see my woman shine in glory.