Paper Summary:

The paper looks at one of Francesco Petrarch's most challenging poems, his "Sonnet 126" or "Canonziere". The paper examines the form and structure of Petrarch's poem and suggests that the work is, at least in part, inaptly named: it is not really a "sonnet" at all as such an item is characteristically defined. At the same time, while it is possible this writer has overlooked something, it is not clear how the "Canzoniere" can really be called a "canzone," either. Rather - again, in this writer's view - the poem appears to be a derivative of the canzone style, adopting some of its features but not all of them. In any case, the paper points out that the basic premise of the song is much clearer: it is about love conquering death and about how innocence can be re-born through death. In a related vein, the paper discusses how the major images and metaphors in the poem concentrate upon precisely the idea of love as imperishable and, in so doing, touches upon the broad issue of how love can be a beautiful prison that binds men and women behind bars of their own making. The paper asserts that Petrarch's "Poem 126" is significant because it offers an illuminating look at his own soul and personal philosophies.

From the Paper:

"The following paper will look at one of Francesco Petrarch's most challenging poems, his "Sonnet 126" or "Canonziere". The ensuing pages will look at the form and structure of Petrarch's poem and suggest that the work is, at least in part, inaptly named: it is not really a "sonnet" at all as such an item is characteristically defined. At the same time, while it is possible this writer has overlooked something, it is not clear how the "Canzoniere" can really be called a "canzone," either. Rather - again, in this writer's view - the poem appears to be a derivative of the canzone style, adopting some of its features but not all of them. In any..."

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