Project Reflection

Melissa Birchfield
Honors 211 B
Beatrice Arduini
March 2021
Project Reflection: Petrarchan Sonnet from Laura’s Perspective
For my final project, I extended the themes that we have discussed in class—in particular
romance, reason, and the representation of women—in the examination of Petrarch’s
Canzoniere, which centers around his obsessive love for Laura. While Petrarch claims to have
met Laura in 1327 in the Church of Saint Claire in Avignon, scholars disagree on whether she
was a real person or not. Especially because Petrarch’s poetry noticeably downplays her actual
voice/presence, with more focus on the poet’s own conflicted psyche, the character of Laura has
lent itself to many interpretations.
With these ideas in mind, I composed my own sonnet in the Petrarchan style from Laura’s
perspective, giving a voice to the beloved instead of the lover. What would I feel if I were Laura
and someone had written these sonnets about me? How would I respond if I were a woman in
Petrarch’s era? How might I respond in modern times? In the following paragraphs, I share
more of the reasoning behind my decisions for what to include and how to convey Laura’s
voice, as well as a detailed description of my creative process.
In writing my poem, I used the Petrarchan sonnet form: 14 lines, with the rhyme scheme ABBA
ABBA CDC DCD. During my research and reading of the Canzoniere, it became clear that the
Petrarchan model is not well suited to the vocabulary and flow of the English language, as
opposed to the more lyrical and naturally rhyming Italian. In terms of rhythm then, I mainly
prioritized consistency within my own sonnet.
For the ideas conveyed in my poem, I relied on several sources of inspiration. First, I referred to
scholarly materials for various interpretations of Laura’s character. I also perused the Canzoniere
itself (A. S. Kline’s translation alongside the original Italian) for style and content, extracting
phrases to incorporate into my own language for greater connection to Petrarch’s work.
Aligning these findings with our course themes, I structured the main messages I wanted to
communicate in each stanza, then arranged these ideas into lines with rhythm and rhyme.
I begin with Canzone 44’s imagery of a veil protecting Laura from Love’s darts. This symbolism
closely associates my Laura to the virtues of marital affection. My Laura is distressed, even
disgusted, by the irrational excess of the Petrarch-persona’s love which she deems lust,
hearkening to Dante’s Inferno 5. His outpouring of emotion is especially aggravating to her
because it necessarily implicates her no matter how far she removes herself. The “in vita e in
morte” sections of the Canzoniere make clear this inability to separate herself from his presence.
My Laura expresses skepticism about the sincerity of Petrarch’s remorse given that he freely
pens this poetry for a public audience. He does choose to write in the less elevated vernacular
and laments his youthful folly—I draw upon Canzone 1’s descriptions of his “vagrant
youthfulness” and the shame which stems from vanity—but the fact that he spent decades on
this extensive and popular work seems (according to my Laura) to belie his stated intentions.
To convey Laura’s frustration with Petrarch’s pursuit, I imitate Petrarch’s allusions to the
Daphne and Apollo story, which is fitting not only in regard to unwanted romantic advances
but also in connection to the laurel tree. I tie in scholarly interpretations of Laura as a metaphor
for literary success suggested by wreaths of laurel leaves; I present this appropriation of Laura
for his own poetic prowess as another aspect that inflames Laura’s anger.
Such indignation echoes in Canzone 23, when an angered Laura-as-Medusa says, “Perhaps I am
not what you believe.” I incorporate this language as a poignant expression of how Petrarch’s
representation of Laura, along with the myriad interpretations of her character, is probably very
different from who she actually was in real life. I strive to convey the frustration that she would
feel to be misrepresented in so many different ways in the Canzoniere. I briefly mention some of
these representations based on my reading of the Canzoniere and other scholars’ work: Laura as
a divine figure (Petrarch several times refers to his beloved as a goddess), as Medusa (Gorgo)
who turns Petrarch to stone as an obstacle to God, or as a guide to religion akin to Dante’s
Beatrice as the Canzoniere ends with a prayer to the Virgin Mary.
Throughout my sonnet, I utilize language around sighs and tears, as well as the contrast
between hot and cold, or fire and crystal—these illustrate the depths of anguished love
throughout the Canzoniere. In addition, I noticed that Petrarch often searches for pity in his
beloved’s eyes; my Laura thus is exasperated by this constant plea when he does not afford her
the same sympathy that he expects from her.
I close my sonnet with a connection to our discussions of reason and love/lust. In Canzone 73,
Petrarch writes that “reason is dead / that held the reins,” so that nothing can oppose the
powerful desire that drives him. However, my Laura insists that his reason is not wholly dead
and urges him to let it take control of his soul again.
Sources
Falkeid, Unn. “Petrarch's Laura and the Critics.” MLN, vol. 127, no. 1, 2012, pp. S64–S71.
Feng, Aileen A. “‘Volto Di Medusa’: Monumentalizing the Self in Petrarch's Rerum Vulgarium
Fragmenta.” Forum Italicum, vol. 47, no. 3, 2013, pp. 497–521.
Grimes, Kristen, and Maria Marsilio. “Petrarch's Elegies for Mother and Beloved : Eletta, Laura,
and the Humanist's Pursuit of Poetic Glory.” Latomus, vol. 71, no. 1, 2012, pp. 161–175.
“Petrarch: The Canzoniere.” Translated by A. S. Kline. petrarch.petersadlon.com. 2007. Web.

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Melissa Birchfield

Project Reflection: Petrarchan Sonnet from Laura’s Perspective

“Petrarch: The Canzoniere.” Translated by A. S. Kline. petrarch.petersadlon.com. 2007. Web.

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