BACKGROUND
Poetry during the 16th century was not a static art form. Many poets wrote them as ways of responding to other artists and to political issues prominent at the time. One thing that you’ll notice about the pairings that I’ve provided is that most poems also, in some way, comment on the role of the poet and his poetry (as you will notice by our readings, there are few female poets at this time; due to social strictures associated with gender, it was the rare woman indeed who was able to publish). Poetry was believed to have a didactic function during this time and it was considered an art. You’ll notice that all of the poets that we read are not only playing with rhetoric and language, but are questioning the function of certain poetic forms. We will primarily focus on sonnets, though you’ll see with Queen Elizabeth I’s writings that poetry took multiple forms and prose was also common. In three of these pairings, the poet(s) is translating (or we might even say responding) to one of Petrarch’s sonnets (they’re all translated into prose, but you’ll see that I’m also including a more contemporary poetic translation by A. S. Kline). Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca, 1304-1374) wrote during the Italian Renaissance and was read by a number of poets in England. I will put one of his originals below so that you get a sense of the poetic schema:
Original
Quando fra l'altre donne ad ora ad ora Amor vien nel bel viso di costei, quanto ciascuna è men bella di lei tanto cresce 'l desio che m'innamora. I' benedico il loco e 'l tempo et l'ora che sí alto miraron gli occhi mei, et dico: Anima, assai ringratiar dêi che fosti a tanto honor degnata allora. Da lei ti vèn l'amoroso pensero, che mentre 'l segui al sommo ben t'invia, pocho prezando quel ch'ogni huom desia; da lei vien l'animosa leggiadria ch'al ciel ti scorge per destro sentero, sí ch'i' vo già de la speranza altero. |
Translation
13. ‘Quando fra l’altre donne ad ora ad ora’ When from hour to hour among the other ladies Love appears in her beautiful face, by as much as their beauty is less than hers by so much the desire that en-amours me grows. I bless the place, the time, and the hour in which my eyes gazed to such a height, and I say: My spirit, give thanks enough that you were then found worthy of such honour. From her to you comes loving thought, that leads to highest good, while you pursue it, counting as little what all men desire: from her comes that spirit full of grace that shows you heaven by the true way’: so that in hope I fly, already, to the heights. © Copyright 2002 A. S. Kline, All Rights Reserved [http://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Italian/PetrarchCanzoniere001-061.htm] Copied from Poetry in Translation 21 Sep 2015.
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Petrarchan sonnets operated on a number of conceits, which we’ll discuss in class. Consider how the poets that write translation/adaptation of Petrarch’s sonnets change the meaning. The subject matter remains consistent but the presentation and purpose differ.
What we're reading
Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542) wrote “Whoso List to Hunt” and introduced the sonnet (a 14 line poem in iambic pentameter) into English, using Petrarch’s sonnets as inspiration. Edmund Spenser (ca. 1552-1599) also does a translation, though in a different style. He consciously set out to become a great poet and artist and, to an extent, used his poetry to explore what that would mean. He deliberately uses antique language, so think about the effect that that has on the experience and meaning of his sonnet; also, consider his rhyme scheme and how it differs.He was interested in antique language and Consider the connections between gender identification and the role of the individuals in the poem, and think about how Wyatt’s commentary on love differs from that presented by Petrarch.
Henry Howard (1517-1547) wrote “The Soote Season” as a translation of one of Petrarch’s sonnets. He was posthumously published along with Sir Thomas Wyatt, and was known for introducing the English sonnet as a distinct form: three quatrains ending in a couplet; iambic pentameter; and a set rhyme scheme (abab cdcd efef gg). This form was later used by William Shakespeare. Howard was the last beheaded by King Henry VIII, which is why he was only 30 year old when he died. Again, consider the distinct differences between his “translation” and Petrarch’s original. What do such suggest about the time periods and/or cultural values of the respective places that each wrote?
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Again, we have a Wyatt translation of a Petrarchan sonnet. Wyatt was a diplomat in the court of King Henry VIII, so he traveled frequently and those travels are said to have influenced his writing. Consider the symbolism associated with the galley in this poem and how that relates to the translation of the original Petrarchan sonnet.
Edmund Spenser and William Shakespeare (1564-1616) wrote not too far apart, though they’re known for very different styles. Spenser also wrote the heroic poem The Faerie Queene, which we will be reading next week. Shakespeare is a name more commonly heard. He was known more for his drama than his poetry, though we will be exploring both in this class. His early sonnets in his sonnet sequence were written to a young man (or lover), but question poetry, art, time, love, and age. Consider both the similarities of these two poems and their differences. What do they suggest to you about the artists who wrote them?
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