Wyatt's "My Galley" is meant to be an English translation of the Petrarchan Rima that appears below. See the page "Pairing Poems" for an example of one of Petrarch's original poems in Italian. Notice what similarities and differences exist between the ones below. How does Wyatt's poem reflect the concerns of his time? What similarities and differences does it have with the original?
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Petrarch, Rima 189 (cs. 14th century)
A Modern Prose Translation
My ship laden with forgetfulness passes through a harsh sea, at midnight, in winter, between Scylla and Charybdis,[MJ 36] and at the tiller sits my lord, rather my enemy;
each oar is manned by a ready, cruel thought that seems to scorn the tempest [SH37] and the end; a wet, changeless wind of sighs, hopes, and desires breaks the sail; a rain of weeping, a mist of disdain wet and loosen the already weary ropes, made of error twisted up with ignorance. My two usual sweet stars are hidden; dead among the waves are reason and skill; so that I begin to despair of the port. 189. ‘Passa la nave mia colma d’oblio’
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[MJ 36] Scylla and Charybdis: an idiom meaning “to choose between two evils” referring to Greek mythology
[MJ 37] oblivion: to be completely unaware or unconscious of a current situation [CH35] eke-manage to support oneself or make a living with difficulty. or obtain or create, but just barely. [SH37] tempest - a violent windy storm |