Customer Reviews

Petrarch: The Canzoniere, or Rerum vulgarium fragmenta

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While there are other good translations of selections from the Canzoniere, Petrarcch's masterpiece needs to be read as a whole from start to finish in order to be fully appreciated. Petrarch planned and rewrote these poems in order to fit into an overall plan.
Usually I skip introductions to works that I read but I read the first paragraph of the extensive introduction and was quickly drawn in. This introduction was actualy a helpful prologue to the poetry which descibed Petrach's styles and intentions.
A blurb on the book cover says that Musa's treanslations read so well that you are unaware that they are translations. I certainly agree. I do not read Italian but this edition does conain the originals on the adjacent side.
I was surprised at the modernity and musicality of the poems. Petrarch was not just inflouential in his versification but also in his language. Much of his humanistic language has become second nature to us but he invented it.
I rank this book as not only some of the graetest poetry but as one ofthe great works of Western llterature.
These "little songs" are highly readble and like a said before form a sort of novelistic story that I would highly recommend to not just poetry readers but all readers.

This edition of Petrarch's Canzoniere (trans. Mark Musa) is the best English rendering I have seen. Durling's edition, while useful in different ways (I would certainly reccommend both to anyone seriously interested in Petrarch), doesn't provide translations that are nearly as poetic or comfortable as these. Musa's experience from translating Dante's Divine Comedy and Vita Nuova, Boccaccio's Decameron, and even, previously, portions of Petrarch's Canzoniere, definitely shines through here - Musa knows his way around the Italian greats, and it shows in this translation.

Petrarch, an Italian poet in the early 1300's, had a major influence on English literature in the 16th and 17th centuries. In a series of sonnets that became known as Canzoniere, Petrarch focused on his idea of love based on the sighting of a woman named Laura in a church. Though she was married, Petrarch confessed his love to her but was rebuked each time. With his love unreturned, he channeled that energy into his poetry and instead of trying to persuade Laura, his poetry idealizes and describes the concepts related to beauty. The poetry of the "lover" to the "beloved" describes Laura with "godly" attributes. The beloved is a woman who has an angelic appearance and a certain grace in her mannerisms. Physically, the beloved has blonde hair, blue eyes and pale white skin with red cheeks. She is radiant in appearance and can strike a man's heart in seconds. In addition, Petrarch's writing mechanics influenced the style in which future poems were written. Petrarch's poetry also followed a distinct meter, usually an octave scale. Petrarch's deliberate style and notion of beauty found in his sonnets set a new standard for writing.

Sidney, Spencer, and even Shakespeare were familiar with, and heavily influenced by, Petrarch's work. Other English poets like Henry Howard and Sir Thoms Wyatt tried to translate Petrarch's poetry. In order to understand this entire time peroid, one should go back to the roots and read the original. Mark Musa's translation includes the original Italian version as well as an excellent English translation. My professors also use this book because the translations stay as close to the original as possible. Though something is always lost in translation, these poems feel as if they are whole, and should be read as one long story. Musa's critical notes at the end of the book provide excellent insight into Petrarch's style, form and meaning. This is a great version of the Canzoniere and I highly recommend it.

In addition to one of the finest translations, Musa provides much useful background information. He includes a chronological table that comprises when the poems were written and times when the events occurred in Petrarch's live. The notes and commentary, not footnoted but located separately from the poems in a chapter at the end of the book, are detailed descriptions about the poems and its allegories. Musa tells readers about the name "Laura" and its connection to the laurel. Through the various explanations of Italian lyrics, readers learn how to differentiate between various poetic genres. The book also has the original Italian text as well as the English translation, so that readers can compare them. It is a great way to learn how to read Italian. Another important feature is the works cited because scholars can seek the same readings that Musa used for his book. And also, the index of the first lines is very helpful when one remembers a few beginning words of the poem and wants to know where it is located in the book. This edition is a must for anyone who collects the works of Petrarca.

Petrarch was a very important, influential figure in european history, & this book offers authoritative translations of his lyric poems. In fact, Mark Musa did so well translating the poems that sometimes the english sounds better than the original italian. With this bilingual edition you can look at both as they face each on the pages.

Musa's translations preserve all the brilliant visionary beauty & humble humanness of Petrarch's voice. & where would western literature be without Petrarch? He was one of the main people to bring Europe out of the Middle Ages.

By any Earthly measure, Petrarch was a genius. Father of Humanism, Philosopher, Diplomat, Poet, Theologian...these are all terms we can fling at his ghost. Yet what make of this obsession, this idolatry?

Musa's rendition sings with the music of the sphere's--let no one fool you on that score. I doubt that these 366 little songs could suffer too badly at anyone's hands, but my money's with Musa in English.

Moving right along and back, what do we make of this? Time and again Petrarch tried to make these verses seem a vulgar trifle in the greater scheme of things. His actions give the lie to this. He revised them continually over the span of his life. They could not possibly be more polished.

His spiritual life stumbled upon this altar. He wrote as much to Augustine in his secret book.

One feels that his art about Laura impaired him far more than the real Laura ever did. What to make of this?