Customer Reviews

The Poetry of Petrarch

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Anyone who has followed the poet David Young's brilliant translations of Rilke through the years would probably agree that they are the best modern and specifically American English versions that we have of Rilke's work. And any fans of Petrarch, the great 14th-century Italian sonneteer, would probably agree that there has been a distinct absence of decent English Petrarch translations. Therefore, the combination of Young's translation abilities with this under-translated, under-appreciated Italian master -- this is a marriage made in... Paradiso...! In this one volume, one finds not just a selection, but all of the poems about Laura (the unrequited love of Petrarch's life) -- arguably the first truly personal poems, and perhaps the first modern poems, ever written, anywhere, by anyone. Young's translation preserves the tone and iambic pentameter of this early Renaissance poet, while bringing something distinctly modern and American and emotionally authentic to each poem. I.E., this is not a stale academic "literal" translation, nor does it assault the reader with bad, clunking English rhymes. It does what all the best translations have always done: It re-creates the immediacy and living beauty of another culture, literally breathing new life into words that might otherwise be inaccessible, for whatever reasons.

This book is a major achievement by one of the best translators, and poets, that we have in America. If you are not familiar with Petrarch, or David Young, a wonderful treat awaits you!

Dante was the hero of the great 20th century modernists: Pound, Eliot, Joyce, and Beckett. In describing the journey of a soul the great Italian poet created a coherent universe of beauty and meaning. Heirs to the French symbolists, the 20th century writers embraced the allegorical symbolism of The Divine Comedy with easy familiarity. The soul as envisioned by Dante was engaged in a journey of single motion: from the damnation of Original Sin to eventual Paradise through the office of Divine Love. As they lauded Dante they repudiated Petrarch, unable to discover a means to adequately value him. Petrarch is a poet of ambiguity. He writes about the heart's vagaries, the ambivalence of love, of life as process. Above all, he portrays the double motion of the soul, its coincident attraction to the earthly and the heavenly.

It is no surprise that Petrarch's most appreciative reader was Shakespeare who modeled his sonnets upon those written by the Italian master. The English playwright is equally ambiguous in his sonnets, unafraid to depict love as a learning process filled with frustration and failure. Petrarch spent 47 years rebuilding the labyrinth of his love for Laura, the unrequited object of his desire who died of the plague in 1348. The Laura Petrarch creates becomes, like Mary, an object of adoration. The cycle of poems popularly known as the songbook or Canzoniere contains 366 lyrics of beauty, subtlety and freshness. There are several good translations, each with their own special excellence. Mark Musa's translation of the complete lyrics is personal and poetic featuring the original Italian on facing pages. His imagery is the most muted amongst recent translations, the poetry down-to-earth and sensual. His annotations for each poem are copious and thoughtful, making them a helpful teaching tool.

Robert M. Durling created a facile and graceful prose translation of the lyrics that is literal and accurate, and filled with Petrarch's beautiful imagery. It conveys a superb understanding of the poetry, with the original Italian on facing pages making this experience of reading Petrarch probably the closest to the original.

David Young's translation has a freshness and beauty that is invigorating. Its immediacy of expression, its elegance and radiant imagery are quite contemporary in feeling, making the poet seem less remote and more understandable to a modern audience. Petrarch's musings as translated by Young have a concreteness that gives the lyrics the feel of skillfully rendered stream-of-consciousness verbal music. Its modernity is its greatest asset. Where the collection falls short is in the paucity of annotations and the complete lack of the original Italian lyrics. Other more complete translations are massive tomes. David Young's rendering is concise and easy on the arms. If all you need is Petrarch revisited in exquisite English verses this is the volume to get. If you need a more in-depth experience, either of the other translations will fill the bill.

Mike Birman

Who can not love Petrarch rich expressions, symbolic complexity, and his daring originality. The poetry of Petrarch is even beyond soul speak. A man's poetry that changed the world for the love of a woman...!

Here is another great work of poetry - highly recommended

A Romantic's Passion: The Tenth Muse

I was introduced to the poetry of Petrarch in a slim volume of selections from The Canzoniere, translated by Mark Musa. Beautiful, flowing, lyrical. When I saw this volume with the complete set, I bought. The difference in translations is like night and day! These are stiff, awkward, - more prose than poetry, with translations that appear to be by a medium level language student trying for an accurate word by word translation. After half a dozen tries to read them, I've given up at about verse 35.

Want beautiful Petrarch? Wait for the new Portable Petrarch with the complete set translated by Musa - due out sometime soon.

The only reason I bought Petrarch was that I was told by a professor that he founded the whole lovesick thing and invented the love sonnet. But this is a case of someone being famous for doing something first and not so much for doing it well. His poems are full of sick, but not of love; there is no feeling that translates into you as a reader, he just tells you how much he is in love and it stays academic and distant. Some of these poems are good but most I read and didn't absorb or feel effected by at all. I sold my copy and would recommend a library check out first- if you love him from sampling, then buy this, its a beautiful volume, good size and weight, well printed, it has every poem.