Sonnets from Petrarch's Canzoniere
Sonetto CLXXXI
Amor fral'erbe una leggiadra rete
D'oro e di perle tesse sott'un ramo
Dell'arbor sempre verde ch' i' tant'amo
Benché n'abbia ombre piú tristeche liete.
L'esca fu 'l seme ch'egli sparge e miete,
Dolce et acerbo, ch' i' pavento e bramo:
Le note non fur mai, dal dí ch'Adamo
Aperse gli occhi, sí soavi e quete.
E 'l chiaro lume che sparir fa 'l Sole
Folgorava d'intorno; e 'l fune avolto
Era a la man ch'avorio e neve avanza.
Cosí caddi a la rete; e qui m'han cólto
Gli atti vaghi e l'angeliche parole,
E 'l piacer e 'l desire a la speranza.
Love made a snare, a beautiful device
woven of gold and pearls, and this he laid
twined in the grass, under the sorrowful shade
of the laurel tree to which I sacrifice.4 Sweetmeats were strown theren, of greatest price,
though bitter at the core. I took them unafraid.
Ever unearthly-lovely music played,
Unheard since Adam's hour in Paradise.
8 The radiance of her eyes outdid the sun,
transfiguring the earth in a holy blaze.
Then with her ivory hand she twitched the rope!
And so I fell in the net, and was undone12 by her angelic words, her darling ways;
also by pleasure, by desire; by hope.
Notes: In the ancient world a crown of laurels was the prize for literary greatness. In "sacrificing" (line 4) himself to this pursuit, the speaker is showing a tendency for "self-centeredness, self examination, and torturing introspection. His love for Laura turned his thought at least tempororaily outward, to an object outside himself" (Bishop,154). In this poem a trap of desire is set by Laura, to catch the speaker's attention. It also should be pointed out that Petrarch is obviously making a pun: the speaker is abandoning the pursuit of the "laurel" (poetic achievement) for a new inspiration, the lovely "Laura."(Translated into poetry by Maurice Bishop, Petrarch and His World, 53-4)
Questions:
How does the speaker describe the physical characteristics of Laura in this poem? (at least three details are required)
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