Sonnets from Petrarch's Canzoniere
Sonetto XX
Vergognando talor ch' ancor si taccia,
Donna, per me vostra belleza in rima,
ricorro al tempo ch' i' vi didi prima,
tal che null' altra fia mai che mi piaccia;ma trovo peso non da le mie braccia,
né ovra da polir coll mia lima;
peró l'ingegno che sua forza estima
ne l'operazion tutto s'agghiaccia.Piú volte giá per dir le labbra apersí
poi rimase la voce in mezzo 'l petto:
ma qual son poria mai salir tant' alto?Piú volte incominciai di scriver versi,
ma la penna et la mano et l'intelleto
rimaser vinti nel primier assalto.
At times, ashamed that I do not speak in rhyme, Lady, about your beauty, I recall the time when I first saw you, such that there will never be another who pleases me;but I find a weight that is not for my arms, a work not to be polished with my file; therefore my wit, judging its strength, becomes all frozen in its workings.
Many times already have I opened my lips to speak, but then my voice has remained within my breast: but what sound could ever rise so high?
Many times have I begun to write verses, but my pen and my hand and my intellect have been vanquished in the first assault.
(translated into prose by Robert M. Durling, Petrarch's Lyric Poems,54)
Question:
- How has Laura affected the speaker's wit, his speaking abilitiy, and his literary creativity? Explain.
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