Concetti Chiave
- The sonnet was invented by Giacomo da Lentini in the 13th century and refined by Dante and Petrarch, becoming a model for European poets with themes like unrequited love.
- Sir Thomas Wyatt introduced the sonnet to England, adapting Petrarch's form into a quatrain and couplet, which marked a significant evolution in its structure.
- Petrarchan sonnets consist of an octave and sestet with a rhyme scheme of ABBA ABBA CDC DCD, while Shakespearean sonnets have three quatrains and a couplet with rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.
- Both sonnet forms feature a "volta" or turning point, usually at the 8th line, and are rich in oxymora; English sonnets often include conceits and paradoxes.
- Wyatt's "I find no peace" mirrors Petrarch's "Pace non trovo," highlighting the poets' struggle with unrequited love and the emotional turmoil it causes.
Indice
The sonnet
The sonnet was invented by Giacomo da Lentini in the 13th century, later refined by Dante and Petrarch. His masterpiece, il Canzoniere, established its importance and became a model for the European poets. It contains features, like: love sought, love satisfied and the desire for a lady who doesn't return his love. Petrarch's Canzoniere deals with his love for Laura, a courtly love. Petrarch feels contrasting sensations, according to the presence or absence of the lady.Later the sonnet was introduced in England by Sir Thomas Wyatt and Earl Henry Howard. During the last decades of Elizabethan age, many poets started writing sonnets and most of them were named after a woman. This typical Petrarchan tradition became popular especially in England because of Queen Elizabeth I, who was referred to by poet as "Cynthia" and "the Faerie Queen".
Thomas Wyatt
Thomas Wyatt is one of the most popular Elizabethan sonneteers and was a courtly poet, who lived during the reign of Henry VIII. He was arrested in prison because probably he had a love affair with Anne Boleyn, obviously before she got married with the king. He was the first to introduce the sonnet in England. This is significant, because at that time the form was already two centuries old. He maintained Petrarch's octave but he transformed the sestet to a quatrain and a couplet: the effect was revolutionary.
Main differences between the Petrarchan and the Shakesperean sonnets
They both have 14 lines of iambic pentameter, but are divided into two different ways. The Italian one is divided into two sections: an octave, that usually shows a problem, and a sestet, solves and clarifies the situation. The English sonnet presents instead three quatrains, that present a theme, and a couplet (two lines), which draws a conclusion.The rhyme scheme of the Italian sonnet is ABBA ABBA CDC DCD or CDE CDE, while the English one is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. At the 8th line, both sonnets have a turning point or "volta" and the 9th line is often introduced by words like "and, if, so, but" + "then" and "when" in the Shakespearean one.
As far as the language is concerned, they're both full of oxymora (contrasting image, like "living death") and the English sonnet shows also conceits (elaborate images that surprise the reader) The paradox characterises the English sonnets, because for example the lady is beautiful yet cruel, she's desirable but chaste, and the love for a woman often turns into love for God. Themes are quite the same, Love, beauty and faith + art, for the English one.
Analysis of "I find no peace" by Wyatt and "Pace non trovo" by Petrarch
"I find no peace" is almost a translation of "Pace non trovo", that was written two centuries before. The poets don't find peace because their love for a lady is too strong and it causes contrasting emotions like pain. They love a woman that can't return their love back, because she's married or promised to another man. They're confused and agitated; love won't let them being free. The first quatrain of "I find no peace" shows contradicting feelings (line 4), in the second one Wyatt describes the helplessness of love (line 8) and in the third one we can poet's mental agitation (line 11). The couplet presents the oscillation of feeling in love (line 13). The poet delineates the nature of love as something that could make a person feel sorrow, pain, joy and confusion at the same time.Domande da interrogazione
- Chi ha inventato il sonetto e come si è evoluto nel tempo?
- Quali sono le principali differenze tra i sonetti petrarcheschi e quelli shakesperiani?
- Chi era Thomas Wyatt e quale fu il suo contributo al sonetto inglese?
- Quali sono i temi principali trattati nei sonetti di Wyatt e Petrarca?
- Come viene descritto l'amore nei sonetti "I find no peace" di Wyatt e "Pace non trovo" di Petrarca?
Il sonetto è stato inventato da Giacomo da Lentini nel XIII secolo e successivamente perfezionato da Dante e Petrarca. È stato introdotto in Inghilterra da Sir Thomas Wyatt e Earl Henry Howard.
Entrambi hanno 14 versi in pentametro giambico, ma il sonetto italiano è diviso in un ottava e un sestetto, mentre quello inglese ha tre quartine e un distico. I loro schemi di rima e l'uso della "volta" differiscono.
Thomas Wyatt era un poeta elisabettiano che introdusse il sonetto in Inghilterra, mantenendo l'ottava petrarchesca ma trasformando il sestetto in una quartina e un distico, creando un effetto rivoluzionario.
I temi principali includono l'amore non corrisposto, la bellezza, la fede e l'arte. Entrambi i poeti esprimono emozioni contrastanti come dolore e gioia attraverso l'amore per una donna.
L'amore è descritto come una forza che provoca emozioni contrastanti e dolore. Entrambi i poeti esprimono l'agitazione mentale e l'incapacità di trovare pace a causa di un amore non corrisposto.
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