Petrarch

Francesco Petrarca, the person in the picture on my blog page, was an Italian scholar and poet who invented the Petrarchan sonnet. He lived in the Renaissance times (14th century) and dedicated his poems to a noble lady named Laura (thus, “To Laura”), whom he saw for the first-time at mass in Avignon one day. His theme depicts the deep love and admiration for a woman – which is a parallel to the love of God (Poetry Foundation).

His father wanted him to be a lawyer so he studied law briefly but abandoned it for literature and the clerical life (and his father did not like it, of course). He traveled Europe exploring the Greek classics, rediscovered Cicero’s letters, and shared his love of poetry with another Italian humanist, Boccaccio (Poetry Foundation).

Petrarch’s example shows me the value of following one’s heart despite oppositions. The world may be against you but God is on your side. Joel Osteen says, “God and you are the majority.” Today, Petrarch is considered one of the icons of poetry; his ideas and the Petrarchan sonnet as a poetic form is contained in major textbooks and dictionaries on poetry. I had an opportunity to write a Petrarchan sonnet in my poetry collection this semester.

He wore a crown of laurel leaf as he received the title of “poet laureate” in Rome (Poetry Foundation).

Work Cited

Poetry Foundation. “Petrarch.” Poetry Foundation. http://www.poetryfoundation.org.