Petrarch Laura Francesco Petrarch and Laura For a woman he would never know
For a woman he could never have
He should change the world forever
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Petrarch:The Canzoniere

Translated by: A.S.Kline
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Information on the sonnet is available here.
Looking for an analysis of a specific poem from the Canzoniere?
Read I go thinking an analysis of poem 264 by Holly Barbaccia.


ITALIAN ENGLISH
Se 'l sasso, ond'è piú chiusa questa valle,
di che 'l suo proprio nome si deriva,
tenesse vòlto per natura schiva
a Roma il viso et a Babel le spalle,

i miei sospiri piú benigno calle
avrian per gire ove lor spene è viva:
or vanno sparsi, et pur ciascuno arriva
là dov'io il mando, che sol un non falle.

Et son di là sí dolcemente accolti,
com'io m'accorgo, che nessun mai torna:
con tal diletto in quelle parti stanno.

Degli occhi è 'l duol, che, tosto che s'aggiorna,
per gran desio de' be' luoghi a lor tolti,
dànno a me pianto, et a' pie' lassi affanno.
If the rock by which this valley's closed,
from which its proper name is derived,
had through natural aversion turned
its face to Rome and its back to Babel,

my sighs would have a gentler path
to follow to where their hope's alive:
now they scatter, and yet each arrives
where I commanded, and not one fails.

And once there they are received so sweetly,
as I can tell, that none of them returns:
staying in those regions with delight.

The grief is in my eyes, so that at dawn,
they are taken by such desire for that lovely land,
they grant me tears, and weariness for my feet.


Note:
The valley is Vaucluse: Babel, the Papal
Court at Avignon.


© Copyright 1999-2006
Peter Sadlon
Updated Sept 10th 2007

A Merentha Entertainment Project


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