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
Download them all in English or Italian
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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
Passer mai solitario in alcun tetto
non fu quant'io, né fera in alcun bosco,
ch'i' non veggio 'l bel viso, et non conosco
altro sol, né quest'occhi ànn'altro obiecto.

Lagrimar sempre è 'l mio sommo diletto,
il rider doglia, il cibo assentio et tòsco,
la notte affanno, e 'l ciel seren m'è fosco,
et duro campo di battaglia il letto.

Il sonno è veramente, qual uom dice,
parente de la morte, e 'l cor sottragge
a quel dolce penser che 'n vita il tene.

Solo al mondo paese almo, felice,
verdi rive fiorite, ombrose piagge,
voi possedete, et io piango, il mio bene.
No sparrow on a roof, or beast in a wood
was ever as lonely, since I cannot see
her lovely face, and recognise no other sun,
nor do my eyes seek any other object.

The height of my delight is always to weep,
laughter is grief, wormwood and gall my food,
my nights troubled, the clear sky dark for me,
and my bed a harsh battlefield.

Sleep, as men say, is truly allied to death,
and the heart derives from it sweet thought
that keeps it still alive.

In all the world only you happy, kindly land,
green flowering river-banks, cool shadows,
possess the good I weep for.


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

A Merentha Entertainment Project


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