366 poems mostly about Laura, the love of Petrarch's life. Laura is married. Petrarch is a priest. There is no record that they ever spoke or that Laura had ever even noticed the poet. He speaks of cupid's role and makes puns with her name which is close to gold and a Spring breeze in Latin. Despite this, the poems keep keep a serious air to them. Laura's death does not end the string of poems. Petrarch is torn between knowing that she is in heaven adding her perfection to paradise and saddened [...]

With you, dear Internet, I can be brutally honest: I was not in the market for a volume of Petrarch's poetry. Beyond the few sonnets I had read in classes scattered throughout my liberal arts education, this master of the early Italian Renaissance did not make the short list, or even the long list, of poets I intended to investigate further. No, I must admit that I was entirely seduced by Dean Nicastro's lovely cover art, which graces the new David Young translation of Petrarch's Canzoniere, put [...]

"Creatures that are in life of such keensightThat no defence they need from noonday sun,And others dazzled by excess of lightWho issue no abroad till day is done,And, with weak fondness, some because 'tis bright, Who in the death-flame for enjoyment run,Thus proving theirs a different virtue quite-Alas! of this last kind myself am one;For, of this fair the splendour to regard, I am but weak and ill- against late hoursAnd darkness gath'ring round- myself to ward. Wherefore, with tearful eyes of f [...]

I enjoyed these 366 canzonière in which the Italian poet Petrarch literally and figuratively waxes poetic about Laura de Noves back in fourteenth-century Italy and France, during the Papacy's captivity/residence at Avignon. As her facial expression pities him, he lyrically swoons over her chasteness and beauty, bestowing the conduit of Nature's awesome characteristics through her. Like a chivalric hero, he adores an unobtainable damsel, esteeming her refusal to act dishonorably were she to retu [...]

Poets like Petrarch, who lived in times that savored technical virtuosity and skill at fulfilling strict formal rules more highly than our own does, can suffer badly in modern translations. They’re often either brought over into contemporary blank verse, or straitjacketed into meters and rhyme schemes that are dead to modern ears. David Young’s translations of the Canzoniere—all 366 of 'em—are remarkable for the way they succeed at combing Petrarch’s medieval Italian into direct demoti [...]

I really enjoyed reading the Canzoniere in his translate version. The pure poetry of Petrarca is one of the best things in all italian history. Since i know the italian idioma I enjoy reading the original form for free on streaming. You can read it for free in streaming right here. I really advice everybody to give a shot to the italian version. Literally beautiful. yeerida/it/read/francehope you enjoy my advice.

Petrarca or Petrarch was an Italian scholar, poet, and an all-around Renaissance man. To me, Renaissance Italy is the most beautiful period of all. Probably this is why I feel such a deep connection and love towards my favorite city, Florence as well. This 14th-century poet if often referred as the “father of humanism” and was one of the first people to call the Middle Ages the Dark Ages.Petrarch’s most passionate works were created because of his deep love for “Laure”. A woman who he [...]

This is a lovely translation with an informative introduction. Surprisingly (to me), my issue with the work is not with Young, but with Petrarch. He was a skilled poet, but an extraordinarily repetitive one. By my guess, 340 of the poems in this volume are about Laura (including a disquieting one about the time he tried to take one of her gloves and how angry he was when she took it back). Her hair is described many many times in disappointingly few ways (I imagine that Laura is one of the most- [...]

Yes, this is another book I read for my Gender in Literature class. This book is incredibly difficult to read because it is about a guy with an obsession for a woman he cannot get. I did not enjoy this book because I found it creepy how this man could fetish over this woman's eyes, hair, and clothes, but never speak a word to her. In my modern way of thinking, Petrarch is a creep who needs to get a hold of himself. He was going after a lost cause! Though I did not think so many happy thoughts of [...]

only read the introduction, really good, and some of the work itself.I read Petrarch in French decades ago and loved him so much. Was trying to get reacquainted with him in English. This translation is probably good, but it is a bit too modern for me, it does not do it, i can't feel the romantic ambiance I got when I read it in French.

I love this book because of the person who gave it to me. However, I didn't connect with Petrarch as a poet. I found a lot of the poems really dreary. I'm sure a lot was lost in translation as well. My favorite poem was the one describing a sunset; the footnote explained Petrarch wrote it to accompany a gift of chocolates. Candy and poetry, what a guy!

I've always loved Petrarch. This is a wonderful translation, and it's great to read the poems all together like this. It paints a well-rounded and touching picture of the evolution of Petrarch's feelings.

Ok so I haven't actually read this book but I have read a handfull of Petrarch's poems (translated). He seems kind of depressing but as far as I can tell with the translations he definitely is a great word crafter!

I'm sure much nuance is missing because, despite the competence of the translator, we do not get the same impression. Despite this, I can see Petrarch's brilliance as a poet.

This poetry is so lovely. It's quite sad, but really impressive too. Petrarch is pretty consistent, despite carrying his love for Laura over 30 years, even after her death. I recommend it.

Fortunately the introduction and some notes helped out with being able to understand a majority of the poems. Not bad. Towards the end they tended to get a bit repetitive, however.

What a writer

I took a course on Petrarch in college. His poetry about Laura is especially interesting. If you like classical romantic poetry, I recommend Petrarch.