04/10/11

NOTES

The sonnet is a lyrical form of poetry.

It originated in Italy. The most influential poet on sonnet was Petrarch. Petrarch’s sonnet model consisted of an octave and a sestet. The model was gradually transformed when it entered the British scene to adapt to the English language and British rhythm.

The progressive transformation was due to:

·      Sir Thomas Wyatt who mainly translated Italian sonnets from Italian into English (see handout);

·      Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, who first recognized the structure of Petrarch’s model into the typical structure of the Elizabethan sonnet consisting of three quatrains and a couplet. Surrey’s contribution to the sonnet is both thematical and structural. In a few words he tailored to the needs of the English language.

But the most creative and innovative sonneteer was Shakespeare.  He was able to reshape the typical conventions of the sonnet (courtly love poetry) to create something new.

“Passa la nave mia colma d’oblio”

The sonnet consists of 14 lines (is arranged into, is organized into).

In Petrarch’s sonnet the reader can recognized the typical structure of the Italian sonnet.

The first octave introduces the problem creating a comparison between the speaker’s life and a ship travelling in tormented seas, at midnight. The skipper is worried by the private thoughts that are so sad that it seems not to care even of the terrible weather condition. He sighs he was desires and hopes.

There follows the sestet where his pessimistic, sad mood are repeated: he weeps, he regrets life as well as the conditions of the weather puts his voyage at risk. In the ending tercet the speaker hides his feelings in the same way as he cannot see the stars. He seems unable to use reason and ever worse to be able to reach the harbor.

It goes without saying that there is an apparent analogy between the poet’s life and the voyage progress. Unfortunately, such life doesn’t sound easy but rather unveils difficulties, problems, torments that all together seem to make the poet unable to come to an autonomic solution of his pain.

QUESTIONS:

1.   How does the poet express the analogy between life and journey?

The analogy is express using specific term of boat as “vela, remo, sarte, porto”. Then he describes his boat that is traveling in terrible weather conditions.

2.   What’s the function of the weather condition?

The poet uses the weather to express the difficulties of life. In fact he uses word as “storm, damp wind, rain, fog, waves” to describe different situation of his life.

3.   How does the intelligent reader understand that the journey is only a pretense to speak about something else?

The reader understand that the poem is a metaphor of life because the poet tells about a dangerous voyage, his voyage and he speaks about his enemy, his boat, his eyes. It’s like he is saying that life is difficult and the time passes very fast.