Andrea Furlan, 6th October 2011

 

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF THE PETRARCHAN SONNET PASSA LA NAVE MIA COLMA D’OBLIO

The poem Passa La Nave Mia Colma D’oblio is a Petrarchan sonnet written in the typical form of the Italian sonnet, consisting of fourteen lines divided into an octave and a sestet. The title of the poem coincides with the first line of the poem, so the reader understands that it is a part of a collection. Beside, the use of the words “nave” and “oblio”, belonging to two different semantic fields, announces that the poem is based on an analogy between a sea voyage and the poet’s own grieves.

The sonnet is about a voyage the narrating voice undertakes in a winter day, at midnight, while the sea is tormented. The ship is steered by the enemy of the narrating voice, and this enemy seems to be completely uninterested about the storm. The weather is windy, rainy and foggy and the shrouds are all loose, so the narrator finds himself full of doubts and unable to take any decision. He cannot also see the stars and as a consequence he begins to give up his hopes of reaching the harbour.

The poet uses the voyage as a pretest to talk about his life, so there is an analogy between the bad weather conditions and the problems the poet has to face as he spends his life. This intention is underlined by the use of words describing human feelings and reactions, such as “sospiri”, “desio”, “lagrimar”, sdegni”, together with other words relating to sea, navigation and weather conditions, such as “remo”, “vela”, “pioggia” and the like. For example, in the expressions “pioggia di lagrimar” or “nebbia di sdegni”, the denotation of a natural phenomenon with human terms is meant to let the reader know that the focus is on the poet’s emotions, and not on the actual voyage. What’s more, wind, rain and fog are the representation of the poet’s sighs, tears and doubts, while the poet’s reason is symbolized by the ship. There are also some sound devices, such as the use of harsh words like “aspro”, “scherno” and “sdegni”, which highlight the difficulty of the voyage and of the poet’s life.

The poet often uses the possessive adjectives “mio” and “mia” that stress the impossibility of getting rid of the harms which trouble him, since they are a part of his life. The evocation of monsters like Scilla and Cariddi from the Greek mythology does add meaning to the fear of the narrating voice not to reach a place far from the tempest. Moreover, the fact that the ship is governed by an enemy symbolizes the enslavement of the poet’s reason to the enemy’s control.

Knowing that this sonnet is a part of the Petrarchan collection Canzoniere, it is easy to understand that the poet’s enemy is love and the phrase “duo miei dolci usati segni” refers to Laura’s eyes, which have been shut by death.