Textuality » 4A Interacting
Passa la nave mia colma d'oblio
| MY galley chargèd with forgetfulness
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Passa la nave mia colma d'oblio per aspro mare, a mezza notte, il verno, enfra Scilla e Cariddi; ed al governo siede'l signore, anzi'l nimico mio; a ciascun remo un penser pronto e rio che la tempesta e'l fin par ch'abbi a scherno; la vela rompe un vento umido, eterno di sospir', di speranze e di desio; pioggia di lagrimar, nebbia di sdegni bagna e rallenta le già stanche sarte, che son d'error con ignoranza attorto. Celansi i duo mei dolci usati segni; morta fra l'onde è la ragion e l'arte: tal ch'incomincio a desperar del porto | MY galley chargèd with forgetfulness Thorough2 sharp seas, in winter nights doth pass 'Tween rock and rock; and eke3 mine enemy, alas, That is my lord, steereth with cruelness, And every oar a thought in readiness, As though that death were light in such a case.4 An endless wind doth tear the sail apace Of forcèd sighs and trusty fearfulness.5 A rain of tears, a cloud of dark disdain, Hath done the wearied cords great hinderance; Wreathèd with error and eke with ignorance. The stars be hid that led me to this pain. Drownèd is reason that should me consort,6 And I remain despairing of the port 1 Translated from Petrarch's Rime 189. 2 Through. 3 Also. 4 As though my destruction would not matter much. 5 Fear to trust. 6 Accompany.
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Petrarca is a poet of latin culture, while Wyatt is a poet of Anglo-Saxon culture.
From the comparison of this two sonnets we can understand that the Wyatt's sonnet is the translation of Petrarca's sonnet, both with the theme of forgetfulness. The two sonnets adopt the same structure, but they don't communicate the same feelings, because Petrarca tells a sense of confusion, while Wyatt tells a sense of quite, calm; he uses a lot of alliterations.
The both sonnets present the reflections of the two authors. The problem of Wyatt is the same of Petrarca's: they talk about the aim of life. The ship in Petrarca and the galey in Wyatt represent life itself. Even though the both authors talk about life, they choose different themes; they even use onomatopoeic words.
Petrarca in the first quatrain tells about his difficulties, comparing them to the troubles a seaman faces sailing through Scilla and Cariddi. Wyatt sostitutes the geographycal reference to Scilla and Cariddi with rhe alliteration of rock and rock. In his poem alliterations and repetitions give the sense of the difficulty of the voyage.
In the verse number 5 Petrarca focuses about the problematic situation, every motion of the oar corresponds to the way the poet tries to face the situation; the reader understands that the poet doesn't know how to face the problem.
In the verse number 7 of Wyatt the reader gets a more precise idea about the problems of the poet: each row is a rash thought.
In the verse number 6 Petrarca quotes the tempest meaning that he has got a lot of problems. There are a lot of different points of view in order to speak about his psicological problems.
In the verse number 8 Wyatt refers to death, because there aren't solutions to his problems. The poet uses an ossimoro (death-light). This use of language conveys to the poem the idea of confusion of the poet.
Eithe Petrarca or Wyatt continue their poems talking about their tears and the darkness they feel around them. Ignorance and error slow dowm their way. They have lost their direction; Petrarca says he has lost his signs, alluding to the stars, while Wyatt mentions them plainly.
Both despair to find the way back. That's to say both are afraid they won't be able to come out of their forgetfulness.