Introduction

 

Francesco Petrarch was born on July 20th in the year of 1304. He is from Arezzo, Italy. He died in the year of 1374 on July 19th, a day before his birthday. He is known as the father of humanism, an Italian scholar, as well as. Poet in Renaissance. Although the Renaissance period did not start until 1374, Petrarch was the baseline of this movement. Petrarch’s father was Pietro di Parenzo di Garzo. Garzo was Chancellor of the Commission for the reformers. Dante Alighieri was a friend of his father. By Dante having a relation with his father, Petrarch saw this as amazing. Therefore, he looked up to Alighieri as an influence. He also had Virgil as. His literary model. Because Alighieri focused on moral philosophy, Petrarch did also. He started his first works by studying Latin literature instead of law like his father. He published his first work in the mid 19th century. This work was entitled Africa. In his first work, he talked about the origins of Rome along with its Roman general, Scipio Africanus.Most of Petrarch’s later works were also about unraveling Italy’s past and deciphering the works of famous gods and generals. Among side Petrarch was another amazing author, Giovanni Boccaccio. These two worked together and established a completely different way of thinking for Italy. Despite the fact that Petrarch was the father of humanism movement, he was also the creator of lyrical poetry and poetry of affection. One day Petrarch went to church and fell in love with a woman named Laura. Laura was already married so she refused him his entire life. In his poems, he expressed his feelings for her. An example of this would be “her presence causes me unspeakable joy”. Although he is known as the father of humanism or the father of Renaissance, Francesco Petrarch gave Italy a more intellectual way of thinking, as he opened the doors of many brains through his work. He created a new way of expressing feelings and opening up instead of being uptight.

 

English Translations of Books, Poems and Letters

1) The Canzoniere

2) Familiar Letters

3) Seniles

4) Secretum

5) Trionfi

6) Bucolicum Carmen

7) Africa

8) The Tale of Griselda 

 

click the link below

 

http://petrarch.petersadlon.com/his_writings.html

 

 

Books about the Author:

Petrarch: Poet and Humanist

By Kenelm Foster

Petrarch's Eight Years in Milan

By Ernest Hatch Wilkins

Petrarch's Later Years

By Ernest H. Wilkins

Petrarch's Poetics and Literary History

By Marguerite R. Waller

The Petrarchan Sources of La Celestina

By A. D. Deyermond

The Site of Petrarchism

By William J. Kennedy

Petrarch's Genius 

By Marjorie O'Rourke Boyle

Petrarch

By Henry Reeve 

 

 

Links For Online Sources:

 

 

Biography:

http://www.biography.com/people/petrarch-9438891

 

http://www.britannica.com/biography/Petrarch

 

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/petrarch

 

http://petrarch.petersadlon.com/bio.html

 

 

Time Line:

http://petrarch.petersadlon.com/timeline.html

 

 

Translated Poems:

http://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Italian/Petrarchhome.html

 

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/180728

 

http://www.sonnets.org/petrarch.htm

 

Works Cited

"Academy 2012 Petrarch and the Renaissance: How to Cope with Fortune." YouTube.      

        YouTube, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2015.

Livingston, Arthur. "Lectures on the World’s Best Literature Italian Literature." Bartleby. Bartleby, 1993-2015. Web. 20 Sept. 2015. <http://www.bartleby.com/library/course/25.html>. 

Sadlon, Peter. "Francesco Petrarch: Biography." Francesco Petrarch and Laura Denoves. N.p., 10 Sept. 2007. Web. 20 Sept. 2015. <http://petrarch.petersadlon.com/bio.html>. 

"Petrarch and the Sonnet." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2015.

"Ser Petracco." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, May 2015. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ser_Petracco>. 

Whitfield, John Humphreys. "Petrarch." Britannica. Britannica, 26 May 2015. Web. 12 Sept. 2015. <http://www.britannica.com/biography/Petrarch>.