We just got done with Jacob's juries. He sang while I played. It went really well and I think he passed! Yay my awesomely beautiful voiced husband :) I'm very proud of him.
I am sitting here (being distracted by my blog) finishing my last essay for the semester in Continental European Literature! You may all find it boring to know that it is a four to six page essay comparing and contrasting the way Francis Petrarch deals with the loss of his ideal love for a woman named Laura when she died and the way that Dante Alighieri handles the death of his ideal love for a woman named Beatrice who also died. I think this may be my first post about a book review!
For those of you readers who are still interested and didn't know, Petrarch was a master Sonnet writer in the 1300's. He did not, as many people think, invent the sonnet, rather he perfected it. He has inspired countless writers through the generations including Shakespeare who created his own sonnet pattern. A Petrarchan sonnet follows a very specific pattern of rhyming and iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme is
A
B
B
A
A
B
B
A
(Volta)
C
D
C
D
E
D
You can also change the last six stanza's to several different variations such as CDE CDE or CDC CDC. It just depends on what is working for the poem. Now, one more short lesson before I actually get to the point, a Volta, which you see in the middle of the rhyme scheme, is a turn or shift in the tone or meaning of the poem. This can be a transition from a depressing feel to a more hopeful tone or even bringing a new idea that hadn't been mentioned in the octave before. Now that I've bored you with literary nonsense, I will inform you that I have actually written a sonnet of the Petrachan form this semester. I normally won't publish my more serious writings on my blog because "once published online, there's no hope to be published in a book." :) But I highly doubt this one would ever get published anywhere. Tell me if you catch the Volta.
My
Sorrowful Sonnet
I
lie here on my bed alone, mourning for you,
the
one I had once and lovingly cherished
but
lost through my foolish youth. You, who I neglected.
I
remember well the warnings of my mother who
told
me, “You’d better pay attention and do
all
that is required, or I’ll put it to an end!”
I
held you tight in my arms and halfheartedly listened.
If
I had but heeded her warning, oh wo!
I
cried as I watched your long, orange, white, and black
hair
stick out the holes of your carry-on crate.
You
reached for me with your small, white paw,
and
I longed for you, but couldn’t take you back,
for
I had done my job of cleaning your sandy piss too late.
You’re
off to the pound, leaving me here without your “meow.”
Yeah, it's not the best, but it's kind of fun! Mine don't even compare to Petrarch's about his love for Laura.
Poem 61 from The Norton Anthology of Western Literature
Poem 61 from The Norton Anthology of Western Literature
Blest be the day, and blest the month and year
Season and hour and very moment blest,
The lovely land and place where first possessed
By two pure eyes I found me prisoner;
And blest the first sweet pain, the first most dear,
Which burnt my heart when Love came in as guest;
And blest the bow, the shafts which shok my breast,
And even the wounds which Love delivered there.
Blest be the words and voices which filled grove
And glen with echoes of my lady's name;
The sighs, the tears, the fierce despair o love;
And blest the sonnet-sources of my fame;
And blest that thought of thoughts which is her own,
Of her, her only, of herself alone.
He's such a beautiful poet! In my essay, I talked about how Laura was actually a huge distraction for Petrarch from the path and love of God. His ideal love for her is more of a physical desire for comfort and love. He compares it to the story of Pygmalion in Ovid's Metamorphosis: "Pygmalion, how happy you should be / with our creation, since a thousand times / you have recieved what I yearn for just once!" (Sonnet 78). He describes in another poem how she is leading him into "the [snares] of / My bitter foe (Satan),"
Well, I think I've been long winded enough for one day. Maybe I'll continue the comparison with Dante's Divine Comedy tomorrow. But on the plus side, I'm now done with my essay! 5 beautiful, complete pages. Sorry there's no pictures today and it was mostly just boring ranting! But thanks for reading if you got to this point without falling asleep :) I'll visit everyone's blogs tomorrow since I'm officially done with my finals!
