Class Description
Petrarch (1304-1374) is Italy's greatest and most influential humanist and lyric poet. As a humanist, he is celebrated for the revival of classical antiquity. The sonnets from his "Canzoniere" provided a model for stylish, elegant, and eloquent love poetry for the Western lyric tradition.
Using Laura as inspiration, his collection of 366 lyric poems examine his emotions from the time he fell in love with her through her death. His poetry concentrates on the psychology of a poet in love and how the beloved inspired his poetic output.
We will analyze and discuss his "Ascent of Mont Ventoux" and " The Letter to Posterity," and place Petrarch the humanist in his historical context. We will then analyze and discuss 27 sonnets that provided poets a model for centuries, and how Petrarch used this poetic form to express his emotions as a man in love.
RoseAnna Mueller (Emeritus, Columbia College Chicago), has taught courses on the Italian Renaissance at Columbia College Chicago and at schools in Florence, Italy. Her work has appeared in Italica and Renaissance Quarterly.
Materials List
Required
- Digital Course Packet
First Reading
- Please read the Introduction pp. ix-xvviii-pp.21, found in the digital course packet.
Cost and Registration
Four sessions, $195 ($175.50 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.
To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.
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