Laura
By Petrarch
Translated by Pierre F. Goodrich
Again with gladsome feet Zephyr returns
Mid grass and flowers, his goodly family
And Procne chatters, Philomela mourns,
While Spring comes forth in all her finery.
The meadows laugh; the skies are bright and fair,
And Aphrodite wins the smile of Jove,
While full of passion is the earth and air
And every creature turns his thoughts to love.
For me, alas! these vernal days are shorn
Of all delight and laden with the sighs
Which from my heart’s recesses she hath torn
Who bore its hopes and pangs to Paradise!
Till birds and flowers and woman’s graces mild
To me are but a desert, stern and wild.
mild To me are but a desert, stern and wild
Summary of Laura
- Popularity of “Laura”: “Laura” by Petrarch, a classic Italian poet, is a very good piece about love. Although this is just a single sonnet, Petrarch wrote a whole collection in the memory and love of Laura. The unique beauty of these sonnets lies in their direct approach and idyllic setting that Petrarch creates for his beloved.
- “Laura” As a Representative of Love: Petrarch opens the sonnet with reference to Zephyr that is the breeze of spring. He personifies Zephyr as if it has life and emotions of its own and it comes to meet the grass and flowers. The swallow and the nightingale become happy at the arrival as they welcome Spring. Meadows and skies, too, become happy, while other creatures turn to love to celebrate their happiness at the arrival of this pleasant weather. However, it is quite saddening that when all the birds and flowers are blooming and celebrating the arrival of spring and are involved in their lovemaking, he does not find this intensity of love in his woman, Laura. He rather feels that all his days are devoid of happiness and are full of sorrows.
- Major Themes in “Laura”: Arrival of spring, happiness at the pleasant weather, and unrequited love are three major themes of this sonnet. The poet starts this arrival of spring with the arrival of Zephyr, the wind of spring that makes everything happy including flowers, nightingales, and swallows. However, the poet does not receive his love as his beloved Laura seems frigid. She does not respond to him in any way. He feels that his love is still required, though, all other animals and even flowers are happy after having received love.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used In “Laura”
literary devices bring symmetry and order in poetic outputs. Petrarch has also used some literary devices in this poem whose analysis is as follows.
- Allusion: It is a device that refers to something, person, or idea of historical importance as the poet has alluded to personified classical weather elements such as Zephyr, Procne, Jove, and Philomela.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /o/ in “Mid grass and flowers, his goodly family” the sound of /a/ in “And Aphrodite wins the smile of Jove” and the sound of /e/ in “Of all delight and laden with the sighs.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /g/ and /f/ in “Mid grass and flowers, his goodly family”, “Of all delight and laden with the sighs” and the sound of /w/ in “Till birds and flowers and woman’s graces.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
For me, alas! these vernal days are shorn
Of all delight and laden with the sighs
Which from my heart’s recesses she hath torn
Who bore its hopes and pangs to Paradise!
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Petrarch has used imagery in this poem such as “Mid grass and flowers, his goodly family”, “Of all delight and laden with the sighs” and “Who bore its hopes and pangs to Paradise!”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different in nature. The poet has used metaphors of Zephyr, Procne, and Philomela. Zephyr has been compared to a lady, Procne to a woman, and Philomela to a mourning woman.
- Personification: The poet has personified Zephyr, meadows, and spring as if they have life and emotions of their own.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows symbols of vegetation, seasons, and love to show his intensity of love.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Laura”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction and Tone: The poem shows the use of classical allusions as personifications. The tone, however, is tragic as well as jubilant.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem shows the use of the ABAC DEDE FGFG rhyme scheme.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. The sonnet has two stanzas, an octave, and a sestet.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “Laura” are appropriate to use when quoting about the significance of happiness in life during motivational lectures.
The meadows laugh; the skies are bright and fair,
And Aphrodite wins the smile of Jove,
While full of passion is the earth and air
And every creature turns his thoughts to love.
