Petrarch's Fragmenta: The Narrative and Theological Unity of Rerum Vulgarium Fragmenta

Description

Petrarch's Rerum vulgarium fragmenta, a collection of lyric  poems on sacred and profane love and other subjects, has traditionally been viewed as reflecting the conflicted nature of its author. However, award winning author Thomas E. Peterson argues that Petrarch’s  Fragmenta is an ordered and coherent work unified by narrative and theological structures. By concentrating on the poem’s reliance on Christian tenets and distinguishing between author, narrator and character, Peterson exposes the underlying narrative and theological unity of the work. Building on recent Petrarch scholarship and broader studies of medieval poetics, poetic narrativity, and biblical intertextuality, Peterson conducts a rigorous examination of the Fragmenta’s poetic language. This combination of stylistic and philological analysis recasts Petrarch’s poetry in a new light revealing its radically innovative and liberating character. Cover Title Page Copyright Page Contents Introduction 1. Historical Context and Poetic Form 2. Temporality and Desire (Rvf 22–100) 3. The Language of Tears (Rvf 92–122) 4. In fresca riva: Landscape and History (Rvf 125–183) 5. The Penitent Lover (Rvf 184–263) 6. Songs of Grief and Lamentation (Rvf 264–318) 7. Songs of Consecration (Rvf 319–366) Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index