Canzone I
What should I do? what, Love, dost thou advise?Full time it is to die:And longer than I wish have I delay'd.My mistress is no more, and with her gone my heart;To follow her, I must needBreak short the course of my afflictive years:To view her here belowI ne'er can hope; and irksome 'tis to wait.Since that my every joyBy her departure unto tears is turn'd,Of all its sweets my life has been deprived.
How grievous is my loss;I know my sorrows grieve and weigh thee down,E'en as our common cause: for on one rockWe both have wreck'd our bark;And in one instant was its sun obscured.What genius can with wordsRightly describe my lamentable state?Ah, blind, ungrateful world!Thou hast indeed just cause with me to mourn;That beauty thou didst hold with her is fled!
Fall'n is thy glory, and thou seest it not;Unworthy thou with her,While here she dwelt, acquaintance to maintain.Or to be trodden by her saintly feet;For that, which is so fair,Should with its presence decorate the skiesBut I, a wretch who, reftOf her, prize nor myself nor mortal life,Recall her with my tears:This only of my hope's vast sum remains;And this alone doth still support me here.
Ah, me! her charming face is earth become,Which wont unto our thoughtTo picture heaven and happiness above!Her viewless form inhabits paradise,Divested of that veil,Which shadow'd while below her bloom of life,Once more to put it on,And never then to cast it off again;When so much more divine,And glorious render'd, 'twill by us be view'd,As mortal beauty to eternal yields.
More bright than ever, and a lovelier fair,Before me she appears,Where most she's conscious that her sight will pleaseThis is one pillar that sustains my life;The other her dear name,That to my heart sounds so delightfully.But tracing in my mind,That she who form'd my choicest hope is deadE'en in her blossom'd prime;Thou knowest, Love, full well what I become:She I trust sees it too, who dwells with truth.
Ye sweet associates, who admired her charms,Her life angelical,And her demeanour heavenly upon earthFor me lament, and be by pity wroughtNo wise for her, who, risenTo so much peace, me has in warfare left;Such, that should any shutThe road to follow her, for some length of time,What Love declares to meAlone would check my cutting through the tie;But in this guise he reasons from within:
"The mighty grief transporting thee restrain;For passions uncontroll'dForfeit that heaven, to which thy soul aspires,Where she is living whom some fancy dead;While at her fair remainsShe smiles herself, sighing for thee alone;And that her fame, which livesIn many a clime hymn'd by thy tongue, may ne'erBecome extinct, she prays;But that her name should harmonize thy voice;If e'er her eyes were lovely held, and dear."Fly the calm, green retreat;And ne'er approach where song and laughter dwell,O strain; but wail be thine!It suits thee ill with the glad throng to stay,Thou sorrowing widow wrapp'd in garb of woe.
Words in this poem 16
- irksome a.
- Wearisome; tedious; disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; as, irksome hours; irksome tasks.
- departure n.
- Division; separation; putting away. [From Depart.]
- rightly adv.
- Straightly; directly; in front. [AS. richtlice.]
- ungrateful a.
- Not grateful; not thankful for favors; making no returns, or making ill return for kindness, attention, etc.; ingrateful. South.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- saintly a.
- Like a saint; becoming a holy person.
- reft n.
- A chink; a rift. See Rift. Rom. of R.
- viewless a.
- Not perceivable by the eye; invisible; unseen.
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- admired a.
- Regarded with wonder and delight; highly prized; as, an admired poem.
- angelical a.
- Belonging to, or proceeding from, angels; resembling, characteristic of, or partaking of the nature of, an angel; heavenly; divine. [L. angelicus, Gr. angélique.]
- demeanour n.
- Management; treatment; conduct. [For demeanure, fr. demean. See Demean, v. t.]
- clime n.
- A climate; a tract or region of the earth. See Climate. [L. clima. See Climate.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- garb n.
- External appearance, as expressive of the feelings or character; looks; fashion or manner, as of speech. [OF. garbe looks, countenance, grace, ornament, fr. OHG. garawi, garwi, ornament, dress. akin to E. gear. See Gear, n.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canzone I is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, the various hands translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Petrarch, Canzone I, in The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems (1859), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petrarch-sonnets/canzone-i.html, id L14840.
Form and metre
Canzone I is 81 lines in 7 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.6 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 24% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter, other poems in blank verse.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 6 --------AA- charms · angelical · earth · wrought · risen · left · shut · time · meA · tieA · within
- 7 -------A--A----- restrain · uncontroll'd · aspires · dead · remains · alone · lives · ne'erA · prays · voice · dearA · retreat · dwell · thine · stay · woe
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| What should I do? what, Love, dost thou advise? | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Full time it is to die: | 6 | ······ |
| And longer than I wish have I delay'd. | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| My mistress is no more, and with her gone my heart; | 12 | ·/˘········· |
| To follow her, I must need | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Break short the course of my afflictive years: | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| To view her here below | 6 | ······ |
| I ne'er can hope; and irksome 'tis to wait. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Since that my every joy | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| By her departure unto tears is turn'd, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Of all its sweets my life has been deprived. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| How grievous is my loss; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I know my sorrows grieve and weigh thee down, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| E'en as our common cause: for on one rock | 10 | ··//˘····· |
| We both have wreck'd our bark; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And in one instant was its sun obscured. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| What genius can with words | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Rightly describe my lamentable state? | 10 | /˘˘/·˘/˘˘· |
| Ah, blind, ungrateful world! | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Thou hast indeed just cause with me to mourn; | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| That beauty thou didst hold with her is fled! | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Fall'n is thy glory, and thou seest it not; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Unworthy thou with her, | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| While here she dwelt, acquaintance to maintain. | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| Or to be trodden by her saintly feet; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| For that, which is so fair, | 6 | ······ |
| Should with its presence decorate the skies | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| But I, a wretch who, reft | 6 | ······ |
| Of her, prize nor myself nor mortal life, | 10 | ·····/·/˘· |
| Recall her with my tears: | 6 | /····· |
| This only of my hope's vast sum remains; | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| And this alone doth still support me here. | 10 | ··˘/··˘/·· |
| Ah, me! her charming face is earth become, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Which wont unto our thought | 7 | ····/˘· |
| To picture heaven and happiness above! | 10 | ·/˘/·/˘˘·· |
| Her viewless form inhabits paradise, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘· |
| Divested of that veil, | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| Which shadow'd while below her bloom of life, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Once more to put it on, | 6 | ······ |
| And never then to cast it off again; | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| When so much more divine, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And glorious render'd, 'twill by us be view'd, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| As mortal beauty to eternal yields. | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| More bright than ever, and a lovelier fair, | 10 | ···/······ |
| Before me she appears, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Where most she's conscious that her sight will please | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| This is one pillar that sustains my life; | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| The other her dear name, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| That to my heart sounds so delightfully. | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| But tracing in my mind, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| That she who form'd my choicest hope is dead | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| E'en in her blossom'd prime; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Thou knowest, Love, full well what I become: | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| She I trust sees it too, who dwells with truth. | 10 | ·········· |
| Ye sweet associates, who admired her charms, | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/·· |
| Her life angelical, | 6 | ······ |
| And her demeanour heavenly upon earth | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| For me lament, and be by pity wrought | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| No wise for her, who, risen | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| To so much peace, me has in warfare left; | 10 | ·······/·· |
| Such, that should any shut | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The road to follow her, for some length of time, | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| What Love declares to me | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Alone would check my cutting through the tie; | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| But in this guise he reasons from within: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| "The mighty grief transporting thee restrain; | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| For passions uncontroll'd | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Forfeit that heaven, to which thy soul aspires, | 11 | /˘·/····˘/˘ |
| Where she is living whom some fancy dead; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| While at her fair remains | 6 | ····˘/ |
| She smiles herself, sighing for thee alone; | 10 | ··˘//˘··˘/ |
| And that her fame, which lives | 6 | ······ |
| In many a clime hymn'd by thy tongue, may ne'er | 10 | ·/········ |
| Become extinct, she prays; | 6 | ˘/˘/·· |
| But that her name should harmonize thy voice; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| If e'er her eyes were lovely held, and dear." | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Fly the calm, green retreat; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And ne'er approach where song and laughter dwell, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| O strain; but wail be thine! | 6 | ······ |
| It suits thee ill with the glad throng to stay, | 10 | ·········· |
| Thou sorrowing widow wrapp'd in garb of woe. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.