Similar to the rest of the poems in Il Canzoniere, the general theme in poem 132 is love. However, in this poem, Petrarca seems to question love and shows a sense of confusion regarding this feeling.

In Stanza I, Petrarca writes “If it’s not love, then what is it I feel?/But if it’s love, by God, what is this thing?” He is trying to make sense of this feeling, which seems difficult because he himself is uncertain of the answer. Being that love is such a complex matter, one is bound to feel every feeling every aspect of it, just like Petrarca. He then continues by making two metaphors. The first is love being good, but feeling pain from it. The second is love being bad, but enjoying the pain that it gives you. Here he is expressing his bitter-sweet love for Laura. Though it may bring him unruly pain and confusion, this pain and confusion is giving him the strength to continue loving her.

In Stanza II, Petrarca realizes that he is only bringing himself pain by continuing this love for Laura. He states “And if against my will, what good lamenting?” Here it’s as though he understands that there is no point in crying and feeling sad because there is nothing that he can do about it. Since she was married and had children, his overall love for her was forbidden. After, he acknowledges that he does not give heart “consent” to feel the way he feels. I, however, disagree with this statement because it seems to be contradicting. He has an obsessive love for a woman that he cannot have, yet does not give his heart consent to feel this way.

In Stanza III, Petrarca uses imagery to describe that he is conflicted in this matter. In other words, he is stuck on a small boat in the middle of the ocean without something to steer him. The “contrasting winds” are his emotions. It seems like he is playing tug-of-war with himself because he knows that he is madly in love with Laura, but he also knows that this love is not right. He knows that continuing to love her pains him, but it’s utterly impossible for him not to feel love for her.

In Stanza IV, Petrarca feels as though his world has turned upside-down. Since he has no idea what he is doing or feeling (“so light of wisdom”) and accepts that he is making a big mistake (“so laden of error”), he “shiver in midsummer, burn in winter.” In other words, he is confused and uses irony to describe this confusion. Petrarca also makes a double entendre by using the word laden. In this context, he used this word to explain that is making many errors, but it can also mean to load a ship. This “ship” relates to him being stuck on the boat in Stanza III and the boat being “loaded” with more feelings, errors, and baggage for being in love with Laura. The boat is coming heavier over time making it heavier for it, or Petrarca, to go in the right direction.