Author: Alanis Rodriguez

The Depiction of Love and Women

Throughout The Divine Comedy by Dante and Il Canzoniere by Petrarca, women and love are portrayed in very similar ways that intrigued me. During this course, I loved reading these particular texts because these authors’ portrayals of love and women were very enlightening and movie-like. They portrayed women as very delicate goddesses, which is my most preferable way to read about women. Growing up, I loved to read fairy tales about princesses falling in love and happily ever after. In these texts by Dante and Petrarca, they brought me back to my younger reading days, and they stuck with me a lot more because of that.

In The Divine Comedy, Dante writes and vividly describes his journey through hell in search to finally reach heaven. In Inferno, the poem about hell, he describes his path through the different circles of hell. He is guided by a Roman poet by the name of Virgil, who was sent to him by his love, Beatrice. Each circle represents a different sin. There was a circle for gluttony, wrath, heretics, and many more. However, before Dante entered the gates of Hell, he was unsure if he should do it or not. It was his love and devotion to see Beatrice that motivated him to take on his journey. Beatrice wanted him to take on this journey, so she along with two other women sent for Virgil. For instance, in Canto 2 of the Inferno, Beatrice states, “O Mantuan Shade, in courtesy complete, whose fame survives on earth, nor less shall grow through all the ages, while the world hath seat; a friend of mine, with fortune for his foe, has met with hindrance on his desert way, and, terror-smitten, can no further go, but turns; and that he is too far astray, and that I rose too late for help, I dread, from what in heaven concerning him they say. Go, with thy speech persuasive him bestead, and with all needful help his guardian prove, That touching him I may be comforted. Know, it is Beatrice seeks thee thus to move. Thence come I where I to return am fain: my coming and my plea are ruled by love. When I shall stand before my Lord again, often to him I will renew thy praise.” This pledge from Beatrice shows how much she truly loves Dante and wants him to get guidance while he goes through hell. She said that she is coming to him out of love for Dante, which was very pure hearted. Dante then states, “When of these words she spoken had the last, she turned aside bright eyes which tears did fill, and I by this was urged to greater haste. And so it was I joined thee by her will. As flowers, by chills nocturnal made to pine and shut themselves, when touched by morning bright upon their stems arise, full-blown and fine; so of my faltering courage changed the plight, and such good cheer ran through my heart, it spurred me to declare, like free-born generous wight: alert in service, hearkening her true word! Thou with thine eloquence my heart has won to keen desire to go, and the intent which first I held I now no longer shun. Therefore proceed; thou art my guide, Lord, Master; thou alone!’ Thus I; and with him, as he forward went, the steep and rugged road I entered on.” Dante’s response was very heartwarming and sweet to read because he knew that it was destined for him to go on this trip because Beatrice wanted him to and because he knew that he had the chance to see her in the end. His love for her as well and Virgil and God made him determined to start and continue his journey. In addition, in Canto 5, Dante enters the Second Circle of Hell, which is for the sin of lust. Dante met a woman named Francesca da Rimini who he felt very sorry for because she gave into lust and desire. He mentioned how him and Beatrice’s love is chaste, which was virtuous and eventually led him closer to God. This was very significant to me because it proved how serious and deep Dante and Beatrice’s connection was, and it contrasted from the sinful love that Francesca gave into.

In continuation, Il Canzionere by Petrarca also had a very evocative depiction of love and women. In this story, the main theme is the many love poems/letters that Petrarca wrote for his love, Laura. In my opinion, his love for Laura was the strongest out of all the texts we have read. He had a very profound passion for Laura and it was very obvious while reading the poems. I was very intrigued and drawn into the poems about Laura because it radiates divine feminine energy. For example, in poem 90 of Il Canzoniere, Petrarca states, “She’d let her gold hair flow free in the breeze that whirled it into thousands of sweet knots, and lovely light would burn beyond all measure in those fair eyes whose light is dinner now. Her face would turn the color pity wears, a pity true or false I do not know, and I with all love’s tinder in my breast; it’s no surprise I quickly caught on fire. The way she walked was not the way of mortals but of angelic forms, and when she spoke more than an earthly voice it was that sang: a godly spirit and a living sun was what I saw, and if she is not now, my wound still bleeds though the bow’s unbent.” This poem is very crucial to the theme of love and it is a very vivid description of the way that Petrarca feels about Laura. When he talks about her eyes and her angelic forms, it makes women seem so delicate and fragile which I really enjoyed reading from a male perspective. During this course, I came to realize that from my experience, the way love was depicted in ancient literature was way deeper and more passionate than the way it is depicted in stories now. This was one of the reasons why I enjoyed continuing to read the texts in this course. All the elements and aspects are much more intense and even though at times it was hard to follow on, the passion from the authors always came through, and especially Petrarca. The Editors of the Encyclopedia Britannica did a summary on Il Canzoniere and made Laura a literary subject in their analysis. The Encyclopedia Britannica states, “The poems treat a variety of moods and subjects but particularly his intense psychological reactions to his beloved. Many of his similes, such as burning like fire and freezing like ice, beautifully stated in the sonnet beginning ‘I find no peace, and all my war is done,’ were to be frequently repeated by sonneteers of Elizabethan England and later became poetic cliches. Some of the poems express the very simple, human wish to be with her and to be treated kindly. After Laura’s death Petrarch’s poems continued on the same themes, expressing his sorrow and describing her to return to him in dreams.” This quote from The Encyclopedia is very important because it explains how captivating Petrarca’s tactics were in the poems he was writing about Laura. The quote even says that his similes were later on used by different poets and eventually his quotes became cliche because of how often they were being used. 

To conclude, The Divine Comedy by Dante and Il Canzoniere by Petrarca portray love and women in very similar and fascinating ways. Both authors have very strong characters and passion for the women they are idolizing and it made their texts way more intriguing to read and analyze. Their portrayal of love was like a fantasy in a fairytale, and the way they depicted women brought out their use of great vocabulary and literary tactics in their writing, which made those connections feel stronger. 

References: 

  • Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Laura”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Laura-literary-subject. Accessed 21 December 2021.
  • Petrarca, Francesco, and Mark Musa. Selections from the Canzoniere (Poem 90) Oxford [Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1999. Print.
  • Dante, Alighieri, and Mark Musa. Dante’s Inferno. Canto ll; Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1971.

Destiny/Fate in The Prince

In The Prince, Machiavelli uses very vivid examples and descriptions to support his point of view on how actions and destiny determine a prince’s success. In chapter 25, destiny refers to circumstances that are currently happening, which is not always in the prince’s control. Instead of taking the route that you should not work toward a particular outcome because all events are controlled by destiny, Machiavelli’s point of view in this chapter is that only half of human’s actions are controlled by destiny, and the rest is free will. Machiavelli believes that destiny is a set of circumstances that can lead to success or failure. He uses a river flood as a metaphor, stating that if the Italian princes had more suitable preparations, the “flood” of foreign invitations would not have swept over the unprotected country. Machiavelli implies that virtue is a natural quality that a prince cannot change, therefore if a prince is trying to change their actions to suit the time, they most likely will not because it is not in their nature. Machiavelli’s use of the word destiny was very notable because of the way it led to the rest of the story. When Lady Fortuna was mentioned, Machiavelli said that it is important to treat destiny like the woman she is and approach her with boldness.

Angela da Foligno: Step Fourteen

Angela Da Foligno’s story has amazing imagery that came through very strongly. In her story, she talks about the steps it took that made her closer to God. In my opinion, the step that had the best imagery was step number fourteen. Angela talks about how Jesus spoke to her and gave her a greater knowledge of himself. Angela states, “He summoned me and told me to place my mouth at the wound in his side; and it seemed to me that I was seeing and drinking his blood as it was freshly flowing from his side.” This particular quote from Memorial of Angela da Foligno was very significant to me because of how integrated the details were. After she drunk his blood, he told her that it was cleansing her, which is also another detail that was very notable because of how squirmy it made me. I also enjoyed how she told this as a story and explained the step by step process of how this gruesome event happened. It helps me as the reader create a scene and setting for the words on the paper, like a movie in my head.

Women Prevail in the Decameron

In Boccaccio’s writing, there are many themes that were brought to light. For me, the most significant was women. I love the way women were portrayed in his writing because I feel like it gave them an edge that they did not really get in Dante’s writing, nor Petrarca’s. Overall, his stories delivered different perspectives on women that I found intriguing to read about. On the third day, ninth story, we learned about Giletta. She is a wealthy young woman and also the daughter of a physician. She was separated from her love, Beltramo at an early age. When Beltramo’s father died, he was instructed to go to Paris and she never had a reason to go there. Even when she reached a marriageable age, she never forgot about Beltramo. Her love for him grew stronger when she found out he turned into the most handsome young man. When the news reached her about the King of France being very ill and not having a physician cure him, she was overjoyed. Now she had a real reason to go to France. 

Using her father’s techniques, she made a powder from particular herbs that she believed helped with the illness that the King suffered from, and she rode her horse to Paris. She used her looks and age to convey the King and show her the fistula from the badly treated tumor on his chest. As soon as she saw it, she immediately knew how to cure him. She told him that she will have him cured in eight days, but he did not believe her. He said it made no sense that this girl would do something that professional doctors couldn’t do. When he was about to dismiss her, she told him, “My lord, you despise my art because I am young and a woman, but let me remind you that I practice medicine not only with my own knowledge of Master Gerado of Narbonne, who was my father and a famous physician in his day.” The King said fine. She told him that if she does not cure him, he can have her burned. However, if she cures him, the King offers her a husband. When the King was cured, he stuck to his word and let her have Beltramo. This proves that Giletta was able to use her young beauty and skill to get what she wanted from the King. 

Additionally, on the fourth day, first story, the daughter of the Prince of Salerno, Tancredi, also did something similar. She was also a beautiful young lady who was very loved by everyone, especially her father. She secretly fell in love with a man named Guiscardo, her fathers valet, and wanted to find a way to meet him in secret. She wrote him a letter and gave him instructions on how to get to an abandoned cave. She put the letter in the hollow of a reed plant. When she gave him the letter, she stated, “Make a bellows of this tonight for your serving girl to keep the fire burning.” Once he read the letter, he felt like the luckiest man on Earth. The cave was hollowed out of a hill for a long time and it was lit by a small opening in the side of the hill. The cave had been abandoned for so long so it was covered by brambles and weeds. The cave can be reached by a stairway that is blocked by a strong door that no one knew how to open, so it was forgotten about. After days of the young lady trying to open the secret door in the cave, she finally opened it with the right tools. She was finally able to walk down the cave and see the outer entrance. She used the ladies-in-waiting to tell Guiscardo how to get there, and without hesitation and without anyone knowing, he made a rope with loops to climb into the cave, and he wrapped himself in leather skin to protect himself from the brambles, and waited down there for the lady to show up. This proves that in the Decameron, women prevailed and exploited men with graciousness when needed, which is not how women are typically portrayed. For instance, “The Ethical Dimension of the ‘Decameron’ states, “Many contemporary readers, believing that the right to secual freedom is inviolable and that control of one’s personal circumstances is supremely desirable, prefer seeing women like Ghita as “victims” or “heroes” and men like Tofano as “villians.” Moreover, many people now seem predisposed to side with a winner even when that winner is a clever manipulator of appearances.” This quote from Marilyn Migiel proves the stories written by Boccaccio portrayed women in a more prevailing manner, as they were able to use their personal skill or tendencies to get what they wanted. 

Citations:

Decameron Web | Texts. (n.d.). The Decameron: Day 3, Story 9. https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?myID=nov0309&lang=eng

Decameron Web | Texts. (n.d.). The Decameron: Day 4, Story 1. https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?myID=nov0401&lang=eng

Migiel, Marilyn “The Ethical Dimension of the Decameron” University of Toronto Press, 2015-09-02

Canzoniere 159: Goddess

In poem 159, there were very vivid descriptions of Laura. In the first stanza, Pertrarca questioned where in heaven nature took the model to obtain her lovely face and show her power down here with the rest of us. This description made the person who was being talked about seem respectable and of very high power. The way Pertracra made these words come together created a perfect visualization for me about what this woman looks like. After reading this stanza, I knew the theme was love and I wanted to analyze it because of that. I love the way love is depicted in this poem, particularly the preface. The next stanza starts to include words that have overall positive definitions. For instance, the word nymph. This word was used in Greek mythology to categorize any of a large class of inferior female divinities. Nymphs were associated with fertile, growing things, including water or trees. The usage of this word provided a wholesome and superior model of the woman. Also, the word virtues was used. The second stanza states “How did a heart collect so many virtues the sum of which is guilty of my death.” I love this line of the poem because it is a play on words. A virtue is a morally good trait or quality, and it is used in the poem as something that caused death which is not something virtues are morally capable of. However, he makes it seem that her qualities were so good, that they are capable of death. 

The next stanzas really depict the depth of Laura’s beauty and the way Petrarcra felt about her. He states that ‘if a man has not yet looked upon her eyes and seen how tenderly she makes them move.’ Before he proceeds to the next stanza, this stanza proves how strongly he feels towards Laura’s eyes, which is extremely significant. Before that, he also states that ‘who seeks for divine beauty seeks in vain.’ The usage of the word vain in this instance shows that even though someone might have a high opinion on her appearance, it should not affect their perspective towards her. To summarize, the last stanza states that this man does not know how love can heal as well as kill, if he did not know the sweetness of Laura’s speech, sighs, and smile. This final stanza really drew me to this poem because of how sweet but deep the message is. Petrarca describes Laura as a perfect goddess, but he also adds these undertones of death and guilt that added a different level of emotion to his feelings about her. As I read the poem, the love was so deep it kind of reminded me of Dante and Beatrice a little bit. I really enjoyed reading about the love that was depicted in The Divine Comedy and it is interesting to see the similarities and differences in that theme with Pertrarca. 

The depiction of Love in Inferno

In the Inferno, Love is depicted in many different forms. Dante’s motivation to make his journey through hell was because of the love Beatrice, who is in heaven, had for him. The reason why she left heaven was because she wanted Virgil to guide Dante through hell. (see Inf. 2, 133-142) Besides Beatrice, Dante’s startling journey through hell was continuously motivated by the love he had either for Vigil, Beatrice, or God. When Dante enters hell, he realizes that it was made by God himself. The love that God had was the force that organized hell and made Dante’s poem come to life.

There are various types of love that Dante goes through and provides in his poems. For instance, Francesca da Rimini was one of the people that Dante felt a lot of pity for. She gave into lust and desire. (see Inf. 5, 127-138) On the other hand, Dante and Beatrice had chaste love, which was virtuous and led him closer to God. He also included Sodomites in his vision of hell, which has to do with people who engage in homosexualiy. There were many sinners who Dante came across that pursued some type of bad love or desire rather than the love of God, which is what mattered to him the most. Myrrha, a figure from Greek mythology, is someone who had an excessive desire for her father. She is an example of many people in hell who have not loved their families or nations enough like the traitors in the ninth circle attest. 

The different perversions of love that Dante provides in the Inferno prove how strong the force of love is. The love he and Beatrice had for each other made him want to continue the frightening journey through hell which in itself is very valuable. When he got to hell, above the entrance, there was an inception that said “the power, and the unsearchably/high wisdom, and the primal love supernal.” This specified that hell was created by God. As Dante proceeded his journey, he felt pity for all the sinners who did not love the right way and who fell for lust and desire because he cherished the love of God. He realized that many of the sinners that were there went after a bad type of love or desire, which contrasted heavily in comparison to the love Dante and Beatrice had for each other.