6 most important WORKS of PETRARCA

In this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to talk about the most important works of Petrarch (1304-1374), one of the parents of the Humanism. Petrarca, stood out for his intense work as a philosopher, philologist and, above all, as a writer. In fact, throughout his life he wrote countless works in prose and verse, both in Latin and in the vernacular. Among all, they highlighted: Africa (1338-1339), By viris ilustribus (1337), Of lonely vita (1346-1356), Secretum (1347-1353), Song book (1470) and Epistolare collectionss. If you want to know more about these works by Petrarca, keep reading!

Petrarch He is considered one of the great writers in history and, from a very young age, he showed great interest in letters. Bequeathing us approximately thirty works written in verse, in prose, in Latin and in the vulgar language. Among which the following stand out.

Africa, 1338-1339 (poetry in Latin)

It is an epic poem in the classic style in which it is narrated the Second Punic War (218 a. C.), having as protagonists a villain and a hero. The first is the Carthaginian

Hannibal Barca and the second is the roman Publio Cornilio Scipio. In this poem, above all, the continuous praise of the ancient splendor of Rome and the deeds of Scipio's army against the Carthaginian invader stand out.

By viris ilustribus, 1337 (prose in Latin)

In this work Petrarca collects the biographies of great historical figures, through which he tells us the history of Italy (following the model of The Lives of the Twelve Caesars of Suetonius). In this way, the Italian narrates the life of the founder of Rome, Romulus, that of the emperors of Rome until Nero, that of Adam wave of Hercules.

At first, this book was incomplete and the person in charge of finishing it was Lombardo della Seta, who extended the biographies of the emperors to Trajan.

Of lonely vita, 1346-1356 (prose in Latin)

In this religious treatise, Petrarch emphasizes various moral and religious issues from a secular perspective, such as: asceticism, solitude, meditation, monastic life, soul salvation or spiritual perfection. Thus, our author recommends leading a solitary life but from meditation, study or reading and not from religiosity.

Secretum 1347-1353 (Latin prose)

In this work, Petrarca captures a fictitious dialogue between himself and San Agustin, under the witness of the Roman goddess Veritas. Thus, throughout three books, the Italian speaks to us about various issues:

• Book 1: Saint Augustine explains to Petrarca what he must do to obtain the tranquility of the soul.
• Book 2: Petrarca exposes and analyzes what he considers to be his vices: lust, greed or pride.
• Book 3: The author tells us about what he considers his two passions: love and glory for Laura. Which, he considers to be those that do not allow him to obtain balance.

Song book, 1470 (poetry in the vulgar language)

This poem is the most important work of Petrarca and in it he narrates (in the first person) his unconditional love Towards his beloved Laura. Throughout a few 300 sonnets, He tells us about the development of his idyll and the immense pain that Laura's death causes him (In morte di modanna Laura), which becomes his guardian angel and the one capable of leading him to God.

On the other hand, it should be noted that this work also contains poems in which he talks about religion (Alla Virgine), politics (Italy mine) and moral.

Epistolary collections (prose in Latin)

This book is made up of a whole series of epistles o autobiographical letters, ordered chronologically and arranged in two large blocks:

• Relatives, Seniles and Sine nomine liber
• Varieae

In all of them, Petrarca, captures an idealized image of himself.

Ultimately, all of Petrarch's literary work reflects a great influence of the style of the classical works. In addition, in them he defends that the man should be the center of attention, captures us idealized love towards the woman, he tells us about himThe values ​​that should define the individual (virtue, justice, honesty) and the vices that must be avoided to achieve balance.

Finally, in his work Song book lays the foundations of a new literary genre, the Petrarchan songbook, that spread throughout the entire Renaissance.

Petrarca (1304, Arezzo- 1374, Padua) lived during the Late Middle Ages (11th-15th centuries), a historical period that is characterized by being on the way between the Middle Ages and the Modern Age /Humanism, that is to say, the world of Petrarca was a world in full change and in which our protagonist emerged as a main actor.

Today, he is recognized as one of the fathers / promoters of humanism, and as such, various contributions Among which stand:

1. Rediscovery of the works of the classical world: In his work as a philologist and translator, he was responsible for rescuing great classical works from authors such as Tito Livio, Pompio Mela, Cicierón and Plato.
2. The defense of a humanistic education: Throughout his life he defended the studia humanitatis (the study of letters), the intellectual freedom, open access to the classics to everyone, the creation of public libraries and an education delivered in a language that most people understand.
3. The construction of a new philosophical ideal: Petrarca understood philosophy as a discipline that should be at the service of the human being and he defined it as"the art of living"That is, as a tool that allows the individual to understand his world and that provides dignity and virtue through knowledge.
4. The balance between paganism and christianity: He defended the idea of that both worlds had to be reconciled and not to confront, since, the knowledge of the classics could improve to the Christianity.
5. Defense of vulgar languages: He promoted the use of the vernacular or vulgar language so that knowledge would reach a greater number of people. In fact, his masterpiece, Cancionero, is written in Italian.