Rating: 
Summary: the master's stumbling block
Review: By any Earthly measure, Petrarch was a genius. Father of Humanism, Philosopher, Diplomat, Poet, Theologian...these are all terms we can fling at his ghost. Yet what make of this obsession, this idolatry?Musa's rendition sings with the music of the sphere's--let no one fool you on that score. I doubt that these 366 little songs could suffer too badly at anyone's hands, but my money's with Musa in English. Moving right along and back, what do we make of this? Time and again Petrarch tried to make these verses seem a vulgar trifle in the greater scheme of things. His actions give the lie to this. He revised them continually over the span of his life. They could not possibly be more polished. His spiritual life stumbled upon this altar. He wrote as much to Augustine in his secret book. One feels that his art about Laura impaired him far more than the real Laura ever did. What to make of this?
Rating:
Summary: The timeless beauty of words
Review: Francesco Petrarch was born in 1304, in a small Italian town called Arezzo. When he turned 22, he became a priest, and one year later, on April 6, 1327, he fell in love with a beauteous young woman, whose name was Laura. Petrarch loved her all his life and kept loving her even after her death. He was not only a great poet, but also a traveller and a nature-lover. The Canzoniere is Petrarch's masterpiece. In Italian, this book was called 'The Book of Songs'. The main theme of most of the poems is his love for Laura and for Glory. The image of Laura that Petrarch created was new for the literature of that time, he called her not an airily untouchable creature (as Dante labelled his Beatrice), but an earthly real woman, loved by all. The Canzoniere was the book that began the new way of literature that became popular amongst the poets of the Gothic world and of the early Renaissance. I liked this book, because, as I mentioned, Petrarch had a different characterization for his beloved- for him she was a woman from this sinful Earth, and not a celestial angel. Many people think that Petrarch emulated Dante, but that is not true. You have to read Petrarch's poems to understand the difference between the two poets.
Rating:
Summary: In League with Dante!
Review: I know for a fact that my statement at the title is verily a bold one; hence, Dante was a master when it came to the Italian language and its intricate and delicate nature. However, Petrarch must also be considered to one of those true masters of poetry ;and in his own right should therefore also be seen as a true man of letters/scholar/learned man. This is very true in this book, i.e., Petrarch: The Canzoniere, or Rerum vulgarium fragmenta by Mark Musa (Translator), et al. Petrarch here shows that he has a uncanny ability to play and shape words and sentences; and by doing so form wonderful stanzas that brim with life. I agree with a previous reviewer whom wrote the following: "His poems are full of sensuousness, intoxication and oblivion. The vivacious character of Laura will be remembered forever. This book has myriad's of different feelings in it. I think everyone will love these vivid and melodious poems."
Rating:
Summary: essential to western poetry
Review: Musa's translations preserve all the brilliant visionary beauty & humble humanness of Petrarch's voice. & where would western literature be without Petrarch? He was one of the main people to bring Europe out of the Middle Ages.
Rating:
Summary: essential to western poetry
Review: Musa's translations preserve all the brilliant visionary beauty & humble humanness of Petrarch's voice. & where would western literature be without Petrarch? He was one of the main people to bring Europe out of the Middle Ages.
Rating:
Summary: essential to western poetry
Review: Musa's translations preserve all the brilliant visionary beauty & humble humanness of Petrarch's voice. & where would western literature be without Petrarch? He was one of the main people to bring Europe out of the Middle Ages.
Rating:
Summary: significant, significant
Review: Petrarch was a very important, influential figure in european history, & this book offers authoritative translations of his lyric poems. In fact, Mark Musa did so well translating the poems that sometimes the english sounds better than the original italian. With this bilingual edition you can look at both as they face each on the pages.
Rating:
Summary: significant, significant
Review: Petrarch was a very important, influential figure in european history, & this book offers authoritative translations of his lyric poems. In fact, Mark Musa did so well translating the poems that sometimes the english sounds better than the original italian. With this bilingual edition you can look at both as they face each on the pages.
Rating:
Summary: Finally a good English Petrarch!
Review: This edition of Petrarch's Canzoniere (trans. Mark Musa) is the best English rendering I have seen. Durling's edition, while useful in different ways (I would certainly reccommend both to anyone seriously interested in Petrarch), doesn't provide translations that are nearly as poetic or comfortable as these. Musa's experience from translating Dante's Divine Comedy and Vita Nuova, Boccaccio's Decameron, and even, previously, portions of Petrarch's Canzoniere, definitely shines through here - Musa knows his way around the Italian greats, and it shows in this translation.
Rating:
Summary: Finally a good English Petrarch!
Review: This edition of Petrarch's Canzoniere (trans. Mark Musa) is the best English rendering I have seen. Durling's edition, while useful in different ways (I would certainly reccommend both to anyone seriously interested in Petrarch), doesn't provide translations that are nearly as poetic or comfortable as these. Musa's experience from translating Dante's Divine Comedy and Vita Nuova, Boccaccio's Decameron, and even, previously, portions of Petrarch's Canzoniere, definitely shines through here - Musa knows his way around the Italian greats, and it shows in this translation.
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