Study Guide for Petrarch

Go here for a picture of Mount Ventoux

Petrarch's Familiares

Petrarch's Canzoniere

Information on Petrarch

Information on Renaissance humanism

Discussion Questions

"Ascent of Mount Ventoux," "Letter to Posterity," and "Letter to Homer."

• Why does Petrarch want to climb Mount Ventoux?  
• What does Petrarch do when he reaches the summit of Mount Ventoux?  What does he learn about himself?
• Compare Petrarch's experience at the summit of Mount Ventoux to Augustine's experience in the garden when he hears the children saying "pick up and read."  (Ignore this question if our class didn't read St. Augustine.)
• What does Petrarch say about love on pp. 15-16 of the Musa edition?  How is this different from Dante's attitude toward love?  What kind of love is Petrarch talking about here?
• Compare Petrarch's view of pagan literature and culture to that of the medieval and Christian authors we have read.
• How is Petrarch's view of himself, the world, and his relationship to the world different from that of the medieval and Christian authors we have read?
• Why does Petrarch write his letter to posterity?  In what sense does it reflect the perspective of a modern, rather than a medieval mind?  Do you feel that this is a useful, or even a valid distinction to make?
• Why does Petrarch write a letter to Homer--isn't Homer dead?

Canzoniere

• Compare the first sonnet of the Canzoniere to the opening lines of the Iliad, Aeneid, and Divine Comedy.
• Compare Petrarch's attitude toward Laura in these poems to Dante's attitude toward Beatrice in the Divine Comedy.
• Compare Petrarch's depiction of himself in these poems to Dante's depiction of himself in the Divine Comedy.