Richiami lessicali e contrapposizioni tematiche nei fragmenta 264-265, tra disforia e pentimento

In Petrarch’s Canzoniere song 264 and sonnet 265 hold a conspicuous position, beyond the gap between the two sections, but before Laura’s death. This particular position brings a very specific value to the contradiction between these two texts’ theme: it is moral and Christian in the first one, a poem marked by the imperfect mutatio animi, which anticipates the final one; on the other hand, it is passional and dysphoric in the second one, which is full of references to Medieval lyric tradition.This essay intends to study the poetical message underneath the combination of these two texts, in particular through the analysis of the connection between verses 4 and 10 of the song and verses 12-13 of the sonnet, where lexical and syntactical repetition highlights the thematical contrast. The preeminent images in these verses deserve specific attention, since they introduce a renewed version of very common topoi, which are frequent in Petrarch’s lyric collection and create some long-distance connections with other fragmenta, with specific reference to the prayers to God and the Virgin in sonnet 62 and song 366. The very same opposition between penitential and amorous contents, which as noted identifies the beginning of the second part, represents a constant element in the whole collection: so once again the combination of ff. 264 and 265 explains much of the mechanisms and of the characteristics of the Canzoniere as a whole.