Early Italian Poetry and Woman - Essay Example

? In the thirteenth century, Europe witnessed a shift from sacred to secular literature, and in Italy, compilations of poetry that expressed the poet’s experiences became popular; this shift in literary style reflected the shift from story telling and oral mediums to the written word. Holmes states that the shift to the written medium did not abandon the performative nature of oral storytelling; rather, “the first great anthologies of troubadour poetry can be seen as visual representation of oral texts or even as theatrical ‘stagings’ (via illuminations and reading aloud) of what was both a visual and an auditory experience” (2000, p. 3). Through this form of poetry, poets were able to reflect inwards to their own voice, which provided them a mode through which to discover themselves. However, the medium of the written word also enabled the separation of the “speaker from the spoken”, in which the author was able to construct an “alter ego” that could express the actual speaker’s unrestrained feelings (Holmes 2000, p. 4). This shift also marked a shift towards authorship of the autobiographical, in which the Italian poets of the middle ages utilized the written word as a “confessional self-portrait”, where the words represented the poet’s innermost thoughts on such themes as life, religion, salvation, loss, etc. (2000, p. 7). Through a critical look at selected poems by Guinizelli, Dante, and Petrarch, the central theme of love will be discussed, as it is portrayed through the character of the heavenly or angelic idealized woman. Prior to a critical reading of the poetry, a brief biographical discussion on the poets is necessary to understanding the importance of the literary genre. In several of his poems, Dante referred to Guido Guinizelli as the “father of me and father of my betters” for having founded the school of poetry referred to as the dolce stil nuovo (Lambdin & Cooner Lambdin 2000, p. 248). Born in 1230, in Bologna, Italy, Guinizelli founded the new style of poetry, which included the literary contributions of several Bolognese poets, including the prominent poetry by Dante. Unlike the Sicilian poets, “Guinizelli’s analogies, metaphors, poetic language, and concept of love reflect his effort to write not from the heart but from the head, and to analyze love and its effects” (Lambdin & Cooner Lambdin 2000, p. 248). His most well-known poem, “Al cor gentil rempaira sempre amore” critically analyzes courtly love by emphasizing the central importance of internal integrity as the true source of nobility, rather than basing nobility on status. He goes on to compare the noble love between a woman and man to the relationship between God and the angels. Dante used the image of Guinizelli’s noble lady in his anthology of works, entitled Vita nuova, and Dante accredits Guinizelli for playing the “role of both poetic father and prophet in establishing the dolce stil nuovo manifesto as the poetic vehicle for articulating philosophic truth through love” (Lambdin & Cooner Lambdin 2000, p. 249). Guinizelli’s most famous successor was Dante Alighieri, who was born in Florence in 1265. Seeing his life-long love, Beatrice Portinari, at the age of nine served as inspiration for his entire artistic career, and the love story between Dante and Beatrice unfolds in Dante’s Vita nuova, which was written after (and inspired by) the deep emotional impact of Beatrice’s death in 1290 (Lambdin & Cooner Lambdin 2000, p. 118). During the political turmoil in Florence at the end of the 13th century, Dante was exiled from Florence until his death; according to Dante’s first biographer, Boccaccio, the meeting with Beatrice and his exile from Florence was the two more important events in Dante’s life which strongly impacted his artistic work. Written between 1293 to 1294, Vita nuova consists of thirty-one poems written to, and about, Beatrice, whom he viewed as “representative of divine goodness and beatitude on earth”; and it is in this anthology that Dante rejects the dictates and conventions of courtly love for a purer and more noble version of love, which he refers to as dolce stil nuovo, the “new sweet style” (Lambdin & Cooner Lambdin 2000, p.119). Although Dante is not the founder of the new Italian literary style, critics argue that his words and meanings depict a new approach to love, unknown to his poetic predecessors, and his place as a unique and innovative poet of his time is held as a result of his ability to assume multiple roles in his literary works, including that of “lover, poet, and literary theorist and critic” who reflects on the meaning and experience of love in the past, present, and future (Lambdin & Cooner Lambdin 2000, p. 120). Petrarch, the last of the poets to be discussed, was born during Dante’s exile from Florence. Renowned as the father of Renaissance humanism, Petrarch exceeded his contemporaries by placing a great emphasis on the themes of nature, noble love, meditation, and a return to the humanistic classics of Plato (Lambdin & Cooner Lambdin 2000, p. 423). In a similar vein to Dante, Petrarch’s poetry reflected his understanding of love through the portrayal of his relationship with Laura, his beloved. It should be noted that Laura is fictitious; yet, regardless of her imaginary conception, “Petrarch presents her image in a way much more realistic than the conventional ladies of the Provencal troubadours or in the literature of courtly love. Indeed, she is even more ethereal than the donna angelica (angelic ladies) found throughout the poems of this time, seen especially in Dante’s Beatrice” (Lambdin & Cooner Lambdin 2000, p. 423). Although a few of Petrarch’s works deal with friendship and religion, the central focus on his poetry was on Laura as the most perfect and divine being, which was ideal, but not tangible or attainable; in this regard, the idealization of the fictitious Laura rendered all real women incapable of living up to her standard of excellence. This focus on the ideal rather than the real was a common feature of the dolce stil nuovo poets of the 13th and 14th century and, although their works critically analyzed the conventions of courtly love, their overly idealized perception of noble love served to render woman as angelic saviours, which made living up to this perception an impossible feat. Guinizelli’s masterpiece, Al cor gentil rempaira sempre amore, reflects the shift in 13th century Italian poetry to the dolce stil nuovo style. Hailed as one of the greatest tracts on love, “Al cor gentile” reflected the three central themes that echoed throughout the literary works of the movement’s writers (Lambdin & Cooner Lambdin 2000, p. 118). The following three themes continue to reappear throughout the poem. First, the beloved female character in the poem, in this case Clara, is compared continuously to an angelic or heavenly figure. The following lines from the poem depict Clara as an ethereal, other worldly, untouchable beauty who is noble, pure, and gentle in her affections: donna a guisa di stella lo’nnamora. Amor per tel ragion sta’n cor gentile Per qual lo foco in cima del doplero: Spendeli al su’diletto, clar, sottile; (Guinizelli, l. 20 – 23). The connection between woman and the divine, as depicted through Clara as an angelic being, is also echoed through the Guinizelli’s poetry, as well as the other contributors to this literary tradition. The idealization of the angelic woman is also connected to the notion of truth and ability, in that the noble (angelic) woman shows her lover the truth and enhances his talents, which can be seen as one’s literal talents and abilities, as well as enhancing one’s character. An example that demonstrates this role of women is as follows: ella intende suo fattor oltra ’l cielo, e ’l ciel volgiando, a Lui obedir tole; e con’ segue, al primero, del giusto Deo beato compimento, cosi dar dovria, al vero, la bella donna, poi che [’n] gli occhi splende del suo gentil, talento che mai di lei obedir non si disprende. (Guinizelli, l. 43 – 50). The allusion to truth is further examined through the frequent comparison of nobility and integrity to the sun. Throughout the poem, Guinizelli makes frequent reference to the brightness and power of the sun; the imagery of the sun is being used as a metaphor for knowledge and wisdom and, as the dolce stil nuovo school sought to distance itself from the previous school by criticizing the falsity of courtly love, the sun in this poem comes to represent Guinizelli’s enlightenment over his poetic predecessors. There is an obvious shift in attitude toward the conventions of courtly love, with an emphasis on noble or true love that is based on the lovers’ inner characters rather than on their external status and inheritance. Once courtly has been shunned and noble love endorsed, Guinizelli states that deception will disappear from the arena of love, in which ulterior motives will be replaced with noble intentions. This conviction is depicted near the end of the poem when he states the following: “ch’a Me coven le laude / e a la reina del regname degno, / per cui cessa onne fraude” (Guinizelli, l. 55 – 57). After courtly love has been exposed as deceptive, the third theme of gentile love, perceived as legitimate or truthful love, can emerge. Although Guinizelli frequently uses the notion of gentil or gentle love, he frequently pairs love with fire, so as to give the notion of the passion or power of legitimate love. To Guinizelli, “cor gentil” is not meek; rather, it has the potential to thrust open the closed heart, and emblazon it with knowledge, truth, passion, and noble love; “Foco d’amore in gentil cor s’aprende / come vertute in petra preziosa” and “Amor per tal ragion sta ’n cor gentile / per qual lo foco in cima del doplero” (Guinizelli, l. 11-12 and 21 – 22). Although Dante’s Vita nuova echoes Guinizelli’s three central themes, he does add another layer to the anthology by providing an auto-biographical component to the work; unlike the omnipresent narrator of the Al cor gentil and the untouchable love interest, Clara, Dante’s “voice” is heard throughout the literary work as he takes the reader on an experiential journey through his love affair with Beatrice, from the beginning to the end (Holmes 2000, pp. 120-144). In addition, unlike the previous selection which presents love in an idealized but abstract or untouchable context, Dante presents his readers with his inner-dialogue on the subject of love, in which he uses his personal experience to try and understand the overwhelming concept of love and how it factors into (and affects) his life. This mode of auto-biographical writing serves as an invitation to the reader to understand the challenges and joys that come along experiencing pure love, and how this experience affects not only the lovers involved, but also the people around the lovers (as exemplified through the inclusion of Dante’s sister and Beatrice’s brother in the story). Dante also presents women as angelic and heavenly; however, he goes on to compare not only the experience of love as enlightening, but that women possess the true understanding of love. In Donne ch’avete intelletto d’amore, translated into “Women have intelligence of love”, Dante, first, outlines his meeting with Beatrice, and second, presents women as having the ability to comprehend the complexities of noble or authentic love beyond their male counterparts’ understanding of love. This argument is captured in the first paragraph as Dante proclaims, Donne ch’avete intelletto d’amore, i’ vo’ con voi de la mia donna dire, non perch’io creda sua laude finire, ma ragionar per isfogar la mente. Io dico che pensando il suo valore, (Dante, Donne ch’avete, l. 1 – 5) In addition to having pure knowledge of love, Dante sees that, through the power of a woman’s love, he (Dante specifically, but men in general) builds upon his characteristics, specifically the attribute of courage; therefore, in a similar vein to Guinizelli, Dante argues that the pure love of a “good woman” will contribute to development of man’s inner character, including nobility, integrity, courage, etc. In addition to building his character, another element of rebirth and salvation are exposed in Dante’s poem, in which he compares Beatrice to the Madonna in lines 26 – 30. This comparison can be taken in numerous ways, including the idea of pure love as seen in the image of the virgin Madonna, as well as the notion of rebirth through noble love, as seen through the image of the maternal Madonna, and finally through the notion of salvation, in which the new man (made new through experiencing true love through his female lover) is able to save the wretched world through his enlightenment. Finally, the woman and angelic transmitter of perfect love is further explored through Dante’s frequent reference to God, in which he depicts the union between two pure lovers as a holy union, created and anointed by God; Ingegnati, se puoi, d’esser palese solo con donne o con omo cortese, che ti merrano la per via tostana. Tu troverai Amor con esso lei; raccomandami a lui come tu dei (Dante, Donne ch’avete, l. 66 – 70). This ordained union between the idealize woman and man is also reflected in Petrarch’s poem, Vergine bella, che di sol vestita. In Tanto gentile e tanto onesta pare, Dante focuses solely on his perception of the magnificence of Beatrice. He depicts Beatrice as composed of pure virtue, in which she exists, humbly, as a perfect being created by God for the betterment of mankind; “Benignamente d’umilta’ vestuta; / E par che sia una cosa venuta / Da cielo in terra a miracol monstrare” (Dante, Tanto gentile, l. 6-8). The deification of woman is continued in this poem, as Dante makes overt reference to woman (his Beatrice) being created to reflect the goodness and glory of God through her capacity to give love, and through her capacity to teach love. In addition, the process of idealization is furthered through Dante’s description of the qualities that the perfect woman possesses, which includes gentility, virtue, grace, humility, sweetness, and a tender spirit; these qualities are seen as separating women from men, and transforming her into a miracle of heavenly proportions. Finally, Dante concludes his reverence of Beatrice by suggesting that the perfect woman has the power to calm those around her by bestowing upon them a feeling of rightness and contentment. Although Dante’s description of Beatrice is beautiful and emotionally moving, it does further relegate her – the ideal woman – the realm of the untouchables, in which, to Dante, women stop being human and start becoming divine. Dante’s adoration of the angelic (and untouchable) Beatrice continues in Vede perfettamente onne salute, translated as “You see every kind of perfectly healthy.” He restates that Beatrice is gentle, humble, noble, and virtuous, and the first line, vede perfettamente onne salute, is to be taken to mean that there is no being greater than Dante’s “lady”. In addition, Dante continues to assert that the perfection of Beatrice has the power to transform other women into becoming a reflection of her, which would serve to uplift and enlighten their male counterparts. This is reflected in the following lines: E sua bieltate e di tanta vertute, che nulla invidia a l’altre ne procede, anzi la face andar seco vestute di gentilezza, d’amore e di fede (Dante, Vede perfettamente, l. 5 – 8). In Dante’s Aesthetics of Being, Ginsberg argues that Dante wrote Tanto gentile and Vede perfettamente to demonstrate the culmination of Beatrice’s exultation, as well as to “make Beatrice’s virtues visible even to those not fortunate enough to have been in her presence”; in this regard, Beatrice-as-perfect-love is seen as Dante’s salvation, as well as the salvation of the world (1999, pp. 64 – 65). In Vergine bella, che di sol vestita, translated as “Beautiful virgin, which only dressed”, Petrarch returns to the idea of the Madonna; however, in this poem, Petrarch’s Madonna, the fictitious Laura, represents the purity and beauty of love, as emphasized through her virginity. Vergine bella, che di sol vestita, coronata di stele, al summon Sole piacesti si, che ‘n te Sua luce ascose, amor mi spinge a dir di te parole: ma non so ‘ncominciar senza tu’ aita, et di Colui ch’amando inte si pose. Invoco lei che ben sempre rispose, chi la chiamo con fede: (Petrarch, Vergie bella, l. 1-8). In Petrarch’s vision of his beloved, he sees his “fair virgin” as having the power to quell lust, free the world of vice, and set men back on to the right path towards noble love. Petrarch sees his beloved as the very essence of grace, and he makes reference to his version or understanding of woman as the personification of perfect love as being inspired by Dante’s Beatrice, the archetype of the ideal woman of the period; Vergine gloriosa, donna del Re che nostril lacci a sciolti et fatto ‘l mondo libero et felice, ne le cui sante piaghe prego ch’appaghe il cor, vera beatrice (Petrarch, Vergie bella, l. 48-52). Although Petrarch exults woman as the true depiction of pure love, his version of perfect womanhood is particularly concerning, and has deviated away from Guinizelli and Dante’s definition of the ideal woman. For example, Petrarch alludes to the perfect goodness of the chaste virgin (l. 54 – 56), and makes a reference to the virgin Mary as being able to straighten his crooked path (l. 60 – 65). In addition, there is a somber tone present in Petrarch’s work that is absent in the previous poetry discussed; this somber tone is introduced through the notion of death and the need for salvation during his darkest hour (l. 90 – 110). In this situation, it seems that Petrarch is using the metaphor of the virgin woman to demonstrate, both, the mythical and unattainable dream of the perfect woman, as well as to show the joys and sorrows that accompany noble love. In conclusion, the dolce stil nuovo movement represented a shift away from troubadours and their poetry on courtly love, to a more rational and philosophical approach to love based on virtue rather than status. The poets of this movement, including Guinizelli, Dante, and Petrarch, all focused on re-envisioning love, which was accomplished by casting women into the role of the heavenly, angelic, and often unattainable lover who was to provide truth and wisdom to her (male) partner through showing and teaching him love. However, the image of the perfect woman shifted throughout the movement, in which Guinizelli’s ideal represented an abstract woman, as depicted through Clara, Dante’s ideal was encompassed in the more tangible, yet highly exulted Beatrice, and Petrarch’s ideal was created through his own imagination, in which his fictitious, virginal Laura became the most divine, and yet untouchable, of the female characters. Although the poetry of the Italian middle ages did serve to highlight women as virtuous and intelligent, it is questionable as to how long the benefits lasted, especially after the real woman was exposed as being unable to live up to the ideal. A further inquiry into the negative consequences of the dolce stil nuovo movement on the role of women in Italy through the Renaissance may result in casting a very different opinion on the literary works of the previous period. References Carozza, D. A., & Shey, H. J., 1989. Petrarch's Secretum: With Introduction, Notes, and Critical Anthology. New York: Peter Lang. Holmes, O., 2000. Assembling the Lyric Self: Authorship from Troubadour Song to Italian Poetry Book. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Ginsberg, W.,1999. Dante’s Aesthetics of Being, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. Kallendorf, C., 1999. Virgil and the Myth of Venice: Books and Readers in the Italian Renaissance. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Lambdin, R. T. & Lambdin, L. C. (Eds.)., 2000. Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Poetry sites: Italian original and English translation Guinizelli, “Al cor gentil,” http://it.wikisource.org/wiki/Al_cor_gentil_rempaira_sempre_amore Dante, “Donne ch’avete,” http://it.wikisource.org/wiki/Rime_(Dante)/XIV_- Donne_ch'avete_intelletto_d'amore Dante, “Tanto gentile,” http://limegreenlight.blogspot.com/2007/12/tanto-gentile-e-tanto-onesta-pare.html Dante, “Vede perfettamente,” http://it.wikisource.org/wiki/Rime_(Dante)/XXIII_-_Vede_perfettamente_onne_salute Petrarch, “Vergine bella,” http://www.kalliope.org/digt.pl?longdid=petrarca2003012301 Read More