Saggi sopra il Petrarca pubblicata in Inglese... e tradotti in Italiano [by Camillo Ugoni].

Bookseller Notes

First published in London by John Murray the previous year, and here translated by Foscolo's lifelong friend Camillo Ugoni. The English edition was a translation too. 'After a historical and philosophical introduction to the concept of love, in On the love of Petrarch the author retraces the biographical and psychological affairs of the two lovers to which he gives a historic basis and reconstructs (also establishing a link with his love for Caroline) the phases of Petrarch falling in love with Laura, whose psychological profile is outlined from the poet's verses. The essay On the poetry of Petrarch is important; in this the writer deepens analysis of the linguistic, stylistic, rhythmic and phonic aspects of Petrarch's poetry, analysing the sources used by the poet and retracing the creative process of Petrarch's love poetry, almost living them in first person, and linking the role of critic to that of poet. In A parallel between Dante and Petrarch, the critic dwells on the two authors' different linguistic choices, highlighting the innovative spirit and bold choices of the former and the elegant, refined options taken by the latter' (www.internetculturale.it). The text is prefaced here by a dialogue between the translator and the genius of Italian literature.