Sorry! Search is currently unavailable while the database is being updated, it will be back in 5 mins!

Petrarca Sonnet 61

Here is a line-by-line translation and explanation. Keep in mind that there is not only one way to translate poetry. If you look for translations of this sonnet on the Internet, you will find various versions. The most important thing is to understand it enough to get the gist of the poem. Some words are different from modern Italian, for example, duo instead of due (two), ove instead of dove (where), loco instead of luogo (place), desio instead of desiderio (desire).

 

1. Benedetto sia ’l giorno, e ’l mese, e l’anno,

Blessed be the day, and the month, and the year
→ The poet is blessing the moment in time when he first saw the woman he loves.

 

2. e la stagione, e ’l tempo, e l’ora, e ’l punto,

and the season, and the time, and the hour, and the exact point [in time].
→ He continues the list, blessing every detail of that moment.

 

3. e ’l bel paese, e ’l loco ov’io fui giunto

and the beautiful place, and the spot where I was joined
→ He adds the physical place where he happened to be when it happened that he was struck

 

4. da’ duo begli occhi che legato m’hanno;

by two beautiful eyes that bound me;
→ Her eyes “tied” him to her

 

5. e benedetto il primo dolce affanno

and blessed be the first, sweet agony
→ He is also blessing the first "sweet" pain of love

 

6. ch’i’ ebbi ad esser con Amor congiunto,

that I felt when I became joined with Love,
→ When he first fell in love. Amor is another name for Cupid.

 

7. e l’arco, e le saette ond’i’ fui punto,

and the bow and the arrows where I was struck,
→ Love is imagined as Cupid shooting arrows. Saetta is another word for freccia (arrow). 

 

8. e le piaghe che ’nfin al cor mi vanno.

and the wounds that go all the way to my heart.
→ His love wounds are deep — another poetic metaphor.

 

9. Benedette le voci tante ch’io

Blessed be the many voices (words) that I
→ Beginning again with a blessing (implicit subjunctive).

 

10. chiamando il nome de mia donna ho sparte, 

have scattered while calling my lady’s name, — sparte is another past participle (in the feminine plural to agree with voci) of the verb spargere (to scatter)
→ All the times he has spoken her name.

 

11. e i sospiri, e le lagrime, e ’l desio;

and the sighs, the tears, and the desire; desio is an archaic form of desiderio (desire)
→ All the feelings his love caused — also blessed.

 

12. e benedette sian tutte le carte

and blessed be all the pages
→ “The pages” = the poems he has written about her.

 

13. ov’io fama l’acquisto, e ’l pensier mio,

where I gain fame (through writing), and my thoughts,  — Ove is another form of dove (where)
→ His poetry gives him fame; his thoughts 

 

14. ch’è sol di lei, sì ch’altra non v’ha parte.

which belong only to her, so that no other woman has any share in them.
→are entirely of her; there is no place for any other woman. 

 

E il {loco} ov'io fui giunto [e il luogo dove io sono giunto] da duo begli occhi [grazie a quei due begli occhi]

And the place where I was joined by two beautiful eyes

Captions 6-7, La compagnia del cigno EP 5 - Part 3

 Play Caption

 

banner5 PLACEHOLDER

Signup to get Free Italian Lessons sent by email



Using the subjunctive for a blessing

Francesco Petrarca (known as Petrarch in English) was born in the area of Arezzo, in Tuscany around 1304, in other words, at the beginning of the century known as il trecento ('300). He spent many years in France, however, in Montpellier and especially in Avignon, where legend has it that he fell in love with a woman named Laura, whom he met in the church there.

 

The present sonnet, dedicated to Laura, is part of "Rerum vulgarium fragmenta" (fragments composed in the vernacular). This is notable because most of his works were composed in Latin. Another name for this collection of poems in Italian was Rime sparse (scattered rhymes or verses). It was also called il canzoniere (the songbook). 

banner PLACEHOLDER

 

Why are we talking about this particular sonnet? Barbara, a character in La compagnia del cigno, on Yabla, recites the sonnet perfectly when she joins an Italian class in her new school. It seemed like a perfect occasion for us to discuss some interesting features of the sonnet. One feature is the use of the subjunctive (il congiuntivo), a grammar topic we've talked about in previous lessons, so this is a chance to look at one more way to use this tricky verbal conjugation. 

Benedetto sia il giorno e il mese, e l'anno.

Blessed be the day and the month, and the year.

Captions 1-2, La compagnia del cigno EP 5 - Part 3

 Play Caption

 

That is how she begins. Here is the entire sonnet:

 

Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374)
Sonetto LXI dal Canzoniere (sonnet 61 from the "songbook")


Benedetto sia 'l giorno, e 'l mese, e l'anno,
e la stagione, e 'l tempo, e l'ora, e 'l punto,
e 'l bel paese, e 'l loco ov'io fui giunto
da' duo begli occhi che legato m'hanno;
e benedetto il primo dolce affanno
ch'i' ebbi ad esser con Amor congiunto,
e l'arco, e le saette ond'i' fui punto,
e le piaghe che 'nfin al cor mi vanno.
Benedette le voci tante ch'io
chiamando il nome de mia donna ho sparte,
e i sospiri, e le lagrime, e 'l desio;
e benedette sian tutte le carte
ov'io fama l'acquisto, e 'l pensier mio,
ch'è sol di lei, sì ch'altra non v'ha parte. 

 

The poem starts out with the subjunctive (Benedetto sia). How does this work?  The poet is expressing a wish, a blessing, or a devotional hope. That's one way the subjunctive is used in Italian.

 
In Italian, both ancient and modern, the congiuntivo is used after verbs or expressions that communicate:
wishes
hopes
blessings / curses
emotions
judgments
 
In English, this corresponds to the older form “blessed be…” — (which is also subjunctive). Benedetto sia il giorno… = Blessed be the day… / May the day be blessed… Benedetto or "blessed" is not an adjective describing the day; it is invoking a blessing on it.
 
We have learned that the subjunctive is used following the conjunction che (that, which). But there is no che here.
 
In modern Italian, you might expect:
Che sia benedetto il giorno… That the day may be blessed...
 
In poetry, especially in Dante and Petrarch, that che is sometimes simply omitted.
 
The structure is:
 
[Che] benedetto sia + sostantivo (il giorno, il mese, etc.) - (that blessed be the day)
→ It expresses a wish or invocation.
 
This structure is repeated throughout the poem. In some cases, even sia (or siano in the plural) is omitted but implied.
 
 
Petrarch lists all the things connected to the moment he fell in love, the moment in which Cupid's arrows pierced his heart:
 
Benedetto sia il giorno… blessed be the day...
Benedetto sia il mese… blessed be the month...
Benedette [siano] le voci… blessed [be] the voices (meaning "the words spoken")...
Benedette sian tutte le carte… blessed [be] all the pages/papers (in other words, the written words)...
 
In every instance, sia / sian is a subjunctive form (third-person) of the verb essere (to be), expressing a blessing or invocation.
 
See this lesson, where we look at some of the vocabulary in the sonnet you might not be familiar with. After all, we're in the fourteenth century, centuries before Italian became the official language of Italy.  We'll also provide a line-by-line translation/explanation. 
 

banner6 PLACEHOLDER

Signup to get Free Italian Lessons sent by email