petrarchan Definition
- 1relating to or characteristic of the Italian poet Petrarch, or his works
- 2relating to or denoting a sonnet form traditionally associated with Petrarch, typically characterized by the division of each of the poems into two parts
Using petrarchan: Examples
Take a moment to familiarize yourself with how "petrarchan" can be used in various situations through the following examples!
Example
The Petrarchan sonnet is a 14-line poem consisting of an octave and a sestet.
Example
The Petrarchan style of writing was influential in the Renaissance period.
Example
The Petrarchan lover is often depicted as a hopeless romantic.
petrarchan Synonyms and Antonyms
Synonyms for petrarchan
- Petrarchian
- Petrarchistic
Phrases with petrarchan
an elaborate and extended metaphor or simile that links two apparently unrelated fields or subjects in an unusual and surprising conjunction of ideas
Example
In John Donne's poem 'The Flea,' the speaker uses a Petrarchan conceit to compare the flea to a marriage bed.
Petrarchan lover
a literary archetype of a man who is hopelessly in love with a woman who is unattainable or out of his reach
Example
In Shakespeare's play 'Romeo and Juliet,' Romeo is a Petrarchan lover who is infatuated with Rosaline before he meets Juliet.
a sonnet form consisting of an octave (eight lines) rhyming abbaabba, followed by a sestet (six lines) with a rhyme scheme that varies but usually includes cdecde or cdcdcd
Example
In his collection of sonnets, Petrarch used the Petrarchan sonnet form to express his love for Laura.
Origins of petrarchan
from the name of the Italian poet Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch in English), who popularized the sonnet form
Summary: petrarchan in Brief
'Petrarchan' [pih-trahr-kuhn] refers to the Italian poet Petrarch and his works, particularly the sonnet form that he popularized. The Petrarchan sonnet is a 14-line poem divided into an octave and a sestet, and the Petrarchan lover is a literary archetype of a man hopelessly in love with an unattainable woman. The term also encompasses the Petrarchan conceit, an elaborate metaphor linking two seemingly unrelated subjects.
