A syntactic-intonative phenomenon in Petrarch's (and Dante's) canzones

Typologies of stanza's beginning

Abstract

This article examines the syntactic structures positioned at the beginning of the strophes in the canzoni of Dante and Petrarch. In particular, this contribution seeks to identify the compositional trends that characterize the clauses placed at the beginning of the different stanzas. This contribution is organized as follows: in the first part, after a general overview of the structure of the periods in Petrarch’s canzoni, the attention is focused on two emblematic cases, Quel’antiquo mio dolce empio signore (Rvf 360) and Ne la stagion che ’l ciel rapido inchina (Rvf 50); in the second part, a comparison between what has been observed for Petrarch and the syntax in Dante’s canzoni is proposed; lastly, an attempt is made to justify the different rhetorical and syntactic strategies adopted by the two poets at the beginning of the stanzas.