An Ironical Analysis Of Francesco Petrarch's Sonnet 333

Francesco Petrarch’s Sonnet 333 represents his feelings towards a woman and his life. Petrarch explains his feelings by conveying a dark, melancholy tone at the beginning of his sonnet and a more hopeful tone towards the end. He uses irony in the form of a paradox to convey that his love for a woman is alive, although she is dead. He also juxtaposes death and life, and hope and sadness throughout his sonnet. By using metaphors, paradoxes, and diction Petrarch shows his love, grief, and longing for his love.
Petrarch’s use of metaphors in Sonnet 333 helps him portray his desire to be with his love. He uses the line “that hides my precious treasure in the earth,” (Petrarch 1) to explain that his love has died, and he visits her at the ‘harsh stone,’ which would be her tombstone. Petrarch calls this woman his ‘precious treasure’ to convey how much she means to him. A treasure is something extremely valuable that no one would ever want to give up, so Petrarch’s use of this word allows him to show his desire for his love. However, a person’s treasure is sometimes something that a person would want to keep a secret. This could mean that Petrarch has hid his feelings for this woman which makes them that much more intense because instead of showing off his love, he is immortalizing it with his poetry.
Petrarch’s use of metaphors …show more content…
Petrarch wishes to be with her, and cannot stand the thought of having to spend anymore time on earth without her. Although Petrarch is depressed about his situation, he wants to make his love known by immortalizing the woman through his poetry. He places most of the depressing words closer to the beginning of the sonnet, and the more hopeful ones towards the end. This could symbolize his life. He feels dark, but the closer he gets to death, or the end of the sonnet, the more hopeful he becomes about seeing his love again in