Deception is one of the main features of the erotic dream in Petrarchist poetry. In this scenario, Vittoria Colonna (1490-1547) is a significant exception. Her poetical activity is entirely dedicated to the memory of her husband, Ferrante, Ferdinando Francesco D’Avalos, died in battle in 1525. In this context, the dream is a vital tool for the encounter with the beloved, that the poetess gradually identify with Christ, but also a moment of spiritual elevation, and, in some cases, a door to the neoplatonic ascensus and the religious ecstasy. Trying to shed light on this important issue for the poetess, but until now little studied, this chapter will focus on Rime amorose 14, 20, 84 and on the Spirituale 36 of the Bullock’s edition (1982), considering the relationship between dream, memory and conjugal faith, the relationship between dream and religion, whereas Ferrante, after death, becomes a means to achieve the True Good and, finally, the particular features that the dream acquires in the Amorose and Spirituali rhymes. In this way we will attempt to demonstrate that the study of an ubiquitous theme in the Petrarchist system, that’s erotic dream, it’s an opportunity to investigate the work of a poetess as Vittoria Colonna, for which the interplay between poetic and life, and between reformed religion and Neoplatonic philosophy is a constitutive trait of her eccentricity into the Cinquecento’s lyrical canon.

Faith and Ascensus in Vittoria Colonna’s Lyric Dreams

Acucella, Cristina
2015-01-01

Abstract

Deception is one of the main features of the erotic dream in Petrarchist poetry. In this scenario, Vittoria Colonna (1490-1547) is a significant exception. Her poetical activity is entirely dedicated to the memory of her husband, Ferrante, Ferdinando Francesco D’Avalos, died in battle in 1525. In this context, the dream is a vital tool for the encounter with the beloved, that the poetess gradually identify with Christ, but also a moment of spiritual elevation, and, in some cases, a door to the neoplatonic ascensus and the religious ecstasy. Trying to shed light on this important issue for the poetess, but until now little studied, this chapter will focus on Rime amorose 14, 20, 84 and on the Spirituale 36 of the Bullock’s edition (1982), considering the relationship between dream, memory and conjugal faith, the relationship between dream and religion, whereas Ferrante, after death, becomes a means to achieve the True Good and, finally, the particular features that the dream acquires in the Amorose and Spirituali rhymes. In this way we will attempt to demonstrate that the study of an ubiquitous theme in the Petrarchist system, that’s erotic dream, it’s an opportunity to investigate the work of a poetess as Vittoria Colonna, for which the interplay between poetic and life, and between reformed religion and Neoplatonic philosophy is a constitutive trait of her eccentricity into the Cinquecento’s lyrical canon.
2015
9781848883437
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11563/141054
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