Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130: Anti-Pertrarchian?

The Renaissance rose from the Middle Ages in the Sixteenth Century. It was a golden age of music, philosophy, architecture, art, and perhaps most importantly, literature. Many topics were written about and reflected on. Among these topics were romance and chivalry. Italian poet and scholar Petrach testifies to the popular use of courtship and love in his sonnets. In fact, these types of sonnets have been named Petrarchian. They tend to have a narrative tone …

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