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Petrarchan

American  
[pi-trahr-kuhn] / pɪˈtrɑr kən /

adjective

  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the works of Petrarch.

  2. characteristic or imitative of the style of Petrarch.


noun

  1. Petrarchist.

Etymology

Origin of Petrarchan

First recorded in 1820–30; Petrarch + -an

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

It’s also true that, in order to portray the kinds of psychic shifts required by the Petrarchan volta, Lock would have had to allow herself the kind of invention that was forbidden to women.

From The New Yorker Aug. 5, 2019

Post-debate analysis will reveal that all of her answers will have been composed as perfect Petrarchan sonnets.

From Washington Post Apr. 18, 2017

A favorite scholarly idea is that these questions mistake Shakespeare’s real purpose, which was to invent a group of characters in order to play with Petrarchan conventions.

From The New Yorker Jun. 29, 2015

Lady Dacre has shown much grace and ingenuity in the passages of our poet which she has versified; but she could not transfer into English those graces of Petrarchan diction, which are mostly intransferable.

From The Sonnets, Triumphs, and Other Poems of Petrarch by Campbell, Thomas

An excellent example of the Petrarchan sonnet of this exact type is Austin Dobson's "Don Quixote."

From The Circus, and Other Essays and Fugitive Pieces by Kilmer, Joyce

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