Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) (1304-1374), in his time a noted author, poet and classical scholar. He is recognized for his great influence on the emerging humanism of the Renaissance. But he is best remembered today for the body of Italian poetry (relatively small compared to his Latin works) in which he immortalized his love for Laura.
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Geoffrey Chaucer, (c.1340-1400), English poet, best known for "The Canterbury Tales". A translator as well as a poet, Chaucer translated "The Romance of the Rose" from the French, and Boethius' Latin work "The Consolation of Philosophy". He was the first to translate Petrarch into English.
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Sir Thomas Wyatt, (1503-1542), English poet and diplomat. He served under Henry VIII and was a friend and possible lover of Anne Boleyn. He is credited with bringing the sonnet form into English, both through his translations of Petrarch and his original poetry.
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Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1517-1547) English poet, nobleman, soldier. He followed in Wyatt's footsteps in his use of the sonnet, and was the inventor of the English sonnet form. He was also the first English poet to publish in blank verse, in his translation of part of Virgil's Aeneid.
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Marion Shore has published fiction, poetry and poetry in translation. Her translations include works of Dante, Villon, Ronsard, Baudelaire, Rilke and many others. The Petrarch translations on this site come from her book "For Love of Laura: Poetry of Petrarch" (see link above). She lives in the Boston area with her husband and two sons.
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