This chapter examines the translations of Petrarch's poetry in English. It discusses different translations of Petrarch from the early Renaissance period to the twentieth century including the works of Sir Thomas Wyatt, the Earl of Surrey and Robert M. Durling. It also describes the author's own translation and explains the rationale and problems behind his own version and situates these within the broader context of the British preference for the more ‘concrete’ poetry of Dante, Michelangelo and Montale.

This chapter examines the translations of Petrarch's poetry in English. It discusses different translations of Petrarch from the early Renaissance period to the twentieth century including the works of Sir Thomas Wyatt, the Earl of Surrey and Robert M. Durling. It also describes the author's own translation and explains the rationale and problems behind his own version and situates these within the broader context of the British preference for the more ‘concrete’ poetry of Dante, Michelangelo and Montale.