SOURCE: Vitiello, Justin. “Gaspara Stampa: The Ambiguities of Martyrdom.” Modern Language Notes 90, no. 1 (1975): 58-71.

In the following essay, Vitiello examines Rime d'amore to show how Stampa's literary and cultural heritage influenced the development of her style.

Any student of Italian poetry has learned that Gaspara Stampa is “petrarchesca” and that her work is firmly entrenched in Renaissance tradition.¹ Departing from this point, I intend to investigate, through a reading of Rime d'amore, VII-IX, precisely how she utilizes her literary and cultural heritage to develop a style that may be aptly called “gasparino.”²

Sonnet VII introduces a certain ambiguity regarding the tone of reverence and awe predominant in I-VI:

          Chi vuol conoscer, donne, il mio signore, miri un signor di vago e dolce aspetto, giovane d'anni e vecchio d'intelletto, imagin de la gloria e del valore:           di pelo biondo, e di vivo colore, di persona alta e spazioso petto...