Petrarch's humanism and the care of the self

Resource Information

The work Petrarch's humanism and the care of the self represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in European University Institute. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

Petrarch's humanism and the care of the self

Statement of responsibility

Gur Zak

Title variation

Petrarch's Humanism & the Care of the Self

Creator

• Zak, Gur, 1975-

Subject

• Humanism in literature
• Humanists -- Italy
• Petrarca, Francesco, 1304-1374 -- Criticism and interpretation
• Petrarca, Francesco, 1304-1374 -- Philosophy
• Self in literature

Language

eng

Summary

Petrarch was one of the founding fathers of Renaissance humanism, yet the nature and significance of his ideas are still widely debated. In this book, Gur Zak examines two central issues in Petrarch's works - his humanist philosophy and his concept of the self. Zak argues that both are defined by Petrarch's idea of care for the self. Overcome by a strong sense of fragmentation, Petrarch turned to the ancient idea that philosophy can bring harmony and wholeness to the soul through the use of spiritual exercises in the form of writing. Examining his vernacular poetry and his Latin works from both literary and historical perspectives, Zak explores Petrarch's attempts to use writing as a spiritual exercise, how his spiritual techniques absorbed and transformed ancient and medieval traditions of writing, and the tensions that arose from his efforts to care for the self through writing.--

Assigning source

Provided by publisher

Cataloging source

UkCbUP

Index

index present

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

dictionaries

Series statement

Cambridge Social Sciences eBooks