Sources, dates, order and meaning of Boscan's Book I of Book

Abstract

This work claims the unity of the book I (Obras by Boscán, Barcelona, 1543), which is quite similar to the other two books that the author includes in his volume of poetry. Boscán shows two parts in this first book: the first takes in almost all the poems, from the 2^nd to the 27^th; and a very short second part, consisting in a single poem, the last one, which closes the book. This last poem was probably written when Boscan left the Emperor’s court, at the end of 1535, in order to settle down, definitely, in his home town. There, as Boscan and his future wife were already engaged, the poet would praise a different kind of love to that that he had felt during the years before. The love he extols is prior to the conjugal one; on the contrary, the kind of love that the author shows in the first part of the book is such a typical courteous lover feeling. Not only does Boscán think up these two parts, but he also seems to give a linear structure: a love that develops to become a more spiritual one, similar to that in the Canzionere by Petrarca.