Petrarch: father of humanism and the Renaissance, popularizer of the sonnet form, and savior of Greek learning for the Western world. He's the first poet laureate since antiquity. And did we mention that he was friends with Dante and Boccaccio? On top of all that, he was the lover of Laura, the most beautiful woman in the universe. Yes, he's the most interesting man in the world—ever.

But he's best known for his book of songs, Il Canzoniere, written for his forbidden lady-love, Laura. Also called Rerum vulgarium fragmenta (Fragments of Common Things) or Rime Sparse (Scattered Rhymes), the work rocked the fourteenth century by using Italian (not Latin), innovating the sonnet form, and for the sheer number of poems (366) written in the lyric tradition of the Provençal troubadours. Only a true rock star could have written a poem-a-day collection that takes Leap Day into account (you know, 365+1 =… carry the one… well, you get the idea).

"Chiare, fresche et dolci acque" is the 126th poem in this collection and is often considered its masterpiece (we've heard people call it "poetic perfection"). Written between 1340 and 1341, it represents the best of the poems concerning his beloved Laura during her lifetime. In it, Petrarch establishes the conventions of broken-hearted love poetry that persist into our time: the sighs, the desire for death, the fantasy that your girl will realize how great you were after your death.

The poem also perfects the virtual stalker's eye that would become so useful to groups like The Police, The Cure, and, yes, Death Cab for Cutie. By reaching into his memory, Petrarch has the leisure to examine each part of Laura's body intimately and to praise it for its perfection and purity—a practice that leads to further torment and fuels the poetic writing process.

Canzone 126's rhapsodies on the beloved's curves, breasts, hair, smile, and clothing would also go on to inspire poets like Shakespeare, Sir Philip Sidney, and the transgressive Lady Mary Wroth. Does it really matter that later literary movements would mock some of the poetic practices established here? Not really. Petrarch’s masterful music continues to rock on triumphantly.

We'd like to refer you back to the first paragraph of "In a Nutshell." This way, we can simply say "Because Petrarch." But since this is Petrarch, there's much more. We want you to think of every love poem you've ever read. Every song about frustrated desire, a lover being out of the singer's league, the need to find release from emotional suffering brought on by bad love. Now think of that ideal of female beauty: the blonde-haired, blue-eyed, porcelain-skinned girl with perfect figure. Got it?

That's Petrarch—all of it.

While Petrarch doesn't create these conventions out of thin air, he does have a role in popularizing and broadcasting them through western civilization. His poetry affected people—the right kinds of people, like other poets—so intimately that they perpetuated his thoughts, ideals, and poetic practices for centuries. It's not for nothing that Petrarch is called the Father of the Renaissance.

While that might be a slight exaggeration, it's not far from the truth. Petrarch really did have a direct role in saving Greek learning from oblivion, revived some of the best practices of classical literature, and unleashed the sonnet on the world. Sure, lots of things conspired to change the world from the "Dark Ages" into a rebirth of culture and sophistication. But who coined the phrase "Dark Ages" in the first place?

Yeah—that would be Petrarch.

So… what have you done lately?