A nice sonnet. I think myself, despite Reed Dasenbroek's PMLA essay (also
in his book on Petrarchism and England), that the best parallel between
Spenser's deer poem and any other is with a poem by Marguerite de
Navarre. See my essay on Spenser's deer poem in Spenser Studies vol. 6,
which has some references to earlier work (there's a condensed version in
the Norton Spenser, but it's of less use). One of those references, and a
woman with better neurons above the eyebrows would remember it--I don't
have a copy of my own essay with me--is to a whole volume on Spenser's
sources, especially Tasso, by somebody I remember as Kostic; the book was,
as I recall, published in eastern Europe. Anyway, his book is good on
Tasso and Spenser. Dasenbroek may give a translation of the sonnet in
question. But intellectually Marguerite's is closer. Hers, together with a
religious lyric by St. John of the Cross, is the only other poem I can
find in which the deer comes to you after you give up. And Marguerite also
has the wearied hunter resting near water. I like the poem because
although about Christ and not a girl it makes a similar point: working and
forcing don't have as much effect as letting love come to you. Neither God
nor young ladies like to be bullied or hectored. Marguerite's own point is
a pretty risky quasi-"Lutheran" denial of good works as a way to
Christ. To be sure, in spite of my own conviction that Spenser had read
the very popular Marguerite, he also knew Tasso well. Anne Prescott.

On Tue, 30 Jan 2001, Yngve [iso-8859-1] Nordgård wrote:

> Incredible as it may seem, I have been unable to find a translation of this 
> sonnet by Torquato Tasso, Rime 2.429, no. 1, "Questa fera gentil". Can 
> anyone of you help me with this? I am writing about Spenser's imitation of 
> Petrarca, and Petrarcas Rime sparse 190 "went through" this sonnet by Tasso 
> before being imitated by Spenser.
> 
> 
> Questa fera gentil ch'in si crucciosa
> Fronte fuggia pur dianzi i vostri passi
> Tra spini e sterpi e dirupati sassi
> Strada ad ogn’or prendendo erta e dubbiosa;
> 
> Or, cangiato voler d’onesta posa
> Vaga, discende a i sentier piani e bassi,
> E, quasi ogni durezza indietro lassi,
> Incontro vi si fa lieta e vezzosa.
> 
> Vedete omai come ’l celeste riso
> Benigna v’apre, e come dolcemente
> I rai de’ ‘suoi begli occhi in voi raggira.
> 
> Pavesi, s’or tal gioia al cor v’inspira,
> Che sarà poi quando più volte il viso
> D’amor vi baci e di pietate ardente?
> 
> 
> Yours,
> 
> --
> Yngve Nordgaard, graduate student of comparative literature
> University of Oslo, Norway