Cum ipsis sensibus labor et pugna

Abstract

Giovanni Pico della Mirandola’s poetry is contextualized by his own poetological statements, negotiating the tension between vernacular Petrarchism and the metaphysical and theological tenets of Renaissance philosophy. Although Pico’s poems are overshadowed by his philosophical writings in existing research, poetry plays a far more important role within his oeuvre than most critics are ready to admit. Pico’s demand is for a poetic discourse charged with doctrinal subtexts. In the Quattrocento, poetry and rhetoric are not yet sharply distinguished in terms of theory – a systematic poetics of genre emerges only later, during the Cinquecento. If «eloquence» in general is to be compatible with philosophy in the 14th century, this must equally apply to poetry. On its linguistic surface, Pico’s vernacular poetry clearly exhibits the influence of Petrarchism. Yet while his poems deploy the established patterns of the Petrarchan tradition, Pico attempts to invest these texts with a metaphysical dimension. This attempt yields varying results – towards the end of his poetic production (his poetry does not in fact constitute mere juvenilia, as has frequently been assumed), Pico appears to be disillusioned with vernacular poetry, negating the ability of poetic discourse to master «cum ipsis sensibus labor et pugna».