The site of Petrarchism

"Drawing upon poststructuralist theories of nationalism and national identity developed by such writers as Etienne Balibar, Emmanuel Levinas, Julia Kristeva. Antonio Negri, and Slavoj Zizek, Renaissance scholar William J. Kennedy argues that the Perrarchan sonnet serves as a site for early modern expressions of national sentiment in Italy, France, England, Spain, and Germany. Kennedy pursues this argument through historical research into Renaissance commentaries on Petrarch's poetry and critical studies of such poets as Lorenzo de' Medici. Joachim Du Bellay and the Plerade brigade, Philip and Mary Sidney, and Mary Wroth." "Treating the subject of early modern national expression from a broad comparative perspective, The Site of Petrarchism will be of interest to scholars of late medieval and early modern literature in Europe, historians of culture, and critical theorists."--Jacket.