Description: Argues that critical comments appended to early printed editions of Petrarch's Rime sparse inflected the reception and understanding of Petrarch's vernacular poetry in Renaissance Europe.
Brief description: William J. Kennedy is Professor of Comparative Literature at Cornell University. He has focused his scholarly research on the literature of Western Europe from Dante to Milton. His current interest is to pursue critical commentaries in early printed editions of classical and Renaissance texts as guides to the impact of their authors upon early modern Europe. His previous works include, Rhetorical Norms in Renaissance Literature; Jacopo Sannazaro and the Uses of Pastoral; and Authorizing Petrarch.