Using the subjunctive for a blessing

di Sigrid Lee

Francesco Petrarca (known as Petrarch in English) was born in the area of Arezzo, in Tuscany around 1304, in other words, at the beginning of the century known as il trecento ('300). He spent many years in France, however, in Montpellier and especially in Avignon, where legend has it that he fell in love with a woman named Laura, whom he met in the church there.

The present sonnet is part of "Rerum vulgarium fragmenta" (fragments composed in the vernacular). This is notable because most of his works were composed in Latin. Another name for this collection of poems in Italian was Rime sparse (scattered rhymes or verses). It was also called il canzoniere (the songbook).

Why have we chosen this particular poem? Barbara, a character in La compagnia del cigno, on Yabla, recites the sonnet perfectly when she joins an Italian class in her new school. It's a perfect occasion for us to discuss some interesting features of the sonnet. One feature is the use of the subjunctive (il congiuntivo), a grammar topic we've talked about in previous lessons, so this is a chance to look at one more way to use this tricky verbal conjugation.

Benedetto sia il giorno e il mese, e l'anno.

Blessed be the day and the month, and the year.

Captions 1-2, La compagnia del cigno EP 5 - Part 3
Play Caption

Here is the entire sonnet:

Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374)
Sonetto LXI dal Canzoniere

Benedetto sia 'l giorno, e 'l mese, e l'anno,
e la stagione, e 'l tempo, e l'ora, e 'l punto,
e 'l bel paese, e 'l loco ov'io fui giunto
da' duo begli occhi che legato m'hanno;
e benedetto il primo dolce affanno
ch'i' ebbi ad esser con Amor congiunto,
e l'arco, e le saette ond'i' fui punto,
e le piaghe che 'nfin al cor mi vanno.
Benedette le voci tante ch'io
chiamando il nome de mia donna ho sparte,
e i sospiri, e le lagrime, e 'l desio;
e benedette sian tutte le carte
ov'io fama l'acquisto, e 'l pensier mio,
ch'è sol di lei, sì ch'altra non v'ha parte.

The poem starts out with the subjunctive (Benedetto sia…). How does this work?

The poet is expressing a wish, a blessing, or a devotional hope. That's one way the subjunctive is used in Italian.

In Italian, both ancient and modern, the congiuntivo is used after verbs or expressions that communicate:

• wishes

• hopes

• blessings / curses

• emotions

• judgments

In English, this corresponds to the older form “blessed be…” — (which is also subjunctive).

Benedetto sia il giorno… = Blessed be the day… / May the day be blessed…

Benedetto or "blessed" is not describing the day; it is invoking a blessing on it.

We have learned that the subjunctive is used following the conjunction che (that, which). But there is no che here.

In modern Italian, you might expect:

• Che sia benedetto il giorno… That the day may be blessed...

In poetry, especially in Dante and Petrarch, that che is sometimes simply omitted.

The structure is:

[Che] benedetto sia + sostantivo (il giorno, il mese, etc.)

→ It expresses a wish or invocation.

This structure is repeated throughout the poem. In some cases, even sia (or siano in the plural) is implied.

Petrarch lists all the things connected to the moment he fell in love:

• Benedetto sia il giorno… Blessed be the day...

• Benedetto sia il mese… Blessed be the month...

• Benedette [siano] le voci… Blessed [be] the voices (meaning "the words spoken")...

• Benedette sian tutte le carte… Blessed [be] all the pages/papers (in other words, the written words)...

Every time, sia / sian is a subjunctive form of the verb essere (to be) expressing a blessing or invocation.

In a separate lesson, we will look at some of the vocabulary in the sonnet you might not be familiar with. After all, we're in the fourteenth century, when Italian as a language was becoming an official language. We'll also provide a line by line translation/explanation.