Displacing Petrarch: : Christomorphism and Exemplarity in Juan Boscán’s Libro Segundo

D I S P L A C I N G P E T R A R C H : C H R I S T O M O R P H I S M A N D E X E M P L A R I T Y I N J U A N B O S C A N ' S LIBRO SEGUNDO Javier L o r e n z o S o u t h e r n U t a h University In spite of his crucial role in the introduction and adaptation of the Petrarchan lyric to Spanish letters, the figure of Juan Boscan has remained largely ignored in Golden Age studies. His poems are rarely included in course syllabi and have received little attention from '"critics, who usually dismiss them as product of a servile and unrefined imitator.1 Such view has been partially modified in recent years by a handful of scholars who are trying to present a different view of Boscan's poetry, one that emphasizes its departure from the Petrarchan model (Darst, Navarrete 73-90). This departure becomes apparent, as I will argue in this essay, in the interplay between christomorphism and exemplarity that takes place in the libro segundo of the Obras poeticas (1543). The radical plan for the renovation of the Petrarchan lyric that Boscan presents in this book is based on a careful analogy between the figure of the poet and that of Christ. Boscan establishes this analogy by adopting a series of christomorphic postures that allow him to displace the Canzoniere as the perfect pattern for the construction of a lyric sequence and of a recognizable poetic persona. Foremost among these postures are those of Christ as Man of Sorrows and as the conqueror of death after the Resurrection. Boscan appropriates these two traditional christological motifs and uses them to validate the fashioning of his lyric identity and his rivalry with Petrarch. The central role that the figure of Christ plays in Boscan's libro segundo has escaped the attention of those few who have considered the poetry of this author. This critical oversight may be explained by the fact that Boscan's poetry has never been studied in relation to the question of exemplarity. This aspect will occupy the center of my analysis in the pages that follow. My intention will be to demonstrate that in the figure of Christ Boscan found a powerful vehicle for the representation of his lyric persona and for displacing the Canzoniere as a literary model. These two issues become a chief concern in the opening sonnets of the libro segundo. Starting with sonnet 1, these poems present the picture of a suffering lover/poet who, guided by his desire to advise the reader, has decided to abandon his privacy and to CALIOPE Vol. 7, No. 2 (2001): pages 23-36 24 «5 Javier Lorenzo make his love affair a matter of public concern. Boscan's intention is not, like Petrarch's, "trovar pieta non che perdono" (Canz. 1.8) in the readers, but rather to give them instruction and to offer his example as a valuable lesson in the matters of the heart.3 This change from a palinodic to a didactic register is important because it indicates that the notions of exemplarity and self-fashioning overlap and occupy a central place in Boscan's lyric project. Setting up his own example as an object of study for the reader allows Boscan to represent himself as a lyric model and to dignify the status of his poetry as material fit for imitation.4 The appropriation of the figure of Christ has in this context a crucial importance. It helps the poet assume his role as exemplar and reinforces the sense of authority that emanates from his discourse.5 This can be seen in the sonnet that inaugurates the sequence, where the image of Christ as Man of Sorrows mingles with, and lends support to, the exemplary posture that Boscan is trying to adopt: Nunca d'Amor estuve tan contento Que'n su loor mis versos ocupase; ni a nadie conseje que s'enganase buscando en el amor contentamiento. Esto siempre juzg6 mi entendimiento...