Ransom's Petrarchan Sonnet

This Petrarchan sonnet tells a story about an older man trying to win a younger woman's heart. The choice of writing a Petrarchan sonnet helps set the scene. Petrarchan sonnets typically include a love story or reference an unattainable woman, which both are shown in Piazza Piece. The love story in Piazza Piece has an underlying meaning. The use of the older man and the younger woman creates a divide in the sonnet. John Crowe Ransom uses these speakers to address what the old man and the young woman’s purpose really is.
Ransom emphasizes the age of the two speakers in the sonnet. The man is “a gentleman in a dustcoat trying”. A dust coat is a long, trench coat that is worn down and old. This coat, which symbolizes a grave, plays an important
role in figuring out what the old man really means. The grave is being carried around by the old man, who portrays Death. The lady is the complete opposite of the man. She is a “young lady in beauty”. She has soft and small ears and is waiting for her true love. These characteristics imply that the lady portrays the nature of youth and beauty.
A major image in the sonnet is the lady's trellis, specifically the act of the roses on the trellis dying. The trellis and roses are metaphors for age. Her trellis represents her body and youth. The roses on her trellis were once young and blooming, but now her roses are dying: “the roses on your trellis dying”. The man telling the reader that her roses are dying, means that she is aging and death is approaching.
Ransom uses the repetition of words to back up his main purpose of the sonnet. In lines one and eight, the gentleman says the word trying. The act of trying illustrates that the man is wanting to capture the lady's attention. In lines nine and fourteen, the lady says the word waiting. The use of waiting suggests that the lady is wanting someone better than the man. The use of these two words means more than their literal meaning. Ransom stresses through these words that Death is trying to capture her youth even though her youth does not want to let go and accept her death.
The structure of the sonnet adds an effect to the story's meaning. The octave is where the man speaks and the sestet is where the lady speaks. This provides clarity when reading the sonnet. The octave and sestet help create a divide which plays a role in the sonnet. The structure helps the reader understand the division of opinions from the two speakers. They both have two different outlooks on the lady's life. The divide further helps develop the main message of the sonnet.