Délie. Object de plus haulte vertu [Délie: Object of Highest Virtue], the major work of the Lyonnais poet Maurice Scève, is the first canzoniere to appear in French. It was first published by Sulpice Sabon and Antoine Constantin in Lyon in 1544 with a privilege issued on 30 October 1543. In 449 decasyllabic dizains (ten-line poems), the poet recounts his love affair with a young woman whom he calls Délie. At the beginning of the volume, the poet describes the birth of love for his mistress. The moment of Petrarchan innamoramento becomes the main theme of the collection to which Scève constantly returns throughout the text. The poetic narrative c…
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Citation: Lyulekina, Elizaveta. "Délie". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 March 2018 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38835, accessed 22 November 2024.]