Illustration and text in theHypnerotomachia Poliphili(Venice, 1499) have been long considered intricately related yet the book's ornate, invented language has made study of such interaction difficult. This essay reconsiders their connections through a close analysis of two woodcuts and accompanying text in light of the poetical-rhetorical conventions of contemporary Petrarchan imitation in Italy. This reveals how Francesco Colonna visually and textually adapted, in a playful way, traditional subjects of vernacular lyric poetry: the beauty of the poet's beloved, and the lover's own emotions, characterized through metaphor and other tropes.

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