Dissertation on Birds of Prey and the Sport - the Falconry Heritage ...

to be forceful like the sparrowhawk, rather than useless like the lamer falcon. Poetry,
like hunting, should create a stir.
The second of these sonnets uses the image of the sparrowhawk in a similar
manner. The poet seeks to overcome his timidity in love by acting like the hawk.
10 son tanto temioso e vergognoso
a tutte l'ore ch'io vi so' davanti;
spesse volte io mi muovo coraggioso
per fare e dire quel che fan gli amanti:
quand'io [so'] avanti a voi, viso amoroso,
el parlare e' pensier' mi sono afranti,
e '1 fino amar mi tien si dubitoso,
ch'io non so far ne atti nk sembianti.
Ma io faraggio come 10 sparvero,
ch'a lo incominciamento e dubitoso
quando e co gl[i] agellet[t]i a la foresta,
e poi diventa ardito e manero:
da che cominci diviene argogl[i]oso
e della caccia mena gran tempesta.18
Chiaro refers here to the domestic hawk's development as a hunter: taken when young
from its habitat, it grows yearly into a more powerful hunter, a process commonly noted
in bestiaries, encyclopedic literature, and hunting manuals. He states his plan to model
his own transformation on that of the hawk. It will serve him well to emulate the hawk's
hunting progress as he tries to improve his own hunting in love. In both sonnets, indeed,
Chiaro shows that the hawk's boldness in hunting is an admirable quality to be imitated
in one's own quest.
All the poems examined so far use falcons and hawks in images that relate to the
hunting prowess of the birds themselves. But there are several instances that focus on the
Ibid., 405-406.