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

who far from being beyond the reach of the poet, is an erotic fantasy that can be attained:
a shepherdess, a high-class lady disguised as a shepherdess, a nude bathing beauty. Or,
the poet sees a falcon or hawk that appeals to him, symbolizing a lady, and chases it for
the rest of the poem; usually he is unable to attain this goal, and his poem conveys his
frustration. In the hunt, the hawk or falcon may lead serendipitously to the lady, who
thus becomes the prey, or the lady may be the bird itself, who also becomes prey, in a
way, with the poet as its covetous potential owner.
In the following anonymous caccia, hunting leads to love in a very
straightforward way; the chase for game is presented as a humorous episode and is not a
metaphor for chasing a woman; however, the hunt leads directly to love, through the
intervention of the elements.
Con bracchi assai e con molti sparveri
uccellavam su per la riva d'Ada.
E qual dicea: - Da, da -
e qual: - Va', cia, Varin; torna, Picciolo, -
e qual prendea le quaglie a volo a volo,
quando con gran tempesta un'aqua giunse.
NC corser mai per campagna levrieri
come facea ciascun per fuggir l'aqua.
E qual dicea: - Da' qua,
dammi '1 mantello -, e tal, - Dammi '1 cappello -,
quand'io ricoverai col mio uccello
dove una pasturella il cor mi punse.
Perch'era sola in fra me dico e rido:
- Ecco la pioggia, il bosco, Enea e Dido. -49
In the above, the hunting scene is conveyed with great immediacy through direct
discourse, and fleeing the rain leads the poet to a woman. Usually, however, the woman
is found by following a hawk, as in the following madrigal.
49 Corsi, Rimatori del Trecento, 1089.