The Rime: a textual conundrum?

In recent years Colonna's poetry has been studied again and a new interest has arisen in it, in spite of the still quite uncertain condition of it form a textual point of view. The essay starts taking stock of the situation and analyzes the text as we can, using both a thematic and a structural approach to it. Such an analysis reveals the profound unity of the text and the continuous self reflection of the poetic voice. It also appears clearly the original use that Colonna makes of the lyric code she has inherited and the strong subjectivity she is able to express: she in fact constitutes a model for women poets in Europe as well as for spiritual poetry in general.