The poem is structured in six allegorical triumphs. The triumphs are
concatenated, so that the Triumph of Love (over Mankind and even gods) is itself triumphed over by another allegorical force, the Triumph of Chastity. In its turn, Chastity is triumphed over by Death; Death is overcome by Fame; Fame is conquered by Time; and even Time is ultimately overcome by Eternity, the triumph of God over all such worldly concerns.
Triumphus Cupidinis: Triumph of Love One spring day in
Valchiusa, the poet falls asleep and dreams that Love,
personified as a naked and winged young man armed with a bow, passes by on a fiery
triumphal chariot drawn by four white horses. Love is attended by a multitude of his conquests, including illustrious historical, literary, mythological, and biblical figures, as well as ancient and medieval poets and
troubadours. Eventually the procession reaches
Cyprus, the island where
Venus was born. Although only Love is described in the text as riding on a car or chariot, it became normal for illustrators to give them to all the main figures.
Triumphus Pudicitie: Triumph of Chastity Love is defeated by
Laura and a host of personified virtues such as
Honor,
Prudence and
Modesty, as well as chaste heroines including
Lucretia,
Penelope, and
Dido. Love's captives are freed and Love is bound to a column and chastised. The triumphant celebration culminates in
Rome, in the
Temple of Patrician Chastity.
Triumphus Mortis: Triumph of Death Returning from the battle, the victorious host encounters a furious woman dressed in black, who reveals a countryside littered with the corpses of once proud people from all times and places, including emperors and popes. This personification of Death plucks a golden hair from Laura's head. Laura dies an idealised death, but returns from heaven to comfort the poet, who asks when they will be reunited in one of the most significant passages of the poem. She replies that he will survive her a long time.
Triumphus Famae: Triumph of Fame Death departs and after Death comes Fame. Her appearance is compared to the dawn. She is attended by
Scipio and
Caesar, and many other figures from
Rome's military history, as well as
Hannibal,
Alexander,
Saladin,
King Arthur, heroes from
Homer's epics, and
patriarchs from the
Hebrew scriptures. Accompanying these soldiers and generals are the thinkers and orators of
Classical Greece and
Rome. It has been remarked that for Petrarch,
Plato is a greater philosopher than
Aristotle, who was preferred by
Dante.
Triumphus Temporis: Triumph of Time Time is represented by the
sun, chasing the dawn and racing across the sky, jealous and scornful of the fame of mortals. In an elegy on the fickleness of Fame the poet concludes that it will always eventually be followed by oblivion, the "second death".
Triumphus Eternitatis: Triumph of Eternity Petrarch finds consolation in the almighty God and the prospect of being reunited with Laura in heaven and timeless eternity. Eternity is not represented allegorically. == Analysis ==