Petrarchan (also Petrarchanism, Petrarchian) - Refers to a concept of unattainable love first eveloped by Italian humanist and writer, Francesco Petrarch. Petrarch either invented - or made famous the Italian sonnet pattern, which is known to this day as the Petrarchan sonnet or the Italian sonnet. This phrase is often used in reference to romantic literature including analysis of Shakespeare.