To mark the 50th anniversary to the day of the discovery of Peter Caxaro’s 15th-century poem Cantilena, the Akkademja tal-Malti is organising a talk this Thursday in Valletta.

Discovered by Michael Fsadni in 1966 in a register of notary Brandan Caxaro at the Notarial Archives in Valletta, the physical structure of Cantilena was always thought to be quite conventional. Simply put, it was believed to begin at the beginning and finish at the end.

A closer look at the poem’s literary construction, however, suggests that it is somewhat more complex than that. After years of studying’s Caxaro’s medieval composition, philosophy lecturer Mark Montebello suggests that the physical structure of the Cantilena is most likely chiastic. This means that its verses are related to each other in a sort of mirrored arrangement, starting from the outer verses and moving in towards the centre, where the first verse corresponds to the last, the second to the penultimate, and so forth. The middle verses are the centrepiece of the whole composition and offer an interpretative key to the poem’s main idea.

This internal organisation of the Cantilena seems to adhere to the zajal style of the 11th century Andalusian poet Ibn Quzmân. However, it may also have been conveniently used by Caxaro to convey sentiments which were closest to his heart.

The chiastic structure of the Cantilena is the subject of the talk being held at the Fortifications Interpretation Centre in St Mark’s Street, Valletta, at 7pm. Montebello will introduce the new interpretative reading of the Cantilena and offer internal and external evidence to prove that Caxaro’s poem is a chiasmus.

All those present will be given a booklet explaining the poem’s chiastic structure in detail. Entrance is free and open to the public. The event is being held in Maltese.