If a Despicable Cloud

If a Despicable Cloud is a sonnet written by Venetian Jewish Italian poet Sarra Copia Sullam in July 1621. The poem serves as a rhetorical defense and a direct response to Baldassarre Bonifacio, a local cleric who publicly accused Sarra Copia Sullam of denying the immortality of the soul. Denying the immortality of the soul was a dangerous offense in Counter-Reformation Venice because it was viewed as a direct rejection of Catholic doctrine. In an era when the church was heavily enforcing its teachings as a response to the Protestant Reformation, denying the immortality of the soul was perceived as moral corruption, a disruption of spiritual order, and the mother of all heresies. Those who rejected this doctrine were subject to persecution.

If a Despicable Cloud positions Sarra Copia Sullam as a sophisticated intellectual as opposed to her slanderers, whom she characterizes as irrational and animalistic. She frames these accusations as invalid claims and attempts to reclaim her status. Sarra Copia Sullam initially had no intention of publicly addressing her accuser, as she feared further scrutiny. It was also deemed inappropriate for a woman of her standing to engage in public discourse in this era of the Counter-Reformation. Nevertheless, as a woman living in the Venetian Ghetto, Sarra Copia Sullam acknowledged that her reputation was an extension of her community’s reputation and she felt compelled to defend herself to protect her community.

Context

In 17th-century Venice, women were confined to the domestic sphere and were encouraged to practice modesty and chastity to protect their reputation. Public speech was perceived as intellectual promiscuity and slander was a gendered tool of censorship that was utilized to silence women.

Sarra Copia Sullam, writer and intellectual, opened a literary salon at her house in the Venetian ghetto in 1618 that provided a space for Christians and Jews to discuss literary, philosophical, and religious matters. Baldassarre Bonifacio, a Christian cleric, met Sarra Copia Sullam by attending her literary salon. As a prominent intellectual, Bonifacio was part of the diverse group of Christian patricians, scholars, and poets who frequented her home to engage in intellectual, philosophical, and literary discussions.

In June 1621, Bonifacio published Dell’ Immortalità dell’anima (On the Immortality of the Soul). In this publication, he accused Sarra Copia Sullam of not believing in the immortality of the soul, a view considered basic to Judaism and to Christianity and a major topic for members of academies. Bonifacio drew on passages from the Bible and Plato to justify his arguments. Ultimately, he suggested, the issue could be resolved by Sullam converting to Christianity. 

In response, Sarra Copia Sullam published her Manifesto to defend herself and her faith, dedicating it to her deceased father to reinforce her Jewish identity and family honor. Through entering the realm of printed publications, Sullam challenged the Venetian expectation of women remaining silent, rejecting the idea of “intellectual promiscuity” that Bonifacio projected upon her. The sonnet If a Despicable Cloud was included in the conclusion of the Manifesto and together, the Manifesto and sonnet demonstrate logic and artistic integrity.

The Sonnet

If a despicable cloud can in fact shadow

     The brightest stars in the full span of heaven,

     Why prevent a despicable ox, upon the rising or setting 3

     Of the sun, from roaring in both heat and cold?

May the shady ways of an infamous monster not darken       

The green of my stalk or raise mountains upon mountains! 6

Its unworthy boastings are known to everyone there       

And no veil conceals them.

   Why be concerned? Would a despicable heart ever be troubled 9

     By the weight of ignominy if it rejoices in loathsome customs,

     As does a filthy pig in stench?

    Thus it is, Signor, that to the odious breaths and the fumes.  12

Sonnet Meaning

In this sonnet, Sarra Copia Sullam is attacking the character of her critic, Baldassare Bonifacio. In line 3, Sarra Copia Sullam refers to Bonifacio as a “despicable ox” and later in line 11, she refers to him as a “filthy pig.” Through using animalistic imagery, Sullam strips her accuser of his human dignity and effectively argues that his gossip is not an intellectual critique. She argues that Bonifacio is so morally corrupt that he takes pleasure in defaming someone else. 

Sarra Copia Sullam sets up an environmental hierarchy to frame this conflict. She positions herself as part of the “brightest stars” in line 2 and uses a plant-based metaphor to describe her resilience and inner strength. 

The “Despicable Cloud” in line 1 is a metaphor for slander itself, emphasizing how it can overshadow an individual’s true character, but not erase who they are. Sarra Copia Sullam’s message in this section is ultimately that slander cannot change the fact that she is still exceptionally intelligent and talented in her work.

In lines 3-4 of the sonnet, Sarra Copia Sullam states that an ox roars in heat and in the cold. This section is directly related to Bonifacio as he is also loud and mindless in his accusations against Sullam. She asks that the shady ways of this monster not darken her growth or reputation. In the context of the Counter-Reformation, to darken her and cast shame upon her with these accusations would essentially kill her social and intellectual life. 

References

1. "Sarra Copia Sullam". Jewish Women's Archive. 2021-06-23.
2. Westwater, Lynn Lara. Sarra Copia Sulam: A Jewish Intellectual and the Venice Ghetto. Meridian: Crossing Aesthetics. Stanford University Press, 2020.
3. Harrán, Don. Sarra Copia Sulam: Jewish Poet and Intellectual in Seventeenth-Century Venice. University of Chicago Press, 2009.
4. Westwater, Lynn Lara. "The Ghetto as Context: Sarra Copia Sulam’s Manifesto." in The Ghetto in Global History.
5. Adelman, Howard Tzvi. "Sarra Copia Sullam." Jewish Women's Archive, 23 June 2021, jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/sullam-sarra-copia. 
6. Harrán, Don. “Sarra Copia Sulam: A Seventeenth-Century Jewish Poet in Search Of.” Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women’s Studies & Gender Issues, no. 25, 2013, pp. 30–50. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2979/nashim.25.30. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
7. “Sarra Copia Sullam | Printed_Matter.” Primolevicenter.org, 2024, primolevicenter.org/printed-matter/sarra-copia-sullam/.

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