What kinds of poems did Michelangelo write?

Michelangelo wrote approximately 300 poems, which he initially began as an elegant form of correspondence before developing them into more original and expressive works. His preserved body of poetry consists primarily of two forms:1

• Sonnets: He completed about 75 of these structured poems.1
• Madrigals: He completed about 95 of these poems, which feature a looser formal structure compared to sonnets, including irregular rhyme schemes and varying line lengths.1

Although he is often associated primarily with sonnets in English-speaking countries, the fact that he left fewer madrigals unfinished suggests he may have preferred that form. His earlier poems were heavily influenced by the love poetry tradition of Petrarch and the Neoplatonism he encountered at the court of Lorenzo the Magnificent. These works often explored the theme that love assists humanity in the difficult ascent toward the divine.1