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Edmund Spenser: Sonnet 75

Edmund Spenser (c. 1552 – 13 January 1599) was an English Renaissance poet who is famously known for his epic poem The Faerie Queene. Following this he produced a collection of sonnets titled Amoretti and Epithalamion which was published in 1595. The volume consists of 89 sonnets; a series of short poems in his Amoretti collection, and an Epithalamion portraying his courtship and marriage to his second wife Elizabeth Boyle.
Spenser is considered one of the greatest poets in the English Language and is recognized for creating his own unique verse form which is used in many of his works. Though highly influenced by the likes of Geoffrey Chaucer and the Roman poet Ovid, some have argued that Spenser's individual style of writing stems from a lack of comprehension of the classics.

Sonnet 75

(Taken from the Amoretti^[1] collection published in 1595.)

ONE day I wrote her name upon the strand^[2],
But came the waves and washed it away:
Again I wrote it with a second hand^[3],
But came the tide and made my pains his prey.
"Vain man," said she, "that dost in vain assay^[4]
A mortal thing so to immortalise^[5];
For I myself shall like to this decay,
And eek^[6] my name be wiped out likewise."
"Not so," (quoth I), "let baser things devise^[7]
To die in dust, but you shall live by fame;
My verse your virtues rare shall eternise^[8],
And in the heavens write your glorious name:
Where, when as death shall all the world subdue,
Our love shall live, and later life renew."

(Listen to the poem)

Summary

In the first quatrain the poet is writing his lover's name in the sand, but the waves keep washing it away no matter how many times he writes it. The physical act of writing her name in the sand symbolises Spensers attempt to defy nature as he tries to immortalize her name. However, the fact that the writing is washed away highlights the futile attempts of immortality.
In the second quatrain the woman addresses the poet directly telling him that his efforts are in vain. Just like her name is washed away, she will one day be gone; he cannot immortalise a mortal thing.
In the third quatrain he replies, telling her that other things may die and fade away but he will make sure that she is immortalised through his poetry. The final couplet sums up his promise; their love is so strong that even death cannot end it, and so she shall become immortalised.

Context

The 89 sonnets from the Amoretti collection were written by Spenser to correspond with the scriptural readings given by the Book of Common Prayer. The collection begins on January 23rd and ends on May 17th, and appears to be written for the period leading up to Spenser’s wedding to Elizabeth Boyle on June 11th. Sonnet 75 corresponds to April 7th which is the Sunday after Easter. Out of the whole collection, Sonnet 75 seems to have the least amount of influence from the daily scriptural readings.
Spenser defies conventional 16th century sonnet form as his Amoretti sequence subverts themes of unrequited relations and spurned love. He instead opts to replace 16th century pessimism with a more optimistic outlook on love and marriage. Stephen Greenblat, in the Norton Anthology states,"It was unusual to write sonnets about happy and successful love; traditionally, the sonneteer's love was for someone painfully inaccessible. ...(Spenser) transforms a Petrachan lament into a vision on unexpected fulfillment."^{[reference 1]}
Spenser's poetry becomes distinguished from earlier works as it holds a personal touch and can be catergorised under the term Lyric poetry, as he uses it to express his personal experiences and emotions.

Themes

The decay of physical and material objects (Her name in the sand, Line 2: But came the waves and washed it away)
Passing of time (decay of life, Line 7: For I myself shall like to this decay)
Memories (Line 9: To die in dust, but you shall live by fame)
Importance of virtue (Line 11: your virtues rare shall enternize)
Eternal love (Line 14: Our love shall live, and later life renew)

Structure

Sonnet 75 follows the form of the Spenserian sonnet- a style coined by Spenser that is distinctive to his work.The typical features of this style are an iambic pentameter and the rhyme scheme: ‘abab / bcbc / cdcd / ee’ which equates to three quatrains and a rhyming couplet at the end. Each quatrain is seen to develop it's own separate idea but they are still all closely related to each other as a whole.^{[reference 2]}

Explanatory Notes

^ 'Ameretto' in Italian is equivalent 'little love/cupid', Italian plural being 'Amoretti'
^ Shore
^ Handwriting
^ To attempt
^ To make immortal
^ Also
^ Contrive
^ Make famous forever

References

^ Greenblat,Stephen, The Norton Anthology: The Sixteenth Century/ Seventeenth Century, Volume B,9th ed., (Norton: New York, 2012), p.985.
^ Nelson Miller, 'Basic Sonnet Forms', Sonnets.org, (August 25, 2012)

[1] 'Ameretto' in Italian is equivalent 'little love/cupid', Italian plural being 'Amoretti'

[2] Shore

[3] Handwriting

[4] To attempt

[5] To make immortal

[6] Also

[7] Contrive

[8] Make famous forever

[9] Greenblat,Stephen, The Norton Anthology: The Sixteenth Century/ Seventeenth Century, Volume B,9th ed., (Norton: New York, 2012), p.985.

[10] Nelson Miller, 'Basic Sonnet Forms', Sonnets.org, (August 25, 2012)

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[reference 1]

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