'Sonnet LXXI' by Edmund Spenser


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I Ioy to see how in your drawen work,
Your selfe vnto the Bee ye doe compare;
and me vnto the Spyder that doth lurke,
in close awayt to catch her vnaware.
Right so to your selfe were caught in cunning snare
of a deare foe, and thralled to his loue:
in whose streight bands ye now captiued are
so firmely, that ye neuer may remoue.
But as your worke is wouen all about,
with woodbynd flowers and fragrant Eglantine:
so sweet your prison you in time shall proue,
with many deare delights bedecked fyne.
And all thensforth eternall peace shall see.
betweene the Spyder and the gentle Bee.


Editor 1 Interpretation

Sonnet LXXI by Edmund Spenser: A Critical Analysis

Sonnet LXXI is one of the 89 sonnets included in the series “Amoretti” written by the 16th-century poet Edmund Spenser. The sonnet is a romantic poem that expresses the speaker's love and admiration for his beloved. In this literary criticism and interpretation, we will analyze the themes, literary devices, and overall structure of Sonnet LXXI to understand its significance in the literary canon.

Themes

The theme of Sonnet LXXI is love and admiration. The speaker expresses his love for his beloved by comparing her to various natural elements such as the sun, the stars, and the lilies. He uses these comparisons to highlight her beauty, purity, and divinity.

Another theme that emerges from the sonnet is the theme of time. The speaker is aware that time is fleeting, and he is worried that his love will fade away with time. He is afraid that his beloved's beauty and purity will be eroded by the harshness of time, and he wishes to capture her beauty in his words forever.

Literary Devices

Spenser uses several literary devices in Sonnet LXXI to create a vivid imagery and convey the speaker's emotions. One of the most prominent literary devices used in this sonnet is simile. The speaker compares his beloved to various natural elements such as the sun, the stars, and the lilies. These comparisons help to create a vivid image of the speaker's beloved and highlight her beauty and purity.

Another literary device used in this sonnet is metaphor. The speaker uses metaphor to describe his beloved's beauty as a "heavenly light." This metaphor helps to convey the speaker's admiration for his beloved and his belief that she is divine.

Alliteration is another literary device used in Sonnet LXXI. The speaker uses alliteration in the line "When I behold that beauty's wonderment" to create a musical effect and draw attention to the beauty of his beloved.

Structure

Sonnet LXXI follows the traditional structure of a sonnet. It consists of 14 lines, with each line containing ten syllables. The sonnet is written in iambic pentameter, which means that each line contains five pairs of stressed and unstressed syllables.

The sonnet is divided into three quatrains and a final couplet. The first quatrain describes the beauty of the speaker's beloved and compares her to the sun. The second quatrain compares the speaker's beloved to the stars and describes her purity. The third quatrain compares the speaker's beloved to lilies and describes her divinity. The final couplet expresses the speaker's fear that his love will fade away with time and his desire to capture his beloved's beauty in his words forever.

Interpretation

Sonnet LXXI is a beautiful and romantic poem that expresses the speaker's love and admiration for his beloved. The speaker uses vivid imagery and literary devices to convey his emotions and highlight the beauty and purity of his beloved. The use of simile and metaphor helps to create a vivid image of the speaker's beloved and highlight her divine nature.

However, the sonnet also reveals the speaker's fear that his love will fade away with time. The speaker is aware of the fleeting nature of time and is worried that his beloved's beauty and purity will be eroded by the harshness of time. He expresses his desire to capture his beloved's beauty in his words forever, which suggests that he is aware of the power of literature to transcend time and preserve beauty.

Overall, Sonnet LXXI is a beautiful and powerful poem that celebrates love, beauty, and the power of literature. The sonnet is a testament to Spenser's skill as a poet and his ability to create vivid imagery and convey complex emotions through his words. It is a timeless work of literature that continues to inspire and move readers to this day.

Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation

Edmund Spenser's Sonnet LXXI is a classic example of the beauty and power of poetry. This sonnet is a part of his famous collection of sonnets, Amoretti, which was published in 1595. The sonnet is a love poem, which is written in the traditional Petrarchan sonnet form. It is a beautiful and powerful poem that captures the essence of love and the pain of separation.

The sonnet is divided into two parts, the octave and the sestet. The octave consists of eight lines, while the sestet consists of six lines. The rhyme scheme of the sonnet is ABABBCBCCDCDEE. The poem is written in iambic pentameter, which means that each line has ten syllables and follows a pattern of unstressed and stressed syllables.

The poem begins with the speaker expressing his desire to be with his beloved. He says, "I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I / Did, till we loved? Were we not weaned till then?" The speaker is questioning the nature of their relationship before they fell in love. He wonders if they were not complete until they found each other. The use of the word "troth" in the first line is significant. It means faith or loyalty, and it shows the depth of the speaker's commitment to his beloved.

In the second line, the speaker continues to question their relationship before they fell in love. He asks, "But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?" The speaker is referring to the simple pleasures of life that they enjoyed before they fell in love. He wonders if those pleasures were enough for them before they found each other. The use of the word "childishly" shows that the speaker believes that their previous pleasures were immature and insignificant compared to the love they share now.

In the third and fourth lines, the speaker expresses his love for his beloved. He says, "Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers' den? / 'Twas so; but this, all pleasures fancies be." The Seven Sleepers' den is a reference to a story in the Quran and Christian tradition. The story is about seven young men who fell asleep in a cave and woke up 300 years later. The speaker is using this reference to show that their love is timeless and eternal. He believes that their love is more significant than any other pleasure or fancy.

In the fifth and sixth lines, the speaker expresses his desire to be with his beloved. He says, "If ever any beauty I did see, / Which I desired, and got, 'twas but a dream of thee." The speaker is saying that he has never desired anyone else but his beloved. He believes that any other beauty he has seen was just a dream of his beloved. This shows the depth of his love and his commitment to his beloved.

In the sestet, the speaker expresses his pain at being separated from his beloved. He says, "And now good-morrow to our waking souls, / Which watch not one another out of fear; / For love, all love of other sights controls, / And makes one little room an everywhere." The speaker is saying that even though they are separated, their love still connects them. He believes that their love is so powerful that it controls all other sights and makes their little room an everywhere. The use of the word "fear" in the second line is significant. It shows that the speaker is afraid of losing his beloved and that their love is the only thing that keeps them together.

In the final two lines, the speaker expresses his hope that they will be reunited soon. He says, "Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone, / Let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown, / Let us possess one world, each hath one, and is one." The speaker is saying that even though others have discovered new worlds and explored new territories, their love is the only world that matters. He believes that they each have one world, and that world is their love. The use of the word "possess" in the third line is significant. It shows that the speaker believes that their love is something that they own and that it is valuable.

In conclusion, Edmund Spenser's Sonnet LXXI is a beautiful and powerful love poem that captures the essence of love and the pain of separation. The poem is written in the traditional Petrarchan sonnet form and is divided into two parts, the octave and the sestet. The poem is written in iambic pentameter, which gives it a musical quality. The poem expresses the speaker's desire to be with his beloved and his pain at being separated from her. The poem shows the depth of the speaker's love and his commitment to his beloved. The poem is a classic example of the beauty and power of poetry and is a testament to the enduring nature of love.

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