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Essay / Literary Analysis of Edmund Spenser's Sonnet Amoretti
Spenser's “Amoretti” is a cycle of sonnets dedicated to his wife, Elizabeth Boyle. Among this group of sonnets, we discover one that seems strange: Sonnet 68. This one, instead of being a love poem written exclusively for his beloved, is a diversion from the typical sonnet. He shifts his focus to heavenly love rather than mortal love. This brings an unusual focal point as it separates itself from the sequence of poems while still managing to coherently incorporate the general aspects of Petrarch's sonnet. Mainly through the use of structure and progression, this author relies not only on rules but also on contrasts to reflect the common theme of love by using religious aspects in his work. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay To begin, the sonnet organizes its ideas in the form of three quatrains and couplets. This structure serves to give it more than one twist, marking a difference with Petrarch's sonnet which traditionally contains only one volta. The first turning point is found in line five: “This joyful day, dear Lord, begins with joy, / And grant it to us, for whom you died.” It is considered a turning point because the first four lines of the poem describe the achievements of Jesus and the celebration of his triumph over sin and death, but then it turns this celebration into an exhortation for the reader to be joyful about it. The second turning point appears in line nine: “And let your love weigh us worthily, / May we also love you for the same again.” In this third quatrain, the speaker introduces the idea of giving love to one another, just as Christ did for us when he offered his life to all humanity. Finally, lines thirteen and fourteen (the couplet), serve as the resolution of the poem, here the speaker addresses his lover conclusively, encouraging her to love him. When he says, “Let us love then, dear love, as we ought, / Love is the lesson the Lord has taught us,” it shows that he finds an application of what he had described about love in the previous lines; they should love each other because it is God's command and he loved us first. Therefore, the use of this structure also affects the progression of the main idea. In a conventional sonnet, it is common for the content to involve either a question then an answer, or a problem then a solution. In this particular sonnet, there is no real problem that the speaker is struggling with. In fact, his emotions and tone reflect only happiness, joy, celebration, excitement and joy in the love of Christ. However, he approaches this question differently. In the second quatrain, the movement of the idea advances like a question, or rather like a supplication. In lines seven and eight it says: “Be, with your dear blood, cleansed from sin, / May you live forever in bliss.” » This is the moment where the speaker asks God to allow him to live happily ever after. Furthermore, this petition also shows the generous and selfless character of the speaker, who asks not only for himself but for that of others. He wants to share his happiness with the rest of the world and he shows this as the poem nears the end. As a result, the form and movement of the sonnet work together to impact the theme. Like the traditional sonnet, it adheres to the theme of love, but on the other hand, it refers more to the love of God than to the love between men. This is how we see that the addition of structure of having two voltas affects its progression since these.