Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser (1552-1599)
Edmund Spenser did not come from a wealthy family like many of the writers of his day. He worked his way through Cambridge University, as, what was then labeled, "a poor scholar." We still have this practice today. Colleges and universities offer "work study" to students who demonstrate financial need.
He was an avid reader of literature in French, Greek, Latin, and Italian; he often translated the literature he read into English. He published his first group of translations when he was only sixteen-years-old.
Spenser's greatest masterpiece is an epic poem called The Faerie Queen. Like Beowulf, it shows a world of dragons and monsters-and of course heroic acts. He had planned for The Faerie Queen to consist of twelve separate books, but he only finished six before his death. Each book tells of a knight doing noble deeds for a glorious fairy queen, who Spenser identifies as Queen Elizabeth. In each book, the knight stands for a different virtue, such as justice or courtesy. Of course, the knight has to fight all kinds of evil.
Edmund Spenser also wrote many sonnets, and their theme is often the impermanence of life and beauty, a common theme of Elizabethan poets. In fact, the poem you are about to read, "Sonnet 75," addresses the same theme. The poet writes the name of his love in the sand, and the waves come in and wash it away. She scolds him that he can't expect her to live forever; she is, after all, mortal, and like all things will decay. In the concluding lines of the sonnet, you will see how Spenser proves her wrong.
Important Vocabulary
Words to Know:
Strad
Assay
Eek
Quod
Vain
Sonnet 75
Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words.
Read "Sonnet 75" aloud, paying particular attention to the use of alliteration and the rhyme scheme. Note there are two versions in your reading: one is the original and the other is a slight translation.
Who are the two speaker's in the poem?
Whose point of view do you think is closer to the truth?
What two events occur twice in the first quatrain?
How does the woman in the sonnet react when the speaker writes her name in the sand?
Why do you think the speaker wants to immortalize his love?
What is alliterative in the line, "Our love shall live, and later life renew."
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
William Shakespeare needs no introduction. You're very familiar with Romeo and Juliet, and in the next unit, you'll read Macbeth. What you may not know is that Shakespeare was also a brilliant and accomplished poet. He is credited with having written one hundred and fifty-four sonnets and four long poems.
Many Elizabethan poets wrote sonnet sequences, but no other poet can equal the depth of feeling and expression and the perfect form of Shakespeare. His poems reflect emotional experiences, but no one knows if he just made them up or if he lived them. Many of his sonnets are addressed to a mysterious "dark lady" who appears to be the object of his deep love. His themes are timeless: life, love, beauty, friendship, and the passage of time.
You are going to read two out of 154 sonnets that Shakespeare published in 1609. Many of his later sonnets concern a woman known to scholars as the "Dark Lady." As you read the poems, notice the poem's form: the rhyme scheme and poetic elements.
Important Vocabulary
Words to Know:
Dun
Roses demasked
Rare
She
Belied
With false compare
Sonnets 130 and 18
Read Shakespearean Sonnets 130 and 18.
Let's explicate the poems to get a deeper understanding of what lies on the surface.
In a traditional sonnet, the writer usually compares his love to something beautiful. Look at both 130 and 18. To what are both loves being compared?
Look at "Sonnet 130" and highlight the simile in blue, write the rhyme scheme at the end of each line, highlight the imagery in green.
Both poems are filled with imagery.
You should notice that also in both poems the speaker is in love. In "Sonnet 130," the speaker is not going by traditional standards to his comparisons; however, he still loves the woman.
In "Sonnet 18," you find lovely comparisons; however, the woman could never be that beautiful, or could she?
Look back to both poems to find the poet's message or theme. The theme of a work is its implied view of life and human nature. It is the generalization about life at large that the piece leads the reader to see.
The three quatrains often express related ideas or examples; then the couplet sums up the speaker's conclusion or message.
Go to the 3.03 Sonnets 130 and 18 Discussion to submit your views on the messages for both poems. Use the guide below to write your interpretations.
In _________(title)____________, __________(author)_____
______(reveals, explores, illustrates, shows, etc.) __________(key aspect of the theme)_________ and how it___(What does it show us on a universal level?)______ .
Example: In "Sonnet 75," Edmund Spenser illustrates the eternal nature of love and how it can be perserved through a work of art.
Comment on one other person's post to see if you had the similar interpretations.
Parody
A parody ridicules something by imitating its style for comic effect. In this case, one of Shakespeare's most famous love sonnets is the victim of a parody by Anthony Baldwin.
Note to male students: If you want to impress a girl, use the original not the parody!
Sonnet 18 (a parody)
Shall I compare thee to a bale of hay?
Thou art more dusty and far less neat.
Rough winds do toss thy mop about, I'd say,
Which looks far worse than hay a horse would eat.
Sometime thy squinty eye looks into mine
Through stringy, greasy hair that needs be trimm'd,
And ne'er a horse had such a stench as thine,
As though in stagnant sewers thou hast swimm'd.
Thy disgusting image shall not fade;
This my tortured mind and soul doth know.
O, I should love to hit thee with a spade;
And with that blow I hope that thou wouldst go.
So long as I can breathe, my eyes can see,
And I can run, I'll stay away from thee…
Human Emotion in Writing
When we look at the subjects of the two sonnets, we see that people's interests don't change. Everyone who has ever lived has felt the same feelings of fear, loneliness, self-doubt, love, regret, hope, and every other emotion you can name.
These human feelings are the source of great literature, and the great writers help us put our feelings into a broader perspective. This helps us to feel connected to others who have already walked in our steps. And when we become connected to these people, we can learn from their successes and mistakes.