Comparative Study of Spenser's Amoretti ( Sonnet No. 75) and Sidney’s Astrphel and Stella ( Sonnet No.1)

Even though the Spenserian Sonnet Sequence of Amoretti parallels the contemporary sequences like Sidney’s Astrophel and Stella, Daniel's Delia, Drayton’s Idea, and Shakespeare's sonnets, it is unique in the realm of love-sonnets by the virtue of its dramatic lyrics. 

In fact, both Spenser's "Amoretti Sonnet 75" and Sidney's "Astrophel and Stella Sonnet 1" deal with themes of love and its challenges, but they approach these themes differently. Spenser's sonnet emphasizes the impermanence of love and life through vivid imagery, while Sidney's sonnet highlights the poet's personal struggle to find the right words to express his love for Stella. Each sonnet offers a unique perspective on the complexities of human emotion and the art of poetry.

Sonnet No.75 (One day I wrote her name upon the strand) of Amoretti not only presents the dramatic background for the intensely personal colloquy between the lover and the beloved, but it seems to be even a reenactment of the eternal drama of mortality and immortality. 

The first quatrain presents the lover attempt to eternize his beloved’s name on the sea-shore, the second the lady’s virgins opposition since she feels instead that she cannot be eternized by a mere physical etching; and finally  the poet lover's declaration that the extermination of his beloved would proceed naturally from time's point of view but his poetry enliven their token of love forever.

              “Vayne man”, sayd she,“that doest in vaine assay,

            A mortall thing so to unmortalize,

            For I my selve shall lyke to this decay,

            And eek my name bee wiped out likewise”.

He entertains the life from art rather than materialistic . Here, however, Spenser’s virtuosity lies in rendering the lyric into dramatic, something which almost no other sonneteer have even attempted, or even if attempted, achieved with least success. The abrupt beginning, the conversational tone and the vigorous exchange transform the sonnet in to a miniature drama.  
               “My verse your virtues rare shall eternize”.

            And in the heavens wryte your glorious name.

            Where when as death shall all the world subdew,

            Our love shall live, and later life renew”.

Sonnet No.1 of Sidney’s Astrophel and Stella skills a poem which almost is an ‘inspiration’ in an epic, presents the poets problem as a lover. An ordinary man would have angrily waxed alone about his love being a poet.  "Loving In Truth" by Sir Phillip Sidney can hardly avoid discussing, In "Loving In Truth," here is the challenge of writing an romantic love  poem but also   the   hurdle for Sidney  in  writing  so.

Sidney must also consider the problem of poetic expression. The poet as lover sent to search the appropriate poetic medium for the amorous intend of his heart and as a poet-lover he is aware that the conventional Patrarchan mode would be inappropriate is this case. 

“Oft turning others’ leaves, to see if thence would flow

Some fresh and fruitful showers upon my sunburned brain.

 But words came halting forth, wanting Invention’s stay;”

Through the course of his poem he would realign the most efficacious means of acquiring a love-mate's unique and individual love, and therefore demands the true voice of keeling or Spontaneous lyricism weaning from the heart. Sidney’s poem is in many may distinct from art of Petrarch. Thus his poem is an origin text about the notion of originality in love poetry.

The Poems:

Spenser's "Amoretti Sonnet 75":

One day I wrote her name upon the strand,

But came the waves and washed it away:

Again I wrote it with a second hand,

But came the tide, and made my pains his prey.

"Vain man," said she, "that dost in vain assay

A mortal thing so to immortalize;

For I myself shall like to this decay,

And eke my name be wiped out likewise."

"Not so," (quod I) "let baser things devise

To die in dust, but you shall live by fame:

My verse your vertues rare shall eternize,

And in the heavens write your glorious name:

Where whenas death shall all the world subdue,

Our love shall live, and later life renew."

Sidney's "Astrophel and Stella Sonnet 1":

Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show,

That she (dear She) might take some pleasure of my pain:

Pleasure might cause her read, reading might make her know,

Knowledge might pity win, and pity grace obtain;

I sought fit words to paint the blackest face of woe,

Studying inventions fine, her wits to entertain;

Oft turning others' leaves, to see if thence would flow

Some fresh and fruitful showers upon my sun-burn'd brain.

But words came halting forth, wanting Invention's stay,

Invention, Nature's child, fled step-dame Study's blows,

And others' feet still seem'd but strangers in my way.

Thus, great with child to speak, and helpless in my throes,

Biting my truant pen, beating myself for spite,

"Fool," said my Muse to me, "look in thy heart and write."

Key Notes: 

Comparative Analysis:

1. Theme:

Spenser's Sonnet 75: The theme of this sonnet is the impermanence of earthly things, including love and one's own mortality.

Sidney's Sonnet 1: The theme here is the poet's struggle to express his love for Stella, his muse, and the idea of seeking inspiration from his own emotions.

2. Imagery:

Spenser uses the image of writing his beloved's name on the sand and the waves washing it away to symbolize the transient nature of love and life.

Sidney uses the imagery of a pregnant woman struggling to give birth to words, highlighting the difficulty of expressing his feelings and the frustration he experiences.

3. Addressing the Beloved:

In Spenser's sonnet, the beloved is addressed in the third person, emphasizing the inevitability of her name fading away.

Sidney's sonnet is a more direct address to his beloved, Stella, using endearing terms like "dear She," which emphasizes his personal connection and longing.

4. Tone:

Spenser's tone is somewhat melancholic, accepting the transient nature of love.

Sidney's tone is a mix of frustration and determination, as he struggles to find the right words to express his love.

5. Perspective:

Spenser's sonnet is from the perspective of the poet himself, contemplating the fate of his written words and his beloved's name.

Sidney's sonnet is also from the poet's perspective but focuses on his internal struggle to convey his emotions.

Ardhendu De

References:

Edmund Spenser’s Amoretti and Epithalamion : a critical edition : Spenser, Edmund, 1552?-1599 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/edmundspensersam00spenuoft

Philip Sidney - Wikipedia. (2011, October 29). Philip Sidney - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Sidney