Understanding Edmund Spenser's "Amoretti": The Poet's Assessment of Love

Introduction

Edmund Spenser's "Amoretti" is a collection of 89 sonnets, written in the 16th century. The collection, which was published in 1595, is a celebration of the poet's courtship and eventual marriage to his beloved Elizabeth Boyle. 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 Sonnet Sequence, it is unique in the realm of love-sonnets by the virtue of its dramatic lyrics and articulations of love passions. Moreover, "Amoretti" a Latin for 'amorous tale of love' is not just a romantic love story, it is also a deep exploration of the concept of love. In this article, we will examine the poet's assessment of love in Edmund Spenser's "Amoretti" encompassing the themes, language, and motifs used by Spenser to convey his message.

Love as a Transformative Force

Edmund Spenser

In Shakespeare there is doubtful possibility of unlocking the heart, in Sidney there is mute melancholy but in Spenser's there is a marriage hymn, a romantic journey of love making. The concept of love as a transformative force is a recurring theme in "Amoretti". Spenser sees love as a force that has the power to change a personae of a thing for the better. He believes that love has the ability to inspire people to become their best selves even through contrasts. This is evident in Sonnet 30, where Spenser writes:

"My Love is like to ice, and I to fire: How comes it then that this her cold so great Is not dissolved through my so hot desire, But harder grows the more I her entreat? Or how comes it that my exceeding heat Is not allayed by her heart-frozen cold, But that I burn much more in boiling sweat, And feel my flames augmented manifold? What more miraculous thing may be told, That fire, which all things melts, should harden ice, And ice, which is congeal’d with senseless cold, Should kindle fire by wonderful device? Such is the power of love in gentle mind, That it can alter all the course of kind."

In this sonnet, Spenser describes how love can transform the nature of things. In this poem, Spenser finds himself struggling to comprehend the depth of his passion for his beloved. Despite her cold and indifferent response, his love burns within him with an intense fervor that only seems to grow stronger with every passing moment. It's as if her lack of interest only fuels the fire of his desire. He can't help but wonder how it's possible for his love, which he liken to fire, to make her, who he compares to ice, even colder. It's an enigma that he simply can't unravel. How can ice make fire burn brighter and hotter, and how can fire make ice even colder? Yet, despite the perplexing nature of their relationship, he believes that the contrast between them serves as a testament to the extraordinary power of love itself. Love is so miraculous that it can defy even the laws of nature. And so, even as his beloved's indifference grows colder, his love for her burns with an ever-brighter flame, like ice kindling fire.

Love as a Theatrical Experience

Another important theme in "Amoretti" is the theatrical nature of love. Spenser sees love as a acting force that fails to connects humans to a desired paths. In Sonnet 54, he writes:

"Of this worlds Theatre in which we stay,

My love lyke the Spectator ydly sits

Beholding me that all the pageants play,

Disguysing diversly my troubled wits.

Sometimes I joy when glad occasion fits,

And mask in myrth lyke to a Comedy:

Soone after when my joy to sorrow flits,

I waile and make my woes a Tragedy.

Yet she beholding me with constant eye,

Delights not in my merth nor rues my smart:

But when I laugh she mocks, and when I cry

She laughes, and hardens evermore her hart.

What then can move her? if not merth nor mone,

She is no woman, but a sencelesse stone."

Here, Spenser compares love to a spectator who watches over him as he navigates the challenges of life. Love, in this sense, is not just an emotion, but a theatrical force that guides and sustains him. This poem expresses the frustration of a man who is unable to capture the attention of the woman he desires. He tries everything he can think of to impress her, from acting out different scenarios like a performer on stage, but she remains uninterested. No matter what he does, she seems unmoved by his efforts. When he tries to make her laugh, she mocks him, and when he shows his vulnerable side, she laughs. It's like he's performing for an audience that just doesn't appreciate his talent. In the end, the man questions whether there's anything he can do to win her over. He sees her as a "senseless stone" and believes that his actions only serve to harden her heart. He's at a loss as to what he can do, and he places the blame solely on her for being emotionless.

Love as a Source of Joy and Pleasure

While Spenser acknowledges the transformative and spiritual nature of love, he also celebrates it as a source of joy and pleasure. In Sonnet 75, he writes:

"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."

Spenser describes the joy he feels in his beloved's company, and the pain he feels when they are separated. He recognizes that love is not always easy, but he celebrates the moments of joy and pleasure that it brings. He likes to eternalize the very name of his beloved through his poetic articulations which will even surpass the onslaught of time.

Love as a source of Pain and Frustration

In Spenser's Sonnet 57, we can feel the speaker's deep frustration as he continues to deal with an unresponsive beloved. He addresses her as a "Sweet warrior" and pleads with her, asking when he will finally have peace with her. The tone of desperation in his question is palpable, and it's clear that he's struggling with the torment of unrequited love. Like many Shakespearean sonnets, this one continues to explore the speaker's emotional suffering in the face of indifference from his beloved. We can relate to the intense frustration that arises when the person we love is unwilling to reciprocate our feelings. The way the speaker describes being shot with arrows that pierce his heart is particularly poignant. It's as if his beloved is deliberately causing him pain, and he's powerless to stop her. The sonnet paints a picture of the speaker as a slave, desperately pleading with his beloved to accept his proposal. It's a raw and honest expression of the agony of unrequited love, and it's a sentiment that many of us can understand all too well:

"Sweet warriour when shall I have peace with you?

High time it is, this warre now ended were:

Which I no lenger can endure to sue,

Ne your incessant battry more to beare:

So weake my powres, so sore my wounds appeare,

That wonder is how I should live a jot,

Seeing my hart through launched every where

With thousand arrowes, which your eies have shot:

Yet shoot ye sharpely still, and spare me not,

But glory thinke to make these cruel stoures.

Ye cruell one, what glory can be got,

In slaying him that would live gladly yours?

Make peace therefore, and graunt me timely grace.

That al my wounds wil heale in little space."

Another in reference, Spenser's sonnet 67 is a beautiful English version of Petrarch's Canzoniere 190, "Una candida cerva sopra l'erba," with a dash of Tasso's Rime 388 ("Al Signor C. Pavesi"). It's all about winning the heart of a ladylove while using a hunting metaphor. In this game of love, the lover and the beloved are both the hunter and the hunted. It's fascinating how the sonnet portrays love as a game, with all its twists and turns, devises and articulations. The sonnet lays out a plan for the game, involving three characters: the lover, the false lover, and the ladylove. As someone who has played the game of love before, we can enjoy to the metaphoric way this sonnet frames love as a hunt. It's about strategizing and anticipating your opponent's moves, all while trying to capture their heart. The sonnet is a beautiful example of how poetry can use metaphor to capture the complexities of human emotion. The way the sonnet blends different poetic traditions is also impressive, and it creates a unique and memorable piece of art:

"Like as a huntsman after weary chase,

Seeing the game from him escap'd away,

Sits down to rest him in some shady place,

With panting hounds beguiled of their prey:

So after long pursuit and vain assay,

When I all weary had the chase forsook,

The gentle deer return'd the self-same way,

Thinking to quench her thirst at the next brook.

There she beholding me with milder look,

Sought not to fly, but fearless still did bide:

Till I in hand her yet half trembling took,

And with her own goodwill her firmly tied.

Strange thing, me seem'd, to see a beast so wild,

So goodly won, with her own will beguil'd."

Conclusion:

Edmund Spenser's "Amoretti" is a beautiful exploration of the concept of love. Through his poetry, Spenser assesses love as a transformative force that has the power to inspire us to become better versions of ourselves, a spiritual experience that connects us to a higher power, and a source of joy and pleasure that brings us happiness. The collection is a significant work of literature that continues to inspire and move readers today. Critics are interested in exploring the themes of love, transformation, and spirituality in "Amoretti" and is definitely worth a read.

Ardhendu De

Reference

1. De, A.,  (2011, June 8). Critical Appreciation of Spenser’s Sonnet No. 75 in Amoretti (One day I wrote her name upon the strand). Critical Appreciation of Spenser’s Sonnet No. 75 in Amoretti (One Day I Wrote Her Name Upon the Strand). https://ardhendude.blogspot.com/2011/06/critical-appreciation-of-spensers.html

2. De, A., (2013, May 16). Edmund Spenser’s Literary Works that Bridged the Medieval and Elizabethan Periods. Edmund Spenser’s Literary Works That Bridged the Medieval and Elizabethan Periods. https://ardhendude.blogspot.com/2013/05/edmund-spensers-literary-works-that.html

3. De, A., (2015, November 20). Attending Spenser’s Sonnet 57 and Sonnet 67 (Amoretti) Can Be Interesting If We Remember Popular Theme of Indifference and Chastity. Attending Spenser’s Sonnet 57 and Sonnet 67 (Amoretti) Can Be Interesting if We Remember Popular Theme of Indifference and Chastity. https://ardhendude.blogspot.com/2015/11/attending-spensers-sonnet-57-and-sonnet.html

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