Poem
Kel Kelsey Rama
English 4
Zappa 2013
Immortality Through Words
The two sonnets “One Day I Wrote Her Name” written by Edmund Spencer and “Sonnet 63” written by William Shakespeare both instill a figurative idea of immortality throughout the course of time long after the writers have passed on. Shakespeare plants his beauty within the lines of the poem after his lover’s physical beauty deteriorates with time. Spencer, however, keeps the memory and love for a woman. Although both poems are about two different subjects, the main theme that connects them is that they immortalize two non-physical ideas. The hope of every writer is to have their work famous and studied long after their death. Not only have these two poets immortalized their poetry, but they also succeeded in forever remembering beauty and love. Spencer writes “ONE day I wrote her name upon the strand, But came the waves and washed it away:” (1-2) in an attempt to have his love’s name remembered forever, but every time they do, the wave comes and destroys the name. Since writing it in the sand of a beach doesn’t prevail in preserving the memory of his love, the writer turns to another canvass: poems. “My verse your vertues rare shall eternize, And in the hevens wryte your glorious name.” Spencer uses the word “verse”, which in this case means poem, to convey that through the poem itself, the woman written in it will live on forever. Words are never forgotten, especially written words. “And in the heavens write your glorious name:” (12). This line gives readers an everlasting image. Heaven is everlasting as opposed to a sandy beach where the sand will always be washed away day by day. But to have one’s name written in heaven would be literally forever. This metaphor helps the theme of immortality with the use of imagery. The last couplet sums up the fact that death does not end love. Love will live on, being renewed every time someone reads the sonnet. The words of the sonnet can never die, thus
English 4
Zappa 2013
Immortality Through Words
The two sonnets “One Day I Wrote Her Name” written by Edmund Spencer and “Sonnet 63” written by William Shakespeare both instill a figurative idea of immortality throughout the course of time long after the writers have passed on. Shakespeare plants his beauty within the lines of the poem after his lover’s physical beauty deteriorates with time. Spencer, however, keeps the memory and love for a woman. Although both poems are about two different subjects, the main theme that connects them is that they immortalize two non-physical ideas. The hope of every writer is to have their work famous and studied long after their death. Not only have these two poets immortalized their poetry, but they also succeeded in forever remembering beauty and love. Spencer writes “ONE day I wrote her name upon the strand, But came the waves and washed it away:” (1-2) in an attempt to have his love’s name remembered forever, but every time they do, the wave comes and destroys the name. Since writing it in the sand of a beach doesn’t prevail in preserving the memory of his love, the writer turns to another canvass: poems. “My verse your vertues rare shall eternize, And in the hevens wryte your glorious name.” Spencer uses the word “verse”, which in this case means poem, to convey that through the poem itself, the woman written in it will live on forever. Words are never forgotten, especially written words. “And in the heavens write your glorious name:” (12). This line gives readers an everlasting image. Heaven is everlasting as opposed to a sandy beach where the sand will always be washed away day by day. But to have one’s name written in heaven would be literally forever. This metaphor helps the theme of immortality with the use of imagery. The last couplet sums up the fact that death does not end love. Love will live on, being renewed every time someone reads the sonnet. The words of the sonnet can never die, thus