Sonnet Analysis Schlukebir
Holli Schlukebir
British Literature
Ms. Stariha
7 October 2014
Newfound Respect: Spenser Sonnet Fifteen
1 Ye tradefull Merchants, that with weary toil,
2 Do seek most precious things to make your gain;
3 And both the Indias of their treasures spoil,
4 What needeth you to seek so far in vain?
5 For lo my love doth in her self contain
6 All this world's riches that may far be found,
7 If saphires, lo her eyes be saphires plain,
8 If rubies, lo her lips be rubies sound:
9 If pearls, her teeth be pearls both pure and round;
10 If ivory, her forhead ivory weene;
11 If gold, her locks are finest gold on ground;
12 If silver, her fair hands are silver sheen.
13 But that which fairest is, but few behold,
14 Her mind adorned with virtues manifold.
In a series of love sonnets to his future wife, Edmund Spenser’s Amoretti expresses the frustration, obsession, and emotional turmoil that accompanies romance. His fifteenth sonnet, though, is not frantic, bitter, or angry; it is fourteen lines of admiration. Spenser thoroughly tries to express himself through his literary style, techniques, and the actual diction. In this specific sonnet, Spenser tries to shows unwavering passion for his subject by comparing her to glamourous and invaluable treasures; he ultimately expresses his true love in the end by determining that the most desirable trait isn’t her beauty, but her mind and intelligence.
As following true Spenserian or in fact, Petrarchan sonnet format, Sonnet Fifteen is divided into three quatrains and a couplet. The first quatrain questions why merchants venture all around the world and try find exotic and beautiful items, when his beloved is right here, while the second implies all of the world’s beauties reside in her; she is made of priceless baubles, like rubies or pearls. The final quatrain perpetuates the idea that the object of his affection is like a statue forged out of the finest
materials. The couplet finishes off the
British Literature
Ms. Stariha
7 October 2014
Newfound Respect: Spenser Sonnet Fifteen
1 Ye tradefull Merchants, that with weary toil,
2 Do seek most precious things to make your gain;
3 And both the Indias of their treasures spoil,
4 What needeth you to seek so far in vain?
5 For lo my love doth in her self contain
6 All this world's riches that may far be found,
7 If saphires, lo her eyes be saphires plain,
8 If rubies, lo her lips be rubies sound:
9 If pearls, her teeth be pearls both pure and round;
10 If ivory, her forhead ivory weene;
11 If gold, her locks are finest gold on ground;
12 If silver, her fair hands are silver sheen.
13 But that which fairest is, but few behold,
14 Her mind adorned with virtues manifold.
In a series of love sonnets to his future wife, Edmund Spenser’s Amoretti expresses the frustration, obsession, and emotional turmoil that accompanies romance. His fifteenth sonnet, though, is not frantic, bitter, or angry; it is fourteen lines of admiration. Spenser thoroughly tries to express himself through his literary style, techniques, and the actual diction. In this specific sonnet, Spenser tries to shows unwavering passion for his subject by comparing her to glamourous and invaluable treasures; he ultimately expresses his true love in the end by determining that the most desirable trait isn’t her beauty, but her mind and intelligence.
As following true Spenserian or in fact, Petrarchan sonnet format, Sonnet Fifteen is divided into three quatrains and a couplet. The first quatrain questions why merchants venture all around the world and try find exotic and beautiful items, when his beloved is right here, while the second implies all of the world’s beauties reside in her; she is made of priceless baubles, like rubies or pearls. The final quatrain perpetuates the idea that the object of his affection is like a statue forged out of the finest
materials. The couplet finishes off the