Sonnet 75

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Sonnet 75

Edmund spenser



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 doest in vain assay

A mortal thing so to immortalize,For I myself shall like to this decay,

And eek my name be wiped out likewise.

Not so (quoth I), let baser things devise

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

My verse your virtues rare shall eternize,

And in the heavens write your glorious name.

Where when as Death shall all the world subdue,

Out love shall live, and later life renew.

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Meaning

This sonnet seems to be about the author·s attempts to immortalizehis wife or the love of his life.

Spenser starts the poem with a quatrain recalling an incident that couldhave happened any summer day at the seaside. He writes his love·sname in the sand at the beach, but the ocean·s waves wipe it away, just

as time will destroy all manmade things.

The next quatrain describes the woman·s reaction to the man·scharming attempt to immortalize her. She claims that the man·sattempts were in vain and that no mortal being can be immortalizeddue to the cruelness of time.

The next quatrain represents a turning point in the poem and theauthor reveals that his wife will be eternally remembered in his poemsand his verse.

The final couplet at the end, ́ Where when as Death shall all the worldsubdue, Out love shall live, and later life renew,µ summarizes the themeof the poem by comparing the eternalness of love and death to thebrevity of life and humanity.



Rhy me

` Spenserian sonnet (ABAB BCBC CDCD EE)

` Meter : iambic pentameter

` Spenser uses this rhyme scheme to create a contrastbetween earthly ideas and objects that will eventually be

destroyed and heavenly ones that will last forever.

` The first two quatrains focus on the author·s vainattempts to write his wife·s name.

` The author then switches gears and shows how he

immortalized his wife in the very poem he is writing.` Spenser uses a very melodic rhythm and iambic

pentameter to create a calm and pleasant sounding poem.



` The first quatrain has a narrative feel to it because of thebeginning Óne day I «µ

` The second quatrain starts with a dialogue by a female,

most probably the beloved.

` The third quatrain is an answer again in a conversation

because of the use of ́ quoth I.µ

` The couplet at the end gives the conclusion like a fact

because it uses the present participle tense.



L anguage

` Spenser created a verse form called Spenserian stanza

` Didactic use of moral and religious allegory

` Rich sensual imagery

` Use of the traditional romantic epic style in medieval

fantasy settings.



L iterar y Devices

` Imagery

` Óne day I wrote her name upon the strand, But came the

waves and washed it away:µ

` create a vivid image of the sea-side.` ´decay,µ ́ wiped out,µ ́ die in dust,µ and ín the heavens

write your glorious name.µ

` first three evoke negative images, the last one paints a beautiful,

fantastical picture in the mind.

` Alliteration

` ´die in dust,µ ́ verse your virtue,µ ́ love shall live,µ ́ later

life,µ



` Repitition` The concept of mortality is conveyed through ´mortal,µ

ímmortalizeµ and éternize.µ

` ´Vainµ appears twice in one line.

` Personification` The sea or waves are given human qualities. It ´washed,µ and

´made my paynes his pray.µ Washing and preying or inflicting

pain upon someone are human qualities.



S y mbolism

The sea alludes to thedistance that is betweenthe lover and his belovedwhich is causing pain to

the lover.

The writing on the sandrefers to the lover·s

insistence on making aworldly impact on his

beloved.

The waves are a constantreminder of the cruelty of love, haunting again and

again.

By washing away thename of the beloved, thewaves act as torrents of

torture.

The sea-side or beachalso symbolizes a

peaceful, comfortableplace where the lover

unreservedly expresseshimself.

The lover·s writing on thesand can be a referenceto man·s inherent desireto eternalize his being tobe remembered forever.

The waves here signifytime.

The erasing of the nameby water signifies the

transient nature of humanlife.



T heme:Immortalization of love

Edmund Spenser is saying that no one can live forever, but he is going to immortalizeher virtues and the love for each other in his poem.

The poem presents a ́ dialogµ between Spenser and his lady. He attempts toimmortalize her by writing her name in the sand, but the waves (time) relentlessly erasewhat he writes. He writes again, with the same results.

The poem then switches to his lady who tells him that he is foolish to attempt to makeimmortal that which is temporal; she will pass just as the writing in the sand.

Spenser then reenters the conversation and tell her that although there is aphysical/temportal part to her nature, his verse will make her immortal.

He summarizes the theme in the final couplet: although things physical may perish, thespiritual nature of their love will transcend death and even grow.

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Sonnet 75