139. 501 - Amoretti-75 (17)

1. “Vayne man”, said she, “that does in vaine assay,”- Who says this and to whom? Explain the significance of ‘vayne’ and ‘vaine’,

Ans:- The line is taken from Edmund Spenser’s sonnet ‘One Day I Wrote Her Name’. This is said by the ladylove. She said these words to the poet lover Spenser.

Vayne means full of vanity and boastfulness. ‘Vaine’ means uselessly or without the desired result. The ladylove mocks at the poet’s effort to immortalize her name by writing it on the sea-beach because waves will wash it away. Then the lady said the poet lover in mocking tone that he was trying in vain by writing her name on the sand. The lover then realized that writing verses for her might immortalize their love.

2. Why does Edmund Spenser say, “Our love shall live, and later life renew”?

Ans:- Here Spenser says that their mutual love will live forever because of his poetic creation would have regenerative power which would bestow immortality upon their love although they shall lose their physical entity to death, the inescapable reality.

3. What is the central theme of the sonnet “One day I wrote her name upon the strand”?

Ans:- The central theme of the sonnet is love. It represents the poet’s effort to immortalize his love to the mortal world. Though the lady-love is quite dubious about the result of the poet’s effort, the poet is thoroughly inspired and believe that he can eternize her virtues by his verse. Poetry will conquer time and death, and their life will be renewed by love.

4. Again I wrote it with a second hand”. – Who writes it? Why did the poet write it for the second time?

 Ans:- Edmund Spenser writes it in his sonnet One Day I Wrote Her Name. lt refers to the writing of the name of the lady love on the strands to immortalize her. The wave washed away his efforts repeatedly. So the poet wrote the name for the second time.

5. How did the tide make the pains of the poet his prey?

Ans:- In the sonnet ‘One Day I Write Her Name’ Spenser says that he had written the name of his beloved on the sand but, the wave came and washed it away for each time. Thus the tide spoilt the effort of the poet and made his pain its prey.

6. “In the hevens wryte your glorious name”. – Whose glorious name would be written ‘in hevens’ and why? How would the poet write the name in heaven? 

Ans:- The poet’s ladylove’s name would be written ‘in heven’. The lover realizes that if he writes his beloved’s name on the earthly strands, it cannot but he wiped out by tide and death. So he proposes to write her glorious name in heaven where death will be unable to subdue it. Thus her name will be free from being wiped out.

7. A mortal thing to immortalize.” -What is meant by ‘a mortal thing”? Who wants to immortalize it?

Ans:- By ‘a mortal thing’ the poet Edmund Spenser. means his beloved in the sonnet ‘ One Day I Wrote Her Name’. The poet lover wants to immortalize it.

8. But came the tyde, and made my pains his pray.” Bring out the imagery Iying in the line.

 Ans:- The poet’s effort of writing his beloved’s name upon the strands to immortalize it is in vain as tides come and wash it away, again and again, The poet expresses this vain effort of his with the help of imagery. Just as a big bird like the hawk makes a small bird its prey so the tide turns the name of the beloved its prey by wiping it away.

9. How will the love of the poet and his beloved be renewed in later life?

Ans:- According to the poet, the future generations will come to know about the chaste love of the poet and his beloved by reading his poetry and will like to taste such love in their life. Thus their love will be renewed in later life. The lover is quite confident that there is no fear of the disintegration of their love because it is pure as gold.

10. What is meant by Amoretti?

Ans:- The word “Amoretti” means little love. Here it refers to the poet’s beloved Elizabeth Boyle. He dedicated the whole sequence of sonnets to Elizabeth Boyle. The name of the sonnet sequence is also “Amoretti”.

11. Write a critical summary of Sonnet 75

Ans:- “A series of sonnets entitled” Amoretti “was written by Edmund Spenser, of which Sonnet 75 is part. Also entitled “One Day I Wrote Her Name Upon the Strand”, Edmund Spenser weaves a tale about the ocean, love and immortality. He is writing about being with his beloved on the beach and writing her name in the sand. A wave arrives and washes away her name, as expected. With the same outcome, he tries it over again. The woman speaks up and says it is unfair for him to continue writing her name because it will only continue to be washed away by the ocean. She relates that to her death, that just as her name is erased from the ocean, she will finally be erased from the sand. The speaker in the sonnet then responds that, by writing about her in his poem, he would make her immortal. That way, their names and their love for one another will live on forever.

This sonnet seems to be about the author’s attempts to immortalize his wife or the love of his life. Spencer starts the poem with a quatrain recalling an incident that could have happened any summer day at the beach. He writes his beloved’s name in the stand at the beach, but the ocean’s waves wipe it away, just as time destroys all man-made things. He again wrote it with a second hand but received the same outcome.

The next quatrain describes the woman’s reaction to the man’s charming attempt to immortalize her. She claims that the man’s attempts were in vain and that no mortal being can be immortalized due to the cruelness of time. She harshly mocks at the lover’s futile efforts to immortalize her name as well as herself.

The next quatrain represents a turning point in the poem and the author reveals that his wife will be eternally remembered in his poems and his verse. The final couplet at the end, ” Where when as death shall all the world subdue, Our love shall live, and later life renew.” summarizes the poem by comparing the eternalness of love and death to the brevity of life and humanity.

Spencer uses the rhyme scheme of this poem to create a contrast between earthly ideas an nd objects that will eventually be destroyed and heavenly ones that will last forever. The first two quatrains focus on the author’s vain attempts to write his wife’s name. Time and nature are shown to destroy the author’s manmade works and his attempts are thwarted. The author then switches gears and shows how he immortalized his wife in the very poem he is writing. Spencer uses a very melodic rhythm and iambic pentameter to create a calm and pleasant sounding poem. His frequent use of alliteration such as, “die in the dust” and “vers in virtue” helps to paint the complete picture of the poem and tie the themes of the poem together.

12. What is the theme of Edmund Spencer’s sonnet 75?

Ans:- The theme of this poem by Edmund Spencer is that life is temporal. No one can live forever as death is inevitable. However, eternity can be achieved through art.

13. What was the speaker trying to do?

Ans:- The speaker was trying to woo his lady love by making her immortalize forever.

14. Who is the speaker?

Ans:- The speaker is a young man. He is madly in love with his lady love. He is expressive and desires to leave an everlasting impression on the mind of his lady love. He is relentless in his efforts. He finds poetry as the medium to immortalize his lady love.

15. What secret about life is revealed in this poem?

Ans:- Edmund spencer’s sonnet "One Day I Wrote Her Name” is a highly philosophical poem. it reveals the true nature of life. Life is short and can not last forever. Even love will come to an end with death.

16. Name the masterpiece of Edmund Spencer.

Ans:- Edmund Spencer’s masterpiece is ” The Faerie Queene”.

Important Question:-

17. What power of poetry is claimed by Spenser in Amoretti 75?

Ans:- Amoretti 75 is a sonnet written by Edmund Spenser. In this poem, the power of poetry is portrayed as a means to immortalize and celebrate love. The poet uses his verses to capture the essence of his beloved, creating a lasting tribute that defies the passage of time. The language and imagery in the poem convey the transformative and enduring impact of poetry on the subject of love, elevating it beyond the temporal constraints of life. In Amoretti 75, Spenser explores the idea that poetry has the power to transcend mortality and preserve love for eternity. Through carefully crafted language and vivid imagery, the poet depicts his verses as a timeless vessel that immortalizes the beauty and virtues of his beloved. The sonnet suggests that poetry serves as a form of artistic immortality, allowing emotions and affection to endure even as the physical world undergoes change. This emphasizes the enduring and transformative influence of poetry in capturing and preserving the essence of love. Spenser also employs the Petrarchan sonnet form, dividing the poem into an octave and a sestet. The octave describes the poet's efforts to immortalize his love through verse, emphasizing the power of his words. The sestet reflects on the immortality of love itself, transcending the constraints of earthly existence. Spenser's skillful use of poetic devices, such as metaphors and allusions, adds layers of meaning to convey the profound impact of poetry in elevating the subject of love to a realm beyond the limitations of time and space. The poem is a testament to the enduring legacy that well-crafted poetry can create for the emotions it seeks to capture.