Student Question
How does Spenser's treatment of human sexuality in Amoretti compare to Epithalamion?
Quick answer:
Spenser's treatment of human sexuality in Amoretti and "Epithalamion" differs significantly due to their contexts. In Amoretti, which chronicles his courtship of Elizabeth, sexuality is subtle and veiled, reflecting the social norms of courtship. By contrast, "Epithalamion," celebrating their wedding, portrays sexuality more openly and gently, as seen in the metaphor of night enfolding the couple, symbolizing marital intimacy. This distinction highlights the transition from courtship to marriage.
There are many significant differences between Spenser's Amoretti
sonnets and his celebratory wedding Epithalamion. Aside from the style
and structure of the two, the Amoretti chronicled the passage of real
events in real time, i.e., Spenser's courtship of Elizabeth, while the
Epithalamion celebrates the real event of their wedding day and
night.
Since the two tell of two vastly different [then] experiences, that of
courtship and marriage, the topic of sexuality is foreign to one and natural to
the other. As a consequence, the treatment of sexuality in Amoretti is
veiled and subtle while in Epithalamion it is gently overt.
An example from the Amoretti sonnets is in Sonnet 5 in which, in
veiled terms, Spenser speaks of looking at Elizabeth with lust as indicated by
Threatening rash eyes:
Threatening rash eyes which gaze on her so wide,
That loosely they ne dare to look upon her.
An example from Epithalamion is in the 18th stanza (also called 18th poem). The wedding is ended, and Spenser and his bride have the night ahead of them. Though there could be no occasion to speak of marital intimacy in his courtship sonnets, Spenser is now free to speak of it and does so in a metaphor of what awaits them under the cover of night sable mantle:
[Night] Spread thy broad wing ouer my loue and me,
that no man may vs see,
And in thy sable mantle vs enwrap, ....
MODERN SPELLING
[Night] Spread thy broad wing over my love and me,
that no man may us see,
And in thy sable mantle us enwrap, ....
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