Sexist Spenser Exposed Through Explication

The use of poetic forms and literary techniques proved invaluable to Edmund Spenser, poet of the Amoretti sonnet sequences, in his effort to thinly veil sexist beliefs with elaborate words. Myriad readers, easily lulled to sleep like a slumbering soldier inside a foxhole with bullets whizzing overhead, fail to understand the hidden motifs in Spenser’s works. Sonnet 64, “Comming to kisse her lyps (such grace I found),” perfectly exemplifies the necessity of the reader to carefully consider the rhyme, meter, and figurative language of a poem in order to grasp the poet’s fundamental chauvinistic ideas. With only a brief glimpse, it might be concluded that sonnet 64 is merely about the lustful yearning for a woman’s anatomical parts; however, when one considers the preceding poetic forms, it leads the reader to believe that physical attraction, although enjoyable, is also fleeting. Clearly, the positive aspects of intimate relationships with women combine with numerous negative features as well.

Noticeably, Spenser’s use of figurative language suggests that sonnet 64 is more than a mere inventory of the female anatomy. Figurative language, evident in the forms of both similes and meta

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Spenser’s reference to these many-faceted flowers invites readers to view women as being more capable of causing pain and hurting men than a flower could ever possibly cause.

The fifth through the twelfth lines, which contains the aforementioned torrent of similes, compare several anatomical components to specific flowers. Even the reference to flowers in general underscores his sexist ideas because these plants prosper in pleasant weather yet wither and die when conditions are not suitable for growth. It might not be believed that Spenser’s pairing of body parts with the flower, a plant which appears beautiful for a short while, only to later die, holds significance; however, approaching the text more closely proves any detractors wrong. While a rose is capable of causing pain and the columbine is a symbol of fickleness, so is the woman, who actually displays these types of behavior more frequently than the plants to which she is compared. In the act of carelessly sharing herself, she resembles the showy rose, yet beneath the beautiful bud lies a thorn that many attempt to overlook. The flowers chosen were not at all selected indiscriminately—studying these types of flowers manifests a not-so-subtle declaration pertaining to the fleeting nature of love. When Spenser compares the female to a garden, as implied throughout the first two lines, it sets the stage for an eight-line barrage of significant similes, each of which must be investigated in order to comprehend the true meaning behind each association. The details of the poem clearly do not intend to stifle her splendor, as readers sniff and enjoy her sweet smells. The first four lines offer readers an extended metaphor which suggests that the female can be compared to a “gardin of sweet flowres” (2) when the speaker attempts to “kisse her lyps” (1), yet in doing so smells her sweet aroma and the “dainty odours” that she almost haphazardly “threw around” (3).

An attentive analysis of Spenser’s sonnet 64 reveals an amazing amount of sexism, thinly veiled behind flowery words and sensual similes. The preceding quotations not only explain the lady’s ability to outdo a flower’s physical attributes, but also the sensory characteristics as well. Spenser also throws in a bit of humor here as he writes that “[h]er nipples [were] lyke blossomd Jessemynes” (12), a reference to the jasmine, which is climbing shrub that boasts extremely fragrant flowers. Although Spenser’s words depict beauty, such as strawberries and carnations, they also imply a feeling of fleeting passions.

Common topics in this essay:
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Approximate Word count = 990
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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