In order to commemorate his passionate love, Edmund Spenser played the roles of a poet and a bridegroom at the same time, when he was working on Epithalamion, the wedding song for his wife and himself (Norton 985). The stability of language and vere, to some extent, embodied Spenser’s longing for an everlasting love. Even though Spenser was aware of the power of time, which rendered everything perish in the end, he still sought for a pathway toward eternity from the structure of Epithalamion through carefully choice of every word. Marriage, ultimately, turned into the unbroken human heritage in the secular way, while there is nothing capable of altering their kinship generation after generation. Spenser defeats the limitation of time through
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The fleeting time leaves no space for Spenser to wait for unnecessary matters. So at the beginning of their wedding day, he urges his wife to get up as soon as possible. “Wake now my love, awake; for it is time, (991)… Ah my deere love why doe ye sleepe thus long, (992)” In this wonderful day, Spenser could neither wait to see his beautiful beloved wife, nor linger for the tiniest moment to enjoy the day he has been wishing so long. People are supposed to enjoy the celebrated moments in their life, the same as Spenser, because time is passing too fast, and life is too short. “Now cease ye damsels your delights forepast; Enough is it, that all the day was yours: (996)” The shifting attitudes greatly strengthen the poet’s attitude toward time. Visitors are welcome to celebrate the wedding at the daytime. However, when the night is coming, the poet is longing to share the limited precious time with his wife …show more content…
Throughout the poem, Spenser makes an analogy between the twenty-four hours in a day and the twenty-four stanzas in the composition of Epithalamion, direct illustrating his awareness of time. During the wedding day, Spenser urges his beautiful wife to be quick, rather than wasting unnecessary instant, for the fear of deconstructive time. Meanwhile, Spenser tries to achieve the eternity of human beings in various ways. The written words, therefore, turned into the most explicit form to spread generation after generation. At the same time, marriage endows human beings infinite power either in the physical form or in the spiritual way. The descendants are straightforward illustration toward the definition of physical eternity, while the combination of two individuals in marriage connote the spiritual integration in heaven as well. Even though Epithalamion was made to celebrate their wedding, its elaborate form, allusive myth, and old-fashion writing style all have remarkable meaning on the development of poetry in the later
The fleeting time leaves no space for Spenser to wait for unnecessary matters. So at the beginning of their wedding day, he urges his wife to get up as soon as possible. “Wake now my love, awake; for it is time, (991)… Ah my deere love why doe ye sleepe thus long, (992)” In this wonderful day, Spenser could neither wait to see his beautiful beloved wife, nor linger for the tiniest moment to enjoy the day he has been wishing so long. People are supposed to enjoy the celebrated moments in their life, the same as Spenser, because time is passing too fast, and life is too short. “Now cease ye damsels your delights forepast; Enough is it, that all the day was yours: (996)” The shifting attitudes greatly strengthen the poet’s attitude toward time. Visitors are welcome to celebrate the wedding at the daytime. However, when the night is coming, the poet is longing to share the limited precious time with his wife …show more content…
Throughout the poem, Spenser makes an analogy between the twenty-four hours in a day and the twenty-four stanzas in the composition of Epithalamion, direct illustrating his awareness of time. During the wedding day, Spenser urges his beautiful wife to be quick, rather than wasting unnecessary instant, for the fear of deconstructive time. Meanwhile, Spenser tries to achieve the eternity of human beings in various ways. The written words, therefore, turned into the most explicit form to spread generation after generation. At the same time, marriage endows human beings infinite power either in the physical form or in the spiritual way. The descendants are straightforward illustration toward the definition of physical eternity, while the combination of two individuals in marriage connote the spiritual integration in heaven as well. Even though Epithalamion was made to celebrate their wedding, its elaborate form, allusive myth, and old-fashion writing style all have remarkable meaning on the development of poetry in the later