1. Sonnets 30 and 75 / The Faerie Queene
Edmund Spenser

2. Poet
Most influential
Wrote collection of pastoral poems that combine different forms and meters.
The Faerie Queene is the longest epic poem in the English language.
Invented his own form of sonnet – called Spenserian sonnet.
Special stanza form called Spenserian stanza. – (a b a b b c b c c)

3. Background a b a b b c b c c d c d e e – rhyme scheme
Makes first 12 lines a single unit with a separated final couplet. (three stanzas with closely related ideas)
Turn occurs in the final couplet
Drawing inferences – forming logical conclusions from details in a text and from your own experiences.

4. Background
From a group of poems called the Amoretti “little love poems)
Written to his wife Elizabeth
About their courtship
Published in 1595

5. Getting Ready to Read
Have you ever liked someone who did not feel the same for you? Describe the situation. What did you do? Did you try to change the person’s mind? Did you move on to someone else?

6. Sonnet 30
Why do you think the speaker asks direct questions of the reader?
What does the image of ice refer to?
Where is the turn in this poem?
Based on the shift in thought, what can you infer about the poet’s message?

7. Getting Ready to Read
How would you like to be remembered when you are gone? What would you like people to say about you?

8. Sonnet 75 Line 3: What does “second hand” mean?
Why do you think Spenser uses two voices in this poem?
In the poem, the male speaker wants to immortalize his love. Why does he think she is worthy of fame?
What image does the author use to represent love’s impermanence?

9. Review What paradoxes can you find in Sonnet 30?
In what sense has the love of the two people in Sonnet 75 survived today?
Some attitudes concerning love and men and women have changed since these sonnets were written. Do you think the speaker’s feelings are still relevant? Cite details from the poems to explain your answer.
Write down at least one metaphor from each poem. How do these metaphors contribute to the poems’ meanings?