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Philip Sidneye And Sonnet 1

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The renaissance was an explosion of culture that forced Europe out of the dark ages. One of the popular new types of literature was the sonnet: a fouteen line poem with a specific rhyme scheme written to earn a woman’s love. In sonnet 1 by Edmund Spenser, sonnet 31 by Philip Sidney, and sonnet 130 and 29 by William Shakespeare, the authors focus on romanticizing love in order to emphasize the importance of developing a relationship with a lady and earning her love. This is accomplished through the use of personification, similes, and allusions.
Spenser and Sidney both utilize personification in their sonnets. In Sonnet 1, Spenser explains how the paper that contains his sonnet is so lucky to be held by his love: “Happy ye leaves whenas …show more content…

The other parts of his life a miserable, but his true love makes his life happily. In addition, in Shakespeare’s sonnet 130, he goes against the traditional use of similes in sonnets and does not compare his lady to perfect things: “my mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” (sonnet 130, Shakespeare, ln. 1). Shakespeare wrote about how true love looks in real life. Explains how even though she may have flaws it’s not perfect, their love is the most rare and the most real. He realizes that love is true love because flaws.
Allusions were also commonly used throughout sonnets. In Edmund Spenser's first sonnet you mentioned Helicon (Sonnet 1, Spenser, ln. 10). Helicon is a sacred place where the muses and Apollo reside. Poetry and inspiration for poetry comes from this holy place. The speaker says that his lady comes from Helicon. He compares her to the perfection that Greek gods and figures have. This demonstrates how beautiful and amazing his love is. Moreover, Sidney references Cupid: “that busy archer is sharp arrow tries” (Sonnet 31,Sidney, ln. 4). Cupid usually signifies new love, but it’s speaker is mocking him due to the pain of rejection. The sharp arrows have a negative connotation which results in a negative connotation about love. The speaker argues that love is not joyous because but is painful and full of heartbreak.
Spenser, Sidney and Shakespeare all portrayed the consequences of love,

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