My loue is now awake out of her dreams (s), and her fayre eyes like stars that dimmed were With darksome cloud, now shew theyr goodly beams More bright then Hesperus his head doth rere
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- Context: This excerpt comes from Edmund Spenser’s “Amoretti”, a series of sonnets that chronicle his courtship with Elizabeth Boyle, who would later become his wife. The Amoretti sonnets are unique in that they celebrate love within the context of marriage, which was somewhat unusual for love poetry of the time. Unlike many sonnets that focus on unrequited love or the lover’s suffering, Spenser’s sequence often highlights the joy and fulfillment that comes with mutual love and devotion. The poem reflects Renaissance ideals of beauty, love, and cosmic harmony, often drawing on celestial imagery to describe the beloved.
- Explanation: In this sonnet, the speaker is describing his beloved as she awakens from sleep. The language he uses is full of admiration and awe, comparing her awakening to the reappearance of stars after they had been obscured by clouds. The image of the “fayre eyes like stars” emphasizes her beauty and radiance, suggesting that her eyes are as bright and captivating as celestial bodies. The stars, temporarily dimmed by “darksome cloud”, are now shining with their full brilliance again, which parallels his lover’s eyes opening after sleep.
The comparison to Hesperus, the evening star (often associated with Venus, the goddess of love), adds a layer of mythological and symbolic meaning. Hesperus is known as one of the brightest stars in the sky, and the speaker is saying that his beloved’s eyes shine even more brightly than this famous celestial body. The use of such grand imagery conveys the speaker’s deep love and admiration for his beloved, as well as his sense of wonder at her beauty.
This passage exemplifies Spenser’s use of elaborate metaphor and classical references, typical of Renaissance poetry. The stars and heavenly imagery suggest that the speaker’s love is not only passionate but also pure and elevated, aligning with the Renaissance ideal of love as something divine and transcendent. The use of nature and cosmic metaphors creates a sense of timelessness and eternity, implying that the speaker’s love for his beloved is as constant and unchanging as the stars themselves.