The language that Spencer uses in this sonnet highlights the futile and worthwhile experience of being in love. To convey the futility of love, Spencer begins the poem by referencing the passage in the Odyssey in which Penelope spins and unspins her cloth to deceive the suitors. He compares this reference to his own situation, “For all that I in many dayes doo weave/ In one short houre I find by her undone.” He then likens this experience to that of a spider spinning a web, “Whose fruitlesse worke is broken with least wynd.” In making these two comparisons, he is suggesting that the relationship with his “Damzel,” is one of work. All the references to spiders and webs suggest that he is trying to ensnare her, yet she foils his attempts with little difficulty. However, this is not to say that his efforts are not worthwhile. When he says, “when I thinke to end that I begonne/I must begin and never bring to end,” he is inferring that this is an endless cycle that he is powerless to halt. The only reason he would want to continue pursuing his love, or spinning his web, would be that it is rewarding for him in some way, similar to how Penelope spun her tapestry for years on end. Maybe it is the hope of finally catching his damsel that spurs him on; this parallels Penelope’s hope for Odysseus to someday return home. Regardless, Spencer uses The Odyssey and spider imagery to explain how chasing his love is both futile and rewarding.
I agree that Spenser is communicating the futility of love throughout his work; however, I disagree with the fact that he is also maintaining love's significance. The poem focuses on the failure of the speaker in his attempt to secure his lover, deeming the relationship essentially worthless. His futility is concreted in the last line, when the speaker deems the work of a relationship to be “fruitlesse.”
ReplyDeleteHmm, at the end, I was still under the impression that the narrator would keep trying to woo his lover...I think because it's written in the present tense? The scenario seems as if it's still in motion even when the poem ends.
ReplyDeleteI like your assertion that the speaker chasing his love is both futile and rewarding - but could he be saying that pursuit of his love is simply unavoidable, though not necessarily rewarding? In the end, he compares his love to a spider spinning his web - a job that the spider, by nature, never stops pursuing despite the constant breakage of the fruits of his labor. Similarly, Spenser is saying that the speaker cannot help but to keep attempting to win his love, despite his partner's resistance.
ReplyDelete