Spenser's Epithalamion
...elieves that with Phoebus around, it will bring about light and warmth and will contribute to the day that the speaker wants to be able to remember for the rest of his life. With the next line, Spenser uses the imagery of hearing something that is beautiful and does so through the birds. Birds have a unique tune that has an effect of lasting proportions. It can be the sound of something that is beautiful and relaxing and the bird happens to be soothing to listen to. “Hark how the cheerefull birds do chaunt theyr laies and carroll of loves praise.” (Adams, 870). Spenser uses the word “hark” to grab the attention of the reader. Hark is a phoneme that is loud and commands that the word itself be heard. And reading the word lets the imagination runs abroad while creating an image that many can see and hear. Chaunt theyr laies (or songs) lets the mind create a situation that is conducive to the things that the speaker was seeing and experiencing that day. The one thing about the birds is that someone of nobility, which is one of the social classes of the Elizabethan period, might not know about in their regular studies. This relapse brings Spenser back into a reality about his actual social class and how he wants better for himself and his soon to be family. The next few lines are referencing to the different birds that the speaker was able to use to relay the message of the importance of their being there at that time. The first bird that Spenser uses is the “merry Larke.” The lark is well-noted for its ability to sing a tune that is most appealing to those that can hear it. It talks about how the lark “hir mattins sings aloft.” Hir mattins are morning prayers, the prayers which in this instance have to do with the coming forth of the speaker’s bride and the joy that accompanies the day. The bird’s songs seem to have an effect on the speaker during his writing and it was this allegorical image that was created from the sounds of the lark that stands out in the minds of the reader. The next bird within the structure of the poem has to do with the thrush, which has an answer to the larke. The statement of “replyes” comes in the fact that the two different birds are corresponding with one another in some fashion that has a harmony is created. The other birds that seem to be involved in the conversation are the Ouzell and the Ruddock. Noticeably, the Ouzell “is a blackbird which sings in England mostly while the “Ruddock” is what is commonly referred to as the “European robin”. (Adams, 870). Concert aside; the next lines confirm what was believed to be true. “So goodly all agree with sweet consent, to this dayes merriment.” (Adams, 870). Spenser believes that the song they are singing relates to the how happily the day is going along. Spenser then comes back into a so-called reality when the next line in the stanza says “Ah my deere love why do ye sleepe this long, when meeter were that ye should awake now.” The speaker begins to plead with his bride that she should awake on such a glorious day. He believes that it is more fitting that she should be awake than to sleep away a day that has meaning to them both. By still begging for her to awake, what the speaker fails to realize is that he is still under the pressure to be able to give his bride the things that they will both need to keep up the impression of trying to maintain a sense of wealth and power. “T’awayt the coming of your joyous mate and hearken to the birds lovelearned songs, the deawy leaves among.” The speaker pleads for her to awake and listen to the birds and their concert in order to understand what he wants her to do, all without his breaking the unwritten rules of not seeing her before the ceremony. Still in his dream-like state, the final two lines of the stanza go over what he really wants from the situation he is in. For they of joy and pleasance to you sing, That all the woods may answer and your echo ring. The noticeable state of these lines is a joyous one in which most of the speaker’s surroundings are alive and ready to do the bidding of the couple as they prepare for what is to come in the latter part of the day. Spenser believes through the poetry that is written that the rest of the day falls upon what he is able to accomplish. The birds and songs that they sing are in harmony with the course of the day’s events and bring about an image of wanting to be there to enjoy the festivities and the ambiance that surrounds the event itself. Later in the poem, the presence of colors and items that can be used to celebrate the marriage are brought forth in a brilliant display and use of imagery that brings more into play the difference between what class Spenser really finds himself in and which one he prefers to be in. In the seventeenth stanza, the speaker is ready to end the day and proceed with the actions of the night. “Now ceasse ye damsels your delights forepast; enough is it, that all the day was yours.” The speaker wants the celebration to end, knowing that while the day was a festive one for the new couple, the party-goers need the day’s focus to shift back to the couple. “Now the day is doen, and the night is nighing fast; now bring the Bryde into the brydall boures.” Since the celebration is over, the speaker now is asking that the bride be brought into the bridal chambers to which they plan to spend the rest of their lives when in slumber or during the consummation of the marriage. The chamber itself is symbolic in that is becomes something that only those of nobility can afford, which the speaker tries to relate to with his demeanor and actions although his social class says otherwise. According to http://www.brandonsd.mb.ca/crocus/library/social_classes_in_shakespeare.htm, “The nobility, the highest level, was smaller under the Tudors than in previous centuries. Many noble families had been killed off during the War of the Roses. Elizabeth saw the nobility as a potential threat to her power and preferred to keep the number of nobles small. Noble titles could be acquired in two ways: by inheritance and by a grant from the monarch. The nobility lived luxuriously. They had no choice… Nobles were expected to be lavish in their dress, their houses, and their habits.” This is becomes more noticeable through the seventeenth stanza with the next few lines. “Now the night is come, now soone her disaray, and in her bed her lay; Lay her in lillies and in violets, and silkin courteins over her display…” The step up in class is prominent with the fact that there were lillies laying on the bed before the bride arrives. To be able to have those types of things for the person that you truly care about laying around screams of wealth and power, the thing that Spenser is looking to show off to those within the social class that he desires. And the silk curtains that are draped over the spread of the bed are also a part of the nobility and class that come with his aspirations. The next lines continue to follow the trend of setting aside lines and imagery that coincide with the structure of the poem and the theme of marriage and class. “And odourd sheetes and Arras coverlets. Behold how goodly my faire love doth ly in proud humility;” Once again, the ‘perfumed’ sheets are a symbol of the wealth and power that the speaker wants to give his bride although their status doesn’t allow for such. The speaker begins to see what life could be like if those things and riches were at his disposal as he is able to sit there and watch his now wife enjoy the humility and satisfaction of having the things they had pursued their whole lives. The speaker refers again to the need for the damsels to be gone with the line ‘Now it is night, ye damsels may be gon, and leave my love alone and leave likewise your former lay to sing.’ The precedence has been set for the festivities to end and the closing of the day has hence come upon the ...