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Love does not have a standard definition, love is not just a word, but so much more. The definition of love is defined by an audience’s familiarities with it, through experience, love is a changing entity. This essay will discuss what Arthur Marrotti meant by “love is not love” in Elizabethan sonnets (1982) in through the techniques used in Thomas Wyatt’s “The Love That in my Heart Doth Harbour”(1527), Sir Philip Sidney’s “Sonnet 1”(1580s), Mary Wroth’s “sonnet 1” from “Pamphilia To Amphilanthus”(1621), and William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116”(1609).
Thomas Wyatt’s “The Long Love that in My Heart doth Harbour”(1527) is a poem about the male not being able to be with the one who he loves. Wyatt uses the poetic conceit of warfare throughout this poem, in the opening line “The long love that in my heart doth harbour” (line 1), Wyatt is trying to say that all of his love is harboured inside of his heart, like an army. This use of poetic conceit allows audiences to see the love which he has in his heart for the woman, but he cannot show it, revealing how although the feelings are strong for the author, he cannot be with the woman. In. Wyatt uses the poetic conceit again in “And therein campeth, spreading his banner” (line 4), this is metaphoric for blushing when the male saw his love, the blood rushing to the face making the cheeks red, similar to a banner, for everyone to see. This use of poetic conceit allows the author to show the conflicted nature of the male’s feelings in regard to the woman, exposing how although an audience may have strong feelings towards someone or something, sometimes it is better to keep the feelings hidden. Therefore, Wyatt’s constant use of poetic conceit shows an audience another way which love can be presented even i it is forbidden. Thus, what an audience finds Marrotti means by “love is not love” in Elizabethan sonnets (1982), can be varied by experiences of love.
Sir Philip Sidney’s “Sonnet 1”, written in the 1580s is featured in Astrophil and Stella, a sonnet sequence, including 108 sonnets and 11 songs. Sidney’s “Sonnet 1” (1580s) is written in iambic pentameter, authors use of this so to create a flow between all of the words in the poem. The use of iambic pentameter encourages audiences to continue reading through the sonnet, allowing them to gain the most insight possible from the poet’s point of view. Sidney uses a lyrical voice to present this poem, by using this lyrical voice, it almost makes the poem like a song, by using a lyrical voice, it allows the poem to flow much more easily, evoking how an audience can read this poem like it is a song. By reading this poem like it is a song, the use of a lyrical voice, makes what is being said, a lot more memorable for the individual who is reading it. In the opening of “Sonnet 1” the author uses “Loving in truth” (line 1), this opening shows that this sonnet straight away is about the love that one individual has for another, allowing audiences to get a rough insight to what this sonnet is about, just by the opening two words. Sidney uses the personification in “Nature’s child. Fled step-dame Study’s blows”(line 10), is the poet reflecting on studying other poets’ writing, this personification of ‘Natures child’ is referring to himself, this reflection of studying other poets writing allows him to remember what he went through t be the poet he was at the time. This encourages audiences to broaden horizons and not be afraid of studying the work of others. Poetry communicates love through wide variety of ways, it does this in a way which gains attention of both the author and the audience (bartleby research), it usually allows the audience to rethink what they already know about love, it can also inspire them to add to what they already know. Therefore, Sir Philip Sidney’s “Sonnet 1” effectively allows audiences to get a broader understanding of love. Thus, allowing audiences to use what they already know and what they now know when determining what Marrotti meant by “love is not love” in Elizabethan sonnets (1982).
Mary Wroth’s “Sonnet 1” from “Pamphilla To Amphilanthus”(1621) is about the poet feeling the most passionate when she is asleep, and how while she is sleeping, the feelings in her heart communicate louder than those of her mind. Wroth uses symbolism in the opening line of her poem when saying “When night’s black mantle could most darknesse prove” (line 1) the symbolism is that the night is protecting the thoughts which she has in her head, this shows how she has the night protecting her thoughts, evoking how audiences can embrace the darkness of the night rather than be afraid of it. The poet then begins using figurative language when talking about her dream, “In sleepe, a chariot drawne by wing’d Desire, / i saw; where sate bright Venus Queene of Love, / And at her feete her Sonne, still adding Fire” (lines 5-7), in her dream she saw Venus, the Goddess of love, with her son Cupid – god of desire at her feet, “still adding fire”. With use of figurative language in lines five to seven, it allows audiences to gain a mental image of what she can see, her use of cupid “still adding fire” is metaphorical for the passion in her heart still being fuelled by something – cupid in this instance. This use of figurative language and metaphor allows audiences to feel the same passion Wroth feels while she is asleep inspiring them to try and find the ‘fire’ which cupid was adding to Wroth’s heart. In 2019, Dore stated “We all want to be loved and share love, but that doesn’t mean everyone shares the same definition of love.’ This quote is helpful for audiences to understand that when Arthur Marrotti stated that “love is not love” in Elizabethan sonnets, it could be interpreted in a variety of ways. The way of which an audience can interpret this strong statement varies, like Dore stated, “that doesn’t mean everyone shares the same definition of love”, what Marrotti meant by “love is not love” is left open to the individual. Therefore through Mary Wroth’s “Sonnet 1”(1621) she gives audiences an understanding of Arthur Marrotti could mean when he said the statement about love. Thus, through the techniques which Wroth uses she allows an audience to get a broader understanding of love in Elizabethan sonnets.
William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116” written in 1609 has the speaker trying to define love, through saying both what love is and what it is not. In Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116” he uses the enjambment in “Let me not to the marriage of true minds / admit impediments” (lines 1-2). The use of enjambment between line one and two, shows how this opening can be seen as vows, “admit impediments” (line 2) shows that the author would like whoever they are presenting the vows, to admit any obstacles which will prevent the marriage. The enjambment which is used in these lines encourages readers to continue reading from one line to the other and continuing through the sonnet. Shakespeare states that “love is not love / which alters when it alteration finds” (lines 2-3). In saying the quote previously mentioned, Shakespeare is trying to say that love cannot be love if it changes when whoever is in love sees the person whom they love, change. This allows the author to show audiences what love meant to Shakespeare in 1609, inspiring audiences to question what they already know to be an action of love. When Arthur Marrotti stated “love is not love” in Elizabethan sonnets (1982), was he referring to Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116” written in 1609? Throughout Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116”, he clearly states what love is and what love is not. When the critic Arthur Marrotti states that “love is not love” he is referring to Shakespeare, this use of Marrotti quoting Shakespeare over 300 years after he stated it, inspires audiences to take their previous understanding of love, and use “Sonnet 116” (1609) to broaden their understanding of what love is and what it is not. In Michaela Guillaume’s ‘Representations of Love in the Early Stages of Love’ (2018) she states that “love has also been considered as a means of self-reflection and identity moulding’ (Mouton & Montijo, 2017). Guillaume’s definition of love inspires audiences to reflect on themselves in order to shape their opinions of what love is, but their identity as a whole. Thus, Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116” (1609) allows audiences to get a broader understanding of where Marrotti’s claim that “love is not love” in Elizabethan sonnets (1982) came from, and it allows them to decide what Marrotti might mean by the statement.
Therefore, through the sonnets of Thomas Wyatt, Mary Wroth, Sir Philip Sidney and William Shakespeare, it can be concluded that what Arthur Marrotti meant by “love is not love” in Elizabethan sonnets can be taken many different ways. Audiences use what they already know about love and what they learn after reading the sonnets of the poets, to decide for themselves what Marrotti meant by “love is not love” in Elizabethan sonnets. The meaning which one individual gathers from Marrotti’s statement may be completely different to that of someone else’s, while very different they both have meaning relevant to that individual.
Works cited
- Dore, Madeline. Romantic Love Isn’t The Only Type Of Love To Pursue In Our Lives, abc.net.au/life/why-romantic-love-isnt-the-only-type-of-love-you-should-pursue/. Accessed 17 April 2020.
- Guillaume, Michaela. “Representations of Love in The Early Stages Of Life.” Article in human affairs, 2018, www.researchgate.net/publication/326916633_Representations_of_love_in_the_early_stages_of_love . Accessed 16 April 2020
- Poetry Theme of love, bartleby.com/essay/Poetry-Theme-Of-Love-FKESBV36ZKQ . Accessed 16 April 2020
- Shakespeare, William, “Sonnet 116”, 1609.
- Sidney, Sir Philip, “Sonnet 1”, 1580s.
- Wroth, Mary, “Sonnet 1” from “Pamphilia To Amphilanthus”, 1621.
- Wyatt, Thomas, “That in my Heart Doth Harbour”, 1527.
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