Embodiment Of Plato's Idealism In Edmund Spenser's Amoretti

As one of the greatest poets in English renaissance period, Edmund Spenser is regarded as"the poets'poet"for his beautiful melody and strict meter. The sonnet sequence Amoretti consists of 89 sonnets which are devoted to his intended wife Elizabeth Boyle. Spenser's Amoretti, Sidney's Astrophil and Stella, and Shakespeare's Sonnets are considered to be the three most famous sonnet sequences in their age.This thesis aims to discuss Plato's idealism embodied in Spenser's Amoretti from three aspects: the theme, imagery and poetic techniques. As one of the founders of philosophy and the most famous thinker in ancient Greek, Plato exerts a great influence on the western thoughts. Based on a few dialogues related to Plato's idealism, this thesis analyzes its impact on the theme, imagery and poetic techniques. This thesis includes three major parts, covering introduction, main frame, and conclusion. The introduction deals with comments on Amoretti by both domestic and overseas scholars, then, it points out the theory needed in this paper, concluding with an application of Plato's idealism in this poetic sequence.Chapter One studies the embodiment of idealism in the theme of Spenser's Amoretti. It mainly discusses three aspects, which explain why Spenser pursues beauty and that the object of his courting is inner virtue instead of outer fairness, as well as why he is discontented with reality. All of these mentioned above forced him to build an ideal state which dovetails with Plato's theory of pursuing truth, kindness, and beauty.Chapter Two analyzes the embodiment of idealism in the imagery of Spenser's Amoretti. The natural images are employed by Spenser to express the ideal state of love. By idealizing the woman he loves and lowering the poet speaker's status, he indicates his longing for pure and true love.Chapter Three explores Plato's idealism embodied in the poetic techniques of Spenser's Amoretti. Plato pays great attention to rhetoric, including figures of speech and rhymes. The use of simile, metaphor, initial rhyme and end rhyme in this Sonnet sequence, as well as inventory in Sonnet forms stem from Plato's untiring pursuit for true beauty in materialistic society.The conclusion points out that Plato's idealism is fully displayed in Spenser's Amoretti and makes a general revaluation of the particularities of this sonnet sequence and finally shows Spenser's contribution to love sonnets.