ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

Although William Shakespeare knew well and admired Edmund Spenser and his works, it seems that he considered the elder poet as one of his competitors as well. Shakespeare's Sonnets, probably written around 1598 and published in 1609, significantly reflects the themes and imagery which are often found in Spenser's Amoretti. This paper is to examine both Sonnets and Amoretti in their thematic similarities and differences, so as to better understand the meanings and significances of each sonnet sequence. Despite the various discussions and investigations, we still do not clearly know who "the beloved" in Shakespeare's Sonnets, and the same can be said in Spenser's Amoretti. Spenser declares in sonnet 74 that the three Elizabeth (his mother, the queen, and his wife-to-be) gives him the poetic inspirations. However, it is not only difficult but also somewhat naive to point out which Elizabeth is portrayed in a particular sonnet, for all the three Elizabeth figures appear together in the work as a whole. In Shakespeare's Sonnets, too, "the beloved" takes several different forms. In Spenser's work, the fact that "the beloved" most often takes a form of predator or tyrant suggests that the poet is keenly aware of the presence of the queen and tries to convince the monarch of his presence. To Shakespeare, however, the queen is no more than an important sponsor, and thus his ambition goes towards his own reputations as a great poet. Shakespeare variously employs Spenser's theme and imagery in his Sonnets, but his never accepts the conventions or authorities of the elder poet in his work, so as to prove himself as great a poet as, or better poet than, Spenser.

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