Sonnet 30 By Mary Wroth

Modern Interpretations?

Pamphilia to Amphilanthus

"Stay" by Rihanna

You blessed shades, which give me silent rest,

Witnes but this when death hath clos'd mine eyes,

And separated me from earthly tyes;

Being from hence to higher place adrest.

"Tired" by Adele

recounts the adventures of Pamphilia, Queen of a small island, interspersed with stories of women disappointed in love, particularly as a result of their being married by their families to the wrong man.

How oft in you I have laine heere opprest?

And have my miseries in wofull cryes

Deliver'd forth, mounting up to the Skyes?

Yet helplesse, backe return'd to wound my brest.

"Hear Me" by Imagine Dragons

Which wounds did but strive how to breed more harm

To me, who can be cur'd by no one charme

But that of Love, which yet may me releeve;

Sonnet 30

"Give Me Love" by Ed Sheeran

You blessed shades, which give me silent rest,

Witnes but this when death hath clos'd mine eyes,

And separated me from earthly tyes;

Being from hence to higher place adrest.

If not, let Death my former paines redeeme,

My trusty friends, my faith untouch'd, esteeme,

And witnesse I could love, who so could grieve.

"I Need Some Sleep" by Eels

How about a man's?

Resources

"Lady Mary Wroth." Shakespeare Authorship Question. Weebly, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. <http://marysidney.weebly.com/sonnets.html>.

Mancuso, Francesca. "My Micro Edition." My Micro Edition. Stockton College, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. <https://blogs.stockton.edu/shortverse/files/2012/12/Mancuso-Micro-Edition.pdf>.

"Pamphilia to Amphilanthus." Renascence Editions. University of Oregon, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~rbear/mary.html>.

"Sir Philip Sidney and Lady Mary Wroth: Navigating the Labyrinth of Love." Sir Philip Sidney and Lady Mary Wroth: Navigating the Labyrinth of Love. University of Arizona, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. <http://www.u.arizona.edu/~jcu/SidneyWroth.pdf>

How oft in you I have laine heere opprest?

And have my miseries in wofull cryes

Deliver'd forth, mounting up to the Skyes?

Yet helplesse, backe return'd to wound my brest

• Published 1621 as part of her prose romance, The Countess of Montgomery’s Urania

• 103 sonnets and songs

• Female protagonist intended to be read as written by Pamphilia

• She questions the assumptions about women’s roles and the double standard women face.

• Based on her uncle Sir Philip Sidney's work Astrophil and Stella.

Darkness as the Poet's Companion

Which wounds did but strive how to breed more harm

To me, who can be cur'd by no one charme

But that of Love, which yet may me releeve;

Possible Conclusions

Darkness appears in a variety of ways within poetry

Mary Wroth

If not, let Death my former paines redeeme,

My trusty friends, my faith untouch'd, esteeme,

And witnesse I could love, who so could grieve.

Woman

Man

The Dark Lady

This project was originally conducted for Concordia College's Medieval to Renaissance Literature class in the spring of 2014.

: used in Shakespeare's Sonnet 127 to describe the beauty of a dark haired woman. Dark features were usually considered ugly but Shakespeare turns that convention on its head.

Which sounds more sincere?

How does it sound from a woman's perspective?

Z

Who do you sympathize with the most?

Z

Night

: used in Sir Philip Sidney's sonnets as a positive peaceful force

Z

How does Sonnet 30 fit into the scheme?

Pamphilia calls upon the darkness as a way to calm her mind and let her think about her lover Amphilanthus. She wants him to return her love.

Z

Sleep

What could you infer about them as people?

: once again seen in Sir Philip Sidney's Astrophil and Stella as a peaceful state of being

A

B

/

U

/

U

/

U

You blessed shades, which give me silent rest,

/

U

/

U

You blessed shades, which give me silent rest,

Witnes but this when death hath clos'd mine eyes,

And separated me from earthly tyes;

Being from hence to higher place adrest.

How oft in you I have laine heere opprest?

And have my miseries in wofull cryes

Deliver’d forth, mounting up to the Skyes?

Yet helplesse, backe return’d to wound my brest,

"How often have I been stressed out

and told you all my worries? Only to have them come back again."

B

A

You blessed shades, which give me silent rest,

Witnes but this when death hath clos'd mine eyes,

And separated me from earthly tyes;

Being from hence to higher place adrest.

The narrator addresses darkness with a positive attitude.

How oft in you I have laine heere opprest?

And have my miseries in wofull cryes

Deliver'd forth, mounting up to the Skyes?

Yet helplesse, backe return'd to wound my brest

Which wounds did but strive how to breed more harm

To me, who can be cur'd by no one charme

But that of Love, which yet may me releeve;

Only love can cure the narrator's unrest

If not, let Death my former paines redeeme,

My trusty friends, my faith untouch'd, esteeme,

And witnesse I could love, who so could grieve.

Without love the narrator will let

himself

die