Poetry Analysis: (Page #409)"One Day I Wrote her Name Upon a Strand" (by: Edmund Spenser)

Edmund Spenser's poem, "One Day I Wrote Her Name Upon The Strand," is a sonnetin in which the writer uses many literary devices to create a romantic story. One of these literary devices is imagery. By creating descriptions, Spenser is allowing the reader to capture and understand what is going on throughout the poem. "But came the waves and washed it away (Line #2)," is a perfect example of one of the many images Spenser paints through his words. By illustrating various images, the poem has an ambiance of dreamy, romantic feelings. A second literary device that is used by Edmund Spencer is the rhyming scheme. The rhyming scheme, "abab," allows the poem to flow. The words at the end of each sentence makes the poem much more fluid because each line drifts off into the next. In a different light, the rhyming of the words also create a mature feeling. If the lines did not rhyme at all, the poem would have sounded much less smoother and choppier. However, by establishing a rhyming pattern, the romantic feeling of the poem is not lost but is, instead, enhanced.

This poem was really interesting to read. After reading many poems, it is sometimes difficult to tie in romantic feelings within a poem. However, Edmund Spenser successfully completed this task. Also, each time I read this poem over, I take a different aspect or meaning from the poem that I did not catch before I read it another time. For example, I understood that the poem was romantic but now as I read it more times, I find that Spenser also creates a mood in which the poem is very hopeful. I really did enjoy this poem and I think that poems like these are fascinating because they were written so long ago...and yet, people can still relate and understand them today.