Petrarchan Sonnet Analysis

The Renaissance era of England began after the War of the Roses and the country experienced a time of relative peace. The literature of this time is predominantly written by nobility for nobility to read; however, by the middle of the era there is a broader audience that includes any educated citizen and, eventually, the common people. The growing availability of printed books expanded the market for these sonnets and literature creating the current market of literature. With this market growing, the general populace was given access to works of nobility that had otherwise been barred to them. Many of these works were published post humorously because of a lack of regard for what many of the nobility considered only a past time or an amusement

This one-sided nature of sonnets doesn’t change in later years, but loses it singular focus on these reluctant or absent characters. In contrast to his poem of growing older and unwanted in the extremely personal sonnet “Farewell, Love” the poem “Whoso so is to hunt” is a statement to another individual rather than a lamentation for youth. The Petrarchan influence becomes much less potent and more experimentation is produced. While a specific influence may fade, tested and true devices in literature are still used in modern day works. Throughout the medieval times into the Renaissance to present day the blazon is notable, even if used in various ways. The continuous use of devices or themes shows the fluidity of the human condition and the purpose of literature, the objective is the changing

Sonnets and literature were a weapon she used to control her court and speak to her populace. The purposeful and noted use of literature as a direct means to an end is a step towards future study of the power of literature and the response it can provide. The separation of author from speaker of poem is removed when discussing many of her works. An instance of this is the personal longing in the poem “On Monsieur’s Departure” and the Queen placing duty above personal feeling as can be seen in several of her personal works. The first four lines of the sonnet “On Monsieur’s Departure” give a sense of awareness of the audience of her populace and the acceptance of her