Sonnet 11Lady Mary Wroth

1587–1651/3

Analysis 1

You endless torments that my rest oppress, aHow long will you delight in my sad pain? bWill never Love your favor more express? a

Shall I still live, and ever feel disdain? bAlas, now stay, and let my grief obtain b

Some end; feed not my heart with sharp distress. aLet me once see my cruel fortunes gain b

At least release, and long-felt woes redress. aLet not the blame of cruelty disgrace c

The honored title of your godhead Love; dGive not just cause for me to say a place c

Is found for rage alone on me to move. d eye rhyme

O quickly end, and do not long debate eMy needful aid, lest help do come too late. e

“Sonnet 11” is part of Pamphilia to

Amphilanthus, Wroth’s sonnet sequence.

Pamphilia, which is Greek for “all-loving,” struggles throughout

the text with the infidelity of her lover

Amphilanthus, which is Greek for “one with two loves.” Pamphilia keeps

her poems to herself because society would otherwise shun her, on grounds of a deficient

moral character.

The THEME is related to depression: Wroth explored the sorrow, which is said

to be laced with fury, engendered by misfortune in love, which may be

assumed to refer to either infidelity or the loss of her beloved.

The structure Wroth employs in her sonnets

appears to be a variation on the English, or

Shakespearean, sonnet. “Sonnet 11” is composed

in standard iambic pentameter, and it is

end-rhymed abab-baba-cdcd-ee, which is a

rhyme scheme consistently used

throughout Wroth’s sonnet sequence. As the poem may be said to be

divided into three quatrains and a couplet, the connection between

this division and the rhyme scheme is quite

evident: the first quatrain introduces several

rhetorical questions, which are addressed in

the second quatrain (not through direct answers, but Wroth, seeing that

she is unlikely to receive a response, moves on), the interlocking rhymes

emphasizing this arrangement; the third

quatrain exhibits different rhymes as it develops a new idea,

namely the “rage” (line 12) woven through Wroth’s sorrow; the

couplet introduces the volta and is therefore set off from the rest of the

sonnet.

Torments](1) great physical or mental pain, or mental anguish; (2) a source of harassment, annoyance, or painDisdain] a feeling or show of superiority and dislikeWoes] (1) deep distress or misery; (2) misfortuneRedress] to set rightBlame] offense, sinDisgrace] to bring shame or dishonor on

Analysis 2

You endless torments that my rest oppress, How long will you delight in my sad pain? Will never Love your favor more express?

Shall I still live, and ever feel disdain?Alas, now stay, and let my grief obtain

Some end; feed not my heart with sharp distress. Let me once see my cruel fortunes gain

At least release, and long-felt woes redress. Let not the blame of cruelty disgrace

The honored title of your godhead Love; Give not just cause for me to say a place Is found for rage alone on me to move. O quickly end, and do not long debate

My needful aid, lest help do come too late.

1. The “torments” (line 1) said to not allow Wroth any respite may represent the death of her husband, the possible infidelity of her lover, the fact that her cousin

abandoned her, or a combination of all three. Wroth proceeds to ask three successive rhetorical questions, creating a tone predominantly of hopelessness

and of underlying anger: she considers it unfair that her life has been an “endless” (line 1) string of misfortunes. Moreover, the second line implies that her right to

happiness has already been paid, and therefore she cannot comprehend why she must continue to suffer.

3. The second quatrain introduces a semblance of acceptance: Wroth no longer attempts to shun

or deny the aforementioned

“torments” (line 1), but tries instead to live with them, perhaps assuaging her “grief” (line 5) in so doing as her intrusive

thoughts would lose their sting in time. The use of the word “sharp” (line 6)

reinforces this idea, implying that each time

she allows herself to wallow in her misery, the

pain returns with unabated intensity. A

plea follows, stating that if good fortune is not

meant for Wroth, then she might at least not experience any more misfortunes. Said plea

may be said to be addressed to God.

4. The third quatrain introduces another request: Wroth does not want her ideas about love, to which she assigns an almost divine status, spoiled by her adversities. She then goes on to warn that if misfortune continues to mar her existence, she will lose touch with her emotions, “rage” (line 12) remaining the only emotion she will still be able to

feel.

2. “Love” is personified in line 3, as evidenced by the use of a capital letter. This serves to prove the importance Wroth assigns to love: she seems to regard love as something

divine, as demonstrated by the use of “godhead”

in line 10, and her misfortunes challenge

her heretofore unwavering belief in it. This could likewise be

interpreted as an expression of her

doubts regarding God: “If there is a god, why does He allow me to suffer so?” Lastly,

“disdain” (line 4) refers to the fact that Fate has

slighted her. Alternatively, it may

imply that society treats her with contempt,

shunning her as a result of her affair with a

married man.

Analysis 3

You endless torments that my rest oppress, How long will you delight in my sad pain? Will never Love your favor more express? Shall I still live, // and ever feel disdain?Alas, now stay, and let my grief obtain

Some end; // feed not my heart with sharp distress. Let me once see my cruel fortunes gain

At least release, // and long-felt woes redress. Let not the blame of cruelty disgrace

The honored title of your godhead Love; Give not just cause for me to say a place Is found for rage alone on me to move. O quickly end, // and do not long debate

My needful aid, // lest help do come too late.

The couplet begins with one last plea, clearly

meant for the “torments” (line 1) that brought about Wroth’s despondency. The volta is contained in the very last phrase, “lest help do come too late” (line 14), which may imply

suicidal ideation. Indeed, if her misery

continues, Wroth states she might consider

committing suicide. The caesura forces readers to pause, lending an ominous quality, a

heavy significance to Wroth’s final caveat.

The prevalence of enjambment points to

Wroth’s despair. It makes readers rush

through some lines—for example, lines 11-

12—creating the impression that Wroth herself is desperate for

an answer or for an improvement of her situation. Moreover, the frequent use of caesurae creates an

atmosphere of urgency, almost of

confusion. For instance, in lines 5-6,

Wroth is unable to express a complete

thought in a single line, making the two lines

clash and run into each other. The caesura

here separates two of her requests, making it

seem as though she were taking a breath,

in preparation for revisiting her pain.

Furthermore, in line 4, the caesura marks the juxtaposition of life, or living, and “disdain,” implying that Wroth,

having fallen into disrepute, considers

that her solitary life is no life at all.