The epithalamion by Edmund Spenser Summary and analysis

The epithalamion is a form of poetry originated in Greek classical literature, and was probably first used as a literary form by the Greek poetess Sappho. The term literally means 'at the bridal chamber', and earlier referred to the song sung in celebration of the bride's wedding night, literally at her bridal chamber.

Conventionally, an epithalamion described the wedding day itself and the events leading up to it, and also celebrated the physical union of the married couple. In this sense, it was usually also an erotic poem.

Epithalamion is a carefully crafted nuptial song written in 1595, dedicated to his wife Elizabeth Boyle. It a typical spousal verse as it celebrates their marriage and courtship. It was published in the collection entitled Amoretti, it consists of love songs and sonnets.

Edmund Spenser wrote Epithalamion as a wedding gift for his bride, Elizabeth Boyle. The poem follows the couple’s wedding day from the groom’s eager hours before dawn to the late hours of the night after the husband and wife have consummated their marriage.

The poem has 24 stanzas, representing the hours of the day, with a total of 365 long lines, representing the days of the year. The poem in fact deals with the universal aspect of love, as it is that is divine and heavenly. Spencer’s concept of love is deep rooted in platonic notion.

The poem begins with invoking the muses

Ye learned sisters which have oftentimes

Beene to me ayding, others to adorne:

Whom ye thought worthy of your gracefull rymes,

That even the greatest did not greatly scorne

To heare theyr names sung in your simple layes,

The speaker is addressing a group of knowledgeable or educated women, referred to as "learned sisters." This suggests a connection to the Muses or goddesses in mytology  associated with inspiration and creativity. The speaker acknowledges that these learned sisters have often assisted him, providing aid and inspiration in his poetic endeavors. These learned sisters have considered him worthy of their gracious and elegant verses. This implies a special relationship between the poet and these muses or sources of inspiration.

The speaker notes that even the most important or distinguished individuals did not reject or scorn the poet's work. The suggestion is that the poet's verses were received with respect and approval with the support of the muses.

This stanza, like the majority of the subsequent stanzas, concludes with the refrain “The woods shall to me answer and my Eccho ring.”  It conveys a sense of the speaker being in communion with nature. The idea is that the woods will respond to the speaker's presence, and the echo of his voice will create a kind of poetic dialogue with the natural surroundings. This could symbolize a poetic connection between the human experience and the natural world, where the environment becomes a responsive and interactive part of the poetic expression.

The groom orders the muses to call all the nymphs they can to join them to the bridal chamber. On their way, they are to collect all the fragrant flowers they can and decorate the route leading from the “bridal bower,” where the marriage ceremony will take place, to the entrance of the bride’s chambers. If they do, she will walk from her accommodations to the wedding location solely on flowers. Their music will awaken the bride as they decorate her doorstep with flowers.

The poet wants to make an everlasting memory on behalf of his special day with the support of the muses.  The nymphs who care about the ponds and lakes should ensure that the water is pure and free of lively fish so that they can see their own reflections in it and thus best prepare themselves to be seen by the bride. The nymphs of the mountains and woods who keep deer safe from ravening wolves should use their skills to keep these same wolves away from the bride on her wedding day. Both groups are expected to be present to help beautify the wedding venue with their beauty.

The groom now addresses his bride personally in order to persuade her to wake up. Sunrise has long passed, and Phoebus, the sun god, is displaying “his glorious hed.” The birds are already singing, and the groom argues that their song is a joyful invitation to the bride.

The bride has finally awakened, and her eyes have been compared to the sun with their “goodly beams/More bright than Hesperus.” The groom invites the “daughters of delight” to attend to the bride, but also the Hours of Day and Night, the Seasons, and the “three handmayds” of Venus.

The bride is ready with her attendant virgins, so now it is time for the groomsmen and the groom himself to prepare. The groom implores the sun to shine brightly, but not so hot manner, because it may burn his bride’s fair skin.  

The groom beholds his bride approaching and compares her to Phoebe goddess of the moon. He finds her white attire so appropriate that she seems more angel than woman. In modesty, she avoids the gaze of the myriad admirers and blushes at the songs of praise she is receiving.

The groom asks the women who see his bride if they have ever seen anyone so beautiful in their town before. He glorifies the beauty of the bride, starting with her eyes and eventually describing her whole body. The bride’s overwhelming beauty causes the maidens to forget their song to stare at her.

Tell me ye merchants daughters did ye see

So fayre a creature in your towne before?

So sweet, so lovely, and so mild as she,

Adornd with beautyes grace and vertues store,

Her goodly eyes lyke Saphyres shining bright,

Her forehead yvory white,

Her cheekes lyke apples which the sun hath rudded,

Her lips lyke cherryes charming men to byte,

Her brest like to a bowle of creame uncrudded,

Her paps lyke lyllies budded,

Her snowie necke lyke to a marble towre,

And all her body like a pallace fayre,

Ascending uppe with many a stately stayre,

To honors seat and chastities sweet bowre.

Why stand ye still ye virgins in amaze,

Upon her so to gaze,

Whiles ye forget your former lay to sing,

To which the woods did answer and your eccho ring.     

 

 The speaker moves from the external beauty of the bride to her internal beauty, which he claims to see      better than anyone else. He praises her lively spirit, her sweet love, her chastity, her faith, her honour, and her modesty. He insists that could her observers see her inner beauty, they would be far more awestruck by it than they already are by her outward appearance.

 

But if ye saw that which no eyes can see,

The inward beauty of her lively spright,

Garnisht with heavenly guifts of high degree,

Much more then would ye wonder at that sight,

There dwels sweet love and constant chastity,

Unspotted fayth and comely womenhed,

Regard of honour and mild modesty,

There vertue raynes as Queene in royal throne,

The bride stands before the altar as the priest offers his blessing upon her and upon the marriage. She blushes, causing the angels to forget their duties and encircle her, while the groom wonders why she should blush to give him her hand in marriage.

 

The Christian part of the wedding ceremony is over, and the groom asks that the bride to be brought home again and the celebration to start. He calls for feasting and drinking, turning his attention from the “almighty” God of the church to the God Bacchus.

After the feast the groom urges the singers and dancers to leave the wedding. He is eager to be alone with his bride as he was eager to make love. Night has come at last, and the groom asks Night to cover and protect them. He prays that no evil spirits or bad thoughts would reach the newlyweds this night.  The groom notices Cinthia, the moon, peering through his window and prays to her for a favourable wedding night. He specifically asks that she make his bride’s “chaste womb” fertile this night. He asks Juno, wife of Zeus and goddess of marriage, to make their union strong and sacred, then turns her attention toward making it fruitful.

The groom utters an all-encompassing prayer to all the gods in the heavens, that they might bless this marriage. He asks them to give him “large posterity” that he may raise generations of followers to ascend to the heavens in praise of the gods.

 

As the most celebrated wedding song Epithalamion combines elements of classical mythology, Christian symbolism, and Renaissance poetic conventions to create a rich and elaborate celebration of love and marriage. Indeed it is a masterpiece of Renaissance poetry that explores the various dimensions of love, from the physical to the spiritual, and celebrates the enduring nature of true love.