How come it then that this her cold so greatIs not dissolved through my so hot desire,But grows harder the more I her entreat?
This line speaks about Spenser’s feelings towards this lady he is pursuing. He describes her as ice to allude to how he could possibly melt her with his love, however, that is not the case. The predicament that Spenser finds himself in is that the lady is unaffected by his advances. This is important because it sets the theme of unrequited love. No matter how hot his flames may become, her ice will not dissolve to his heat. Even more, she seems to ignore him further the more he makes advances towards her.
Or how comes it that my exceeding heatIs not allayed by her heart-frozen cold,But that I burn much more in boiling sweat,And feel my flames augmented manifold?
Spenser than speaks about how the reaction from his lady only adds fuel to his flame. The more she gives him the cold shoulder, the more he loves her. Continuing with the theme of unrequited love, we now also start to see a new theme. The new theme of one-sided love is seen where Spenser appears to enjoy this lack of affection. Mentions of his lady’s cold heart help’s support this by suggesting that she is an unloving woman who has no place for Spenser’s warm love. Not matter how hot his flame burns for her, she will remain cold.
Connotation is used throughout the poem My Love is like to Ice and I to Fire by Edmund Spenser. One example of this is when Spenser refers to his lady as, “her heart-frozen cold…”. This connotation of being frozen cold is used repeatedly in reference to the lady. Instead of meaning that her heart is literally made of ice, it is used to refer to her as unloving. This helps to set the theme of unrequited love by showing how opposite she is to Spenser. Unlike Spenser’s hot flame of love, her heart is ice cold and closed off.
The turn in the poem in line 9 marks where Spenser starts to admire the difference between him and his lady. Beforehand, Spenser seems to not understand why his advances were not having a positive influence on his lover. During the turn he finally starts to realize how special their relationship truly is. He recognizes that their back and forth is what makes their love so strong. Being able to defy the laws of nature by hardening ice with flames shows how magnificent love indeed is. In the final lines he recognizes the real power of love.
Spenser finally realizes the special circumstances of his and his lady’s relationship. He appreciates the nature of his bond by recognizing the fact that it is unrequited. However, that is exactly what makes it so special. The flames of his passion harden ice which is what her heart is made of. And her cold icy heart fuels the flames of his love. Though her heart may be made of ice, he keeps it strong the way she keeps him warm.
What more miraculous thing may be told, That fire, which all things melt, should harden ice,And ice, which is congeal’d with senseless cold,Should Kindle fire by wonderful device?
Such is the power of love in gentle mind,That it can alter all the course of kind.
Spenser realizes that love can truly look like anything. Because of the way love can affect nature to act unnaturally, perhaps how someone reacts to affection may appear unnatural too. It can alter the course of anything, defying the laws of science and social etiquette. The true power of love can be seen in how his flames grow hotter with the fuel of ice. Or perhaps the power of love can be seen when ice hardens colder when confronted with the warmth of flames. The true theme of the poem is how love can look like anything.
Bolo vytvorených viac ako 30 miliónov storyboardov