Further+Analysis

Analysis of Form:

The poem seems to be a progression from stanza 1 through 3 and comes to a summation with the last couplet.

Stanza one talks about the thread of love, which is the beginning of a relationship and falling in love. The thread is a path that leads to your soul's happiness and also shows who you truly are as a person. This stanza is the beginning of Wroth's idea of love being something true and honest, as it is something that dives straight into what true love is and doesn't give time to idle fantasy.

Stanza two continues from stanza one by describing what, more or less, love should be made of. When thoughts of innocence and purity govern a relationship the evils and ills that sex and lust bring around cannot harm the bond between man and woman. If lust is not a part of a relationship then the two people must be bend their minds to make it work from something else, something like virtue. Wroth is also saying that true love has no regrets. Once love has been made true through chaste means and virtue, then the lovers will have nothing to regret.

Stanza three praises love. It bring insight that Love is something holy and pertains to the soul when it references the image of faith. Worth describes love as being a shining star, which is also an allusion to the star of Bethlehem. She describes love as being a fervent fire and a lasting lamp, or indicator, for love. This is to show how intense and compassionate love can become if it is approached in the right manner.

The last couplet sums up Wroth's idea of what love should be based on. Love is virtue and is built from righteousness and innocence, and the outcome of this is that lovers will be bonded to each other through a true connection, not a connection simply made from shackles.