Amoretti: A sonnet sequence: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

Amoretti: A sonnet sequence, credited to Edmund Spenser, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of Amoretti, by Edmund Spenser. Read by Leonard Wilson. The Amoretti (little love poems) is a sequence of 89 sonnets written in the tradition of the Petrarchan sonnets, a popular form for poets of the Renaissance period. Spenser’s sequence has been largely neglected in modern times, while those of his contemporaries William Shakespeare and Sir Philip Sidney have been acclaimed. However, because of the artistic skill, along with the emotion and the humor exhibited, these poems deserve a broader hearing, even though they may be somewhat difficult for the present-day reader, partly through Spenser’s love for words and expressions that were already archaic in his time. Amoretti, written throughout the year 1594 and published the following year, violates at least one of the conventional elements of the Renaissance sonnet sequences. Other poets, including Petrarch and Sidney, chose as the inspiration for their sonnets a woman who was inaccessible to the poet, sometimes even married to someone else. They idealized this woman, seeming to be extravagantly suffering because of their passionate admiration, while in real life they might hardly know the lady and had no real interest in an actual love affair. Spenser, however, dedicated his verses to a woman that he actually loved and sought, Elizabeth Boyle, whom he then married. Also the sonnet series by other poets were usually despairing of any fruition in regard to the lady, and Spenser certainly does show much frustration himself in his efforts to achieve a closer relationship with his love; but as the series progresses, he gradually sees improvement in the success of his wooing, as his actual wedding nears. The poems feature elaborate imagery, loaded with metaphorical situations, saying much the same thing repeatedly in a wide variety of ways, with much clever creativity, sometimes impressive and sometimes a bit awkward. There is a rich vein of humor running through the whole sequence, often through mock passion, and there is even a bit of sensuality in some of the later sonnets. The better poems are often sharp and crystalline, sparkling in their freshness and originality. (Introduction by Leonard Wilson)

Recording facts

• Recording title: Amoretti: A sonnet sequence
• Author credits: Edmund Spenser
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 30
• Combined MP3 track duration: 1:51:53

Catalogue topics

• poetry
• romance
• sonnets

Opening tracks: first 24 of 30

1. 01 - Sonnets I, II, III — 3:49
2. 02 - Sonnets IV, V, VI — 3:28
3. 03 - Sonnets VII, VIII, IX — 3:41
4. 04 - Sonnets X, XI, XII — 3:38
5. 05 - Sonnets XIII, XIV, XV — 3:39
6. 06 - Sonnets XVI, XVII, XVIII — 3:31
7. 07 - Sonnets XIX, XX, XXI — 3:28
8. 08 - Sonnets XXII, XXIII, XXIV — 3:37
9. 09 - Sonnets XV, XVI, XVII — 3:41
10. 10 - Sonnets XXVIII, XXIX, XXX — 3:32
11. 11 - Sonnets XXXI, XXXII, XXXIII — 3:26
12. 12 - Sonnets XXXIV, XXXV, XXXVI — 3:39
13. 13 - Sonnets XXXVII, XXXVIII, XXXIX — 3:37
14. 14 - Sonnets XL, XLI, XLII — 3:37
15. 15 - Sonnets XLIII, XLIV, XLV — 3:38
16. 16 - Sonnets XLVI, XLVII, XLVIII — 3:35
17. 17 - Sonnets XLIX, L, LI — 3:40
18. 18 - Sonnets LII, LIII, LIV — 3:33
19. 19 - Sonnets LV, LVI, LVII — 3:45
20. 20 - Sonnets LVIII, LIX, LX — 3:39
21. 21 - Sonnets LXI, LXII, LXIII — 3:37
22. 22 - Sonnets LXIV, LXV, LXVI — 3:42
23. 23 - Sonnets LXVII, LXVIII, LXIX — 3:35
24. 24 - Sonnets LXX, LXXI, LXXII — 3:35

Listen to this recording

Open the complete recording and player on Internet Archive. The player includes the full track list and available download formats.

Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.