Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg
Pamphilia to Amphilanthus: Lady Mary Wroth, 1621

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Lady Mary Wroth
"Pamphilia to Amphilanthus": Lady Mary Wroth
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Lady Wroth was educated by her uncle, Philip sidney. It was extremely unusual for a woman to be highly educated, able to read and write. In fact, it is likely that Lady Wroth was the most educated woman in England at this time. Thus Lady Wroth could be thought of as a "bas bleu" (a bluestocking: intellectual woman), an early feminist.

"Pamphilia to Amphilanthus" by Lady Mary Wroth consists of six sonnets, followed by a song, repeated several times. A song is composed of a vriable number of lines: 16, 20, 24, 28, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, etc.
  1. 6 octets song 1 = 48 lines
  2. Sonnets 1 - 6; then Song 1 (6 octets): 6x14 + 6x8 = 84 + 48 = 132 lines
  3. Sonnets 7 - 12; then Song 2 (4 quatrains, 1 octet): 6x14 + 24 = 84 + 24 = 118 lines
  4. Sonnets 13 - 18; then Song 3 (4 sextets): 6x14 + 24 = 84 + 24 = 118 lines
  5. Sonnets 19 - 24; then Song 4 (4 sextets): 6x14 + 24 = 84 + 24 = 118 lines
  6. Sonnets 25 - 30; then Song 5 (5 sextets): 6x14 + 30 = 84 + 24 = 124 lines
  7. Sonnets 31 - 36; then Song 6 (7 sextets): 6x14 + 42 = 84 + 42 = 126 lines
  8. Sonnets 37 - 42; then Song 7 (4 sextets): 6x14 + 24 = 84 + 24 = 118 lines
  9. Sonnets 43 - 49; then Song 8 (5 quatrains): 6x14 + 20 = 84 + 20 = 104 lines
  10. Song 9 (3 sextets, 1 couplet): 18 + 2 = 20 lines
  11. Song 10 (4 quatrains): 16 lines
  12. Song 11 (6 quatrains): 24 lines
  13. Song 12 (4 quatrains): 16 lines
  14. Song 13 (4 quatrains): 16 lines
  15. Sonnets 1'-10'; Song 14 (6 quatrains): 10x14 + 24 = 140 + 24 = 164 lines
  16. Song 15 (12+7xquatrains+14): 12 + 28 + 14 = 54 lines
  17. Crown Sonnet + Sonnets 2"-14": 15x14 = 210 lines
  18. Song 1" (3 octets): 24 lines
  19. Song 2" (3 octets + quatrain): 28 lines
  20. Song 3" (3 octets): 24 lines
  21. Song 4" (9 quatrains): 36 lines
  22. Sonnet 1'''-9''' = 9x14 = 126 lines
Total: 1742 lines

Two examples of sonnets, two examples of songs:
  1. Sonnet I: 1621
  2. Sonnet V: 1621
  3. Song I: 1621
  4. Song V: 1621

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