What is the major theme in Pamphilia to Amphilanthus?
What is the major theme in Pamphilia to Amphilanthus? Mary Wroth's sonnet sequence, Pamphilia to Amphilanthus (1621) evokes the persona's love melancholy as she is faced with her lover's inconstancy. Pamphilia writes to herself rather than to her lover, trying to find some poetic measure that would contain her melancholy – a disease which was defined by excess. What is the closing sonnet of Pamphilia to Amphilanthus about? Pamphilia ends the sonnet resolving to "obey" (14) Amphilanthus' "charms", (14) regardless of her own wants. Her conclusion to persevere despite her personal feelings speaks to the cultural understanding of women heroism...