Poem: An Horatian Ode by Edmund Spenser
he rhyme scheme, a b b a a c d c d d e e f e f f g g, remains constant throughout the poem, a supporting structure to the constancy of marriage the two couples are about to enter. Spenser's language is repetitive seldom, his diction addressing all avenues that the day includes...the comparisons of classical grandeur, natural beauty, and mythical wonder (swans and nymphs) runs as swiftly as the refrain, "softly, till I end my song." Visually, the ten stanzas begin to look like boulders or rocks that the Thames is flowing over, the water bringing the reader ever closer to the end of the wedding day, and the end of the poem. Whether the river will continue to flow softly when the song is done is put into question, since the line is conditional. Perhaps the poet believes that this bright day is but a gentle stretch in the wild currents of London (a view somewhat supported by the deviation of stanza 8), and that the poem itself enable the wedding party to truly enjoy the special moment which might otherwise have been swept away with the constant motion of the city.The meaning of the repeating lines appears to change slightly from the beginning of the poem to the end. Regarding the "Brydale day, which is not long," the line appears to state that "not long" is equivalent to forthcoming, but at the end of the poem, "not long" seems to predict the shortness of the day, or rather that it is ending soon.