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Audience and Imagery in Samuel Daniel's Sonnet III from Delia. C.S. Lewis, in English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, dismissed Daniel's Delia on the grounds that: "It offers no ideas, no psychology, and of course no story: it is simply a masterpiece of phrasing and melody" (Lewis 491). Samuel Daniel's sonnet sequence, Delia (1592), is undeniably remarkable for its phrasing and melody. However, one can take issue with Lewis' depiction of Daniel's achievement. This essay will argue that, contrary to Lewis' statement, Daniel's Delia reveals a complex level of interlocking patterns of thematic ideas and imagery. One cannot assert broad generalizations about a poet's entire work, much less the poetic production of an entire era, from the textual analysis of a single work. Includes annotated bibliography. 11 pgs. 8 sources.
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