The poem "Amoretti XXIII" refers to the story of Penelope, as told in The Odyssey. In The Odyssey, Penelope is Ulysses wife. Although Ulysses is gone for twenty years, Penelope never stops loving him, and always remained faithful to him. In order to avoid giving in to the pressure of remarrying, she states that she will only remarry once she is finished with her weaving. However, she weaves during the day and unweaves at night in order to make the wait longer.
In "Amoretti XXIII," Spencer refers to this story. However, instead of using the story as a symbol of enduring love that succeeds, he uses is as a metaphor to introduce his story of less successful love. Spencer compares himself to Penelope, and tells us that he weaves all day in order to achieve love. However, his beloved unweaves his efforts for him ("Th’ importune suit of my desire to shonne:/For all that I in many dayes doo weave,/In one short houre I find by her undonne"). This implies that Spencer's love is not reciprocated, which is a different take on Penelope's story. Spenser's situation leaves him heartbroken, and he tells us that his efforts are no more resistant or successful than spider webs that are destroyed by the wind ("Such labour like the Spyders web I fynd,/Whose fruitless worke is broken with least wynd").