115-574: The Shepheardes Calender (originally titled The Shepheardes Calendar, Conteyning twelve Aeglogues proportionable to the Twelve monthes. Entitled to the Noble and Vertuous Gentleman most worthy of all titles both of learning and chevalrie M. Philip Sidney) was Edmund Spenser 's first major poetic work, published in 1579. In emulation of Virgil 's first work, the Eclogues , Spenser wrote this series of pastorals at
230-485: A sizar at Pembroke College, Cambridge . While at Cambridge he became a friend of Gabriel Harvey and later consulted him, despite their differing views on poetry. In 1578, he became for a short time secretary to John Young , Bishop of Rochester. In 1579, he published The Shepheardes Calender and around the same time married his first wife, Machabyas Childe. They had two children, Sylvanus (d. 1638) and Katherine. In July 1580, Spenser went to Ireland in service of
345-484: A Catholic church full of corruption, and he determined that it was not only the wrong religion but the anti-religion. This sentiment is an important backdrop for the battles of The Faerie Queene . Spenser was called "the Poet's Poet" by Charles Lamb, and was admired by John Milton , William Blake , William Wordsworth , John Keats , Lord Byron , Alfred Tennyson and others. Among his contemporaries Walter Raleigh wrote
460-569: A Kingdom of Faerie which is loosely based on the one described by Spenser. As depicted by Bear, Spenser was aware of this Kingdom's existence and his work was actually a description of fact rather than invented fantasy; Queen Elizabeth I had a secret pact of mutual help with the Queen of Faerie; and such historical characters as Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare visited Faerie and had adventures there. According to Richard Simon Keller, George Lucas 's Star Wars film also contains elements of
575-510: A commendatory poem to The Faerie Queene in 1590 in which he claims to admire and value Spenser's work more so than any other in the English language. John Milton in his Areopagitica mentions "our sage and serious poet Spenser, whom I dare be known to think a better teacher than Scotus or Aquinas ". In the 18th century, Alexander Pope compared Spenser to "a mistress, whose faults we see, but love her with them all". In his work A View of
690-458: A completely allegorical context, the poem follows several knights in an examination of several virtues. In Spenser's "A Letter of the Authors", he states that the entire epic poem is "cloudily enwrapped in allegorical devises", and that the aim behind The Faerie Queene was to "fashion a gentleman or noble person in virtuous and gentle discipline". Spenser published numerous relatively short poems in
805-682: A dragon, and the two are betrothed after resisting Archimago one last time. Book II is centred on the virtue of Temperance as embodied in Sir Guyon , who is tempted by the fleeing Archimago into nearly attacking the Redcrosse Knight. Guyon discovers a woman killing herself out of grief for having her lover tempted and bewitched by the witch Acrasia and killed. Guyon swears a vow to avenge them and protect their child. Guyon on his quest starts and stops fighting several evil, rash, or tricked knights and meets Arthur. Finally, they come to Acrasia's Island and
920-509: A dramatic personae to a more homely style. While the January pastoral tells of the unhappy love of Colin for Rosalind, the springtime of April calls for a song in praise of Elizabeth. In May, the shepherds, who are rival pastors of the Reformation, end their sermons with an animal fable. In summer, they discourse on Puritan theology. October brings them to contemplate the trials and disappointments of
1035-837: A loose adaptation, as well as being influenced by other works, with parallels including the story of the Red Cross Knight championing Una against the evil Archimago in the original compared with Lucas's Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Darth Vader. Keller sees extensive parallels between the film and book one of Spenser's work, stating "[A]lmost everything of importance that we see in the Star Wars movie has its origin in The Faerie Queene , from small details of weaponry and dress to large issues of chivalry and spirituality". The Netflix series The Crown references The Faerie Queene and Gloriana in season 1 episode 10, entitled "Gloriana". In
1150-446: A more accurate indication of gentle blood than physical appearance. On the opposite side of the spectrum, The Faerie Queene indicates qualities such as cowardice and discourtesy that signify low birth. During his initial encounter with Arthur, Turpine "hides behind his retainers, chooses ambush from behind instead of direct combat, and cowers to his wife, who covers him with her voluminous skirt". These actions demonstrate that Turpine
1265-513: A much younger Elizabeth Boyle, a relative of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork . He addressed to her the sonnet sequence Amoretti . The marriage was celebrated in Epithalamion . They had a son named Peregrine. In 1596, Spenser wrote a prose pamphlet titled A View of the Present State of Irelande . This piece, in the form of a dialogue, circulated in manuscript, remaining unpublished until
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#17328763061891380-436: A poet, and the series ends with a parable comparing life to the four seasons of the year. The Shepheardes Calender is a poem that consists of twelve eclogues. Each eclogue is named after a different month, which represents the turning of seasons. An eclogue is a short pastoral poem that is in the form of a dialogue or soliloquy. This is why, while the months come together to form a whole year, each month can also stand alone as
1495-446: A preface to the epic in most published editions, this letter outlines plans for twenty-four books: twelve based each on a different knight who exemplified one of twelve "private virtues", and a possible twelve more centred on King Arthur displaying twelve "public virtues". Spenser names Aristotle as his source for these virtues, though the influences of Thomas Aquinas and the traditions of medieval allegory can be observed as well. It
1610-431: A reward Elizabeth granted Spenser a pension for life amounting to £50 a year, though there is no further evidence that Elizabeth ever read any of the poem. This royal patronage elevated the poem to a level of success that made it Spenser's defining work. Book I is centred on the virtue of Holiness as embodied in the Redcrosse Knight. Largely self-contained, Book I can be understood to be its own miniature epic. At first,
1725-548: A second holding to the south, at Rennie, on a rock overlooking the river Blackwater in North Cork. Its ruins are still visible today. A short distance away grew a tree, locally known as "Spenser's Oak" until it was destroyed in a lightning strike in the 1960s. Local legend claims that he penned some of The Faerie Queene under this tree. In 1590, Spenser brought out the first three books of his most famous work, The Faerie Queene , having travelled to London to publish and promote
1840-401: A separate poem. The months are all written in a different form. For example, April has a lyrical "laye" which honors the Queen. May gives off characterization and greater description. As the reader passes through each month and gets closer to the end of the year, the wording becomes less beautifully lyrical and more straightforward; closing together the poem the way the month of December closes up
1955-434: A shepherd through the twelve months of the year. The Calender encompasses considerable formal innovations, anticipating the even more virtuosic Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia (The "Old" Arcadia, 1580), the classic pastoral romance by Sir Philip Sidney , with whom Spenser was acquainted. It is also remarkable for the extensive commentary or gloss included with the work in its first publication, ascribed to an "E.K." E.K.
2070-484: A skillful epigram; but it seriously misrepresents the truth if taken at anything like its face value". The number of archaisms used in the poem is not overwhelming—one source reports thirty-four in Canto I of Book I, that is, thirty-four words out of a total forty-two hundred words, less than one percent. According to McElderry, language alone does not account for the poem's archaic tone. "The subject-matter of The Faerie Queene
2185-413: A stickler for legal agreements, must become her slave as well. Britomart eventually rescues her betrothed and kills Radigund, thereby restoring a just relationship of the sexes. We are introduced to the court of Mercilla, where Duessa is put on trial and found guilty. Departing from Artegall, Spenser presents Prince Arthur's quest to slay the beast Gerioneo in order to restore the lady Belge to her rights. In
2300-461: A story where the Queen told her treasurer, William Cecil, to pay Spenser £100 for his poetry. The treasurer, however, objected that the sum was too much. She said, "Then give him what is reason". Without receiving his payment in due time, Spenser gave the Queen this quatrain on one of her progresses: I was promis'd on a time, To have a reason for my rhyme: From that time unto this season, I receiv'd nor rhyme nor reason. She immediately ordered
2415-496: A superstitious Catholic reliance on deceptive images". The poem celebrates, memorializes, and critiques the House of Tudor (of which Elizabeth was a part), much as Virgil 's Aeneid celebrates Augustus 's Rome. The Aeneid states that Augustus descended from the noble sons of Troy ; similarly, The Faerie Queene suggests that the Tudor lineage can be connected to King Arthur. The poem
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#17328763061892530-613: A variety of genres including sixteenth century Arthurian literature. The Faerie Queene was influenced strongly by Italian works, as were many other works in England at that time. The Faerie Queene draws heavily on Ariosto and Tasso. The first three books of The Faerie Queene operate as a unit, representing the entire cycle from the fall of Troy to the reign of Elizabeth. Using in medias res , Spenser introduces his historical narrative at three different intervals, using chronicle, civil conversation, and prophecy as its occasions. Despite
2645-404: A woman. Epithalamion , similar to Amoretti , deals in part with the unease in the development of a romantic and sexual relationship. It was written for his wedding to his young bride, Elizabeth Boyle. Some have speculated that the attention to disquiet, in general, reflects Spenser's personal anxieties at the time, as he was unable to complete his most significant work, The Faerie Queene . In
2760-451: Is "almost no correlation between noble deeds and low birth" and reveals that to be a "noble person," one must be a "gentleman of choice stock". Throughout The Faerie Queene , virtue is seen as "a feature for the nobly born" and within Book VI, readers encounter worthy deeds that indicate aristocratic lineage. An example of this is the hermit to whom Arthur brings Timias and Serena. Initially,
2875-561: Is "morally emasculated by fear" and furthermore, "the usual social roles are reversed as the lady protects the knight from danger. Scholars believe that this characterization serves as "a negative example of knighthood" and strives to teach Elizabethan aristocrats how to "identify a commoner with political ambitions inappropriate to his rank". The Faerie Queene was written in Spenserian stanza , which Spenser created specifically for The Faerie Queene . Spenser varied existing epic stanza forms,
2990-557: Is ABABBCBCC. Over two thousand stanzas were written for the 1590 Faerie Queene . In Elizabethan England, no subject was more familiar to writers than theology. Elizabethans learned to embrace religious studies in petty school, where they "read from selections from the Book of Common Prayer and memorized Catechisms from the Scriptures". This influence is evident in Spenser's text, as demonstrated in
3105-463: Is Edmund Spenser's first major work, which appeared in 1579. It emulates Virgil 's Eclogues of the first century BCE and the Eclogues of Mantuan by Baptista Mantuanus , a late medieval, early renaissance poet. An eclogue is a short pastoral poem that is in the form of a dialogue or soliloquy. Although all the months together form an entire year, each month stands alone as a separate poem. Editions of
3220-473: Is able to rescue Amoret from the wizard Busirane. Unfortunately, when they emerge from the castle Scudamore is gone. (The 1590 version with Books I–III depicts the lovers' happy reunion, but this was changed in the 1596 version which contained all six books.) Book IV is called "The Legend of Cambell and Telamond or Of Friendship." But despite its title, Cambell's companion in Book IV is actually named Triamond, and
3335-533: Is an inexhaustible source of beauty and order. In this Sonnet, the poet expresses his idea of true beauty. The physical beauty will finish after a few days; it is not a permanent beauty. He emphasises beauty of mind and beauty of intellect. He considers his beloved is not simply flesh but is also a spiritual being. The poet opines that he is beloved born of heavenly seed and she is derived from fair spirit. The poet states that because of her clean mind, pure heart and sharp intellect, men call her fair and she deserves it. At
3450-421: Is an intelligent, very subtle, sometimes wrong, and often deeply ironic commentator, who is sometimes assumed to be an alias of Spenser himself. The term sarcasm (Sarcasmus) is first recorded in English in Spenser's poem (October). The twelve eclogues of The Shepheardes Calender, dealing with such themes as the abuses of the church, Colin's shattered love for Rosalind, praise for Queen Elizabeth, and encomia to
3565-465: Is balanced by an underlying theme of the hardships and rituals that each season entails. Each pastoral in the poem can be classified into one of three categories, identified as moral, plaintive, or re-creative. The plaintive and re-creative poems are each devoted to presenting Colin Clout in his double character of lover and poet, whereas the moral poems are mixed with mocking bitterness, which moves Colin from
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3680-570: Is considered one of the great poets in the English language. Edmund Spenser was born in East Smithfield , London, around the year 1552; however, there is still some ambiguity as to the exact date of his birth. His parenthood is obscure, but he was probably the son of John Spenser, a journeyman clothmaker. As a young boy, he was educated in London at the Merchant Taylors' School and matriculated as
3795-634: Is dedicated to Elizabeth I who is represented in the poem as the Faerie Queene Gloriana, as well as the character Belphoebe. Spenser prefaces the poem with sonnets additionally dedicated to Sir Christopher Hatton , Lord Burleigh , the Earl of Oxford , the Earl of Northumberland , the Earl of Cumberland , the Earl of Essex , the Earl of Ormond and Ossory , High Admiral Charles Howard , Lord Hunsdon , Lord Grey of Wilton , Lord Buckhurst , Sir Francis Walsingham , Sir John Norris , Sir Walter Raleigh ,
3910-599: Is deeply allegorical and allusive ; many prominent Elizabethans could have found themselves partially represented by one or more of Spenser's figures. Elizabeth herself is the most prominent example. She appears in the guise of Gloriana, the Faerie Queen , but also in Books III and IV as the virgin Belphoebe , daughter of Chrysogonee and twin to Amoret, the embodiment of womanly married love. Perhaps also, more critically, Elizabeth
4025-414: Is evident in the political allegory of Books I and V, where the reality of interpreted events becomes more apparent when the events are closer to the time of the poem's composition. Throughout The Faerie Queene , Spenser's use of archetypal patterns includes numerous mythological equivalents that enhance the narrative's depth and complexity. For example, the characters Florimell and Marinell are related to
4140-500: Is impossible to predict how the work would have looked had Spenser lived to complete it, since the reliability of the predictions made in his letter to Raleigh is not absolute, as numerous divergences from that scheme emerged as early as 1590 in the first Faerie Queene publication. In addition to the six virtues Holiness , Temperance , Chastity , Friendship , Justice , and Courtesy , the Letter to Raleigh suggests that Arthur represents
4255-418: Is itself the most powerful factor in creating the impression of archaism." The Faerie Queene relies on classical vocabulary and proper names, especially in the later books. Spenser coined names based on Greek , such as "Poris" and "Phao lilly white." One scholar argued that both classical epic literature and Spencer's work "involve[] the principles of imitation and decorum," which explains and justifies
4370-495: Is no surprise that Tristram turns out to be the son of a king, explaining his profound intellect. However, Spenser's most peculiar example of noble birth is demonstrated through the characterization of the Salvage Man. Using the Salvage Man as an example, Spenser demonstrated that "ungainly appearances do not disqualify one from noble birth". By giving the Salvage Man a "frightening exterior," Spenser stresses that "virtuous deeds are
4485-493: Is notable for its form: at over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 stanzas, it is one of the longest poems in the English language; it is also the work in which Spenser invented the verse form known as the Spenserian stanza . On a literal level, the poem follows several knights as a means to examine different virtues. The poem is also an allegorical work. As such, it can be read on several levels, including as praise (or, later, criticism) of Queen Elizabeth I . In Spenser's "Letter of
4600-474: Is purposely archaic, reminiscent of earlier works such as The Canterbury Tales of Geoffrey Chaucer and Il Canzoniere of Petrarch , whom Spenser greatly admired. An Anglican and a devotee of the Protestant Queen Elizabeth, Spenser was particularly offended by the anti-Elizabethan propaganda that some Catholics circulated. Like most Protestants near the time of the Reformation, Spenser saw
4715-491: Is seen in Book I as Lucifera, the "maiden queen" whose brightly lit Court of Pride masks a dungeon full of prisoners. The poem also displays Spenser's thorough familiarity with literary history. The world of The Faerie Queene is based on English Arthurian legend , but much of the language, spirit, and style of the piece draw more on Italian epic, particularly Ludovico Ariosto 's Orlando Furioso and Torquato Tasso 's Jerusalem Delivered . Book V of The Faerie Queene ,
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4830-530: The Countess of Pembroke (on the subject of her brother Sir Philip Sidney ), and Lady Carew . In October 1589, after nine years in Ireland, Spenser voyaged to England and saw the Queen. It is possible that he read to her from his manuscript at this time. On 25 February 1591, the Queen gave him a pension of fifty pounds per year. He was paid in four instalments on 25 March, 24 June, 29 September, and 25 December. After
4945-568: The National Endowment for the Humanities has been given to support this ambitious project centralized at Washington University with support from other colleges in the United States. The Faerie Queene The Faerie Queene is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser . Books I–III were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IV–VI. The Faerie Queene
5060-412: The rhyme royal used by Chaucer with the rhyme pattern ABABBCC, and the ottava rima with the rhyme pattern ABABABCC. Spenser's stanza is the longest of the three, with nine iambic lines. The first eight lines are five-footed, that is, pentameters. The ninth line is six-footed, that is, a hexameter, or Alexandrine. Altogether these form two "interlocking quatrains and a final couplet". The rhyme pattern
5175-446: The "shortcomings" of her rule. There is a character named Britomart who represents married chastity. This character is told that her destiny is to be an "immortal womb" – to have children. Here, Spenser is referring to Elizabeth's unmarried state and is touching on anxieties of the 1590s about what would happen after her death since the kingdom had no heir. The Faerie Queene's original audience would have been able to identify many of
5290-469: The Authors", he states that the entire epic poem is "cloudily enwrapped in Allegorical devices", and that the aim of publishing The Faerie Queene was to "fashion a gentleman or noble person in virtuous and gentle discipline". Spenser presented the first three books of The Faerie Queene to Elizabeth I in 1589, probably sponsored by Walter Raleigh . The poem was a clear effort to gain court favour, and as
5405-559: The Blatant Beast, capturing and binding the monster, which nonetheless, we are told, eventually escapes to prowl about the world once more to seek the ruin of more reputations. Published with The Faerie Queene in the Folio of 1609 and generally agreed to have been part of Spenser's plan for Book VII are the Cantos of Mutability , in which Jove's sway over the universe is challenged by Mutability,
5520-409: The Book of Justice, is Spenser's most direct discussion of political theory. In it, Spenser attempts to tackle the problem of policy toward Ireland and recreates the trial of Mary, Queen of Scots . In The Faerie Queene , Edmund Spenser employs archetypal patterns to reinforce the actuality of his narrative. Spenser integrates these patterns to focus the meaning of the past on the present, emphasizing
5635-549: The Bower of Bliss, where Guyon resists temptations to violence, idleness, and lust. Guyon captures Acrasia in a net, destroys the Bower, and rescues those imprisoned there. Book III is centred on the virtue of Chastity as embodied in Britomart , a lady knight. Resting after the events of Book II, Guyon and Arthur meet Britomart, who wins a joust with Guyon. They separate as Arthur and Guyon leave to rescue Florimell, while Britomart rescues
5750-563: The British history, which "extends to the verge of self-satire". The Faerie Queene owes, in part, its central figure, Arthur, to a medieval writer, Geoffrey of Monmouth . In his Prophetiae Merlini ("Prophecies of Merlin"), Geoffrey's Merlin proclaims that the Saxons will rule over the Britons until the "Boar of Cornwall" (Arthur) again restores them to their rightful place as rulers. The prophecy
5865-485: The Earl of Leicester set the groundwork for the influential effect that The Shepheardes Calender would have. A year after working together, the two of them, joined by Sir Philip Sidney , Edward Dyer , and Fulke Greville , created the literary group called "Areopagus". The group they formed supported Leicester's views on religion and politics (Bear). When The Shepheardes Calender , which was Spenser's first ever published piece,
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#17328763061895980-550: The Irish people. A particular legal punishment viewed with distaste by Spenser was the Brehon method of dealing with murder , which was to impose an éraic (fine) on the murderer's family. From Spenser's viewpoint, the appropriate punishment for murder was capital punishment . Spenser also warned of the dangers that allowing the education of children in the Irish language would bring: "Soe that
6095-402: The Present State of Irelande (1596), Spenser discussed future plans to establish control over Ireland , the most recent Irish uprising, led by Hugh O'Neill having demonstrated the futility of previous efforts. The work is partly a defence of Lord Arthur Grey de Wilton , who was appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland in 1580, and who greatly influenced Spenser's thinking on Ireland. The goal of
6210-435: The Redcrosse Knight and his lady Una travel together when he defeats the monster Errour. Then they travel separately after the wizard Archimago , using a false dream, tricks the Redcrosse Knight into thinking that Una is unchaste. The Redcrosse Knight meets Duessa, who feigns distress in order to entrap him. Duessa leads the Redcrosse Knight to captivity by the giant Orgoglio . Meanwhile, Una seeks tirelessly to be reunited with
6325-468: The Redcrosse Knight. She overcomes many perils, meets Arthur, and finally rescues the Redcrosse Knight from his capture, from Duessa, and from Despair. Una and Arthur help the Redcrosse Knight recover in the House of Holiness, with the House's ruler Caelia and her three daughters joining them. There, the Redcrosse Knight sees a vision of his future. He then returns Una to her parents' castle and rescues them from
6440-544: The Redcrosse Knight. Britomart reveals to the Redcrosse Knight that she is pursuing Sir Artegall because she is destined to marry him. The Redcrosse Knight defends Artegall and they meet Merlin, who explains more carefully Britomart's destiny to found the English monarchy. Britomart leaves and fights Sir Marinell. Arthur looks for Florimell, joined later by Sir Satyrane and Britomart, and they witness and resist sexual temptation. Britomart separates from them and meets Sir Scudamore, looking for his captured lady Amoret. Britomart alone
6555-521: The Titan goddess of change, who takes her case to a court presided over by Nature, who, after spirited arguments on both sides, rules against the Titaness and in favor of Jove. A letter written by Spenser to Sir Walter Raleigh in 1590 contains a preface for The Faerie Queene , in which Spenser describes the allegorical presentation of virtues through Arthurian knights in the mythical "Faerieland". Presented as
6670-424: The archaisms reside "chiefly in vocabulary, to a high degree in spelling, to some extent in the inflexions, and only slightly in the syntax". Examples of medieval archaisms (in morphology and diction) include: Allowing that Johnson's remark may only apply to Spencer's Calender , Bruce Robert McElderry Jr. states, after a detailed investigation of The Faerie Queene ' s diction , that Jonson's statement "is
6785-409: The archetype of divine wisdom and truth, guiding Redcross on his spiritual journey. This alignment with Beatrice also emphasizes Una's role as a symbol of divine grace leading to salvation. Redcross, representing the archetypal Christian Everyman, embarks on a quest that mirrors the soul's journey toward holiness. His ultimate victory over the dragon symbolizes the archetypal triumph of good over evil and
6900-576: The attainment of spiritual purity. Throughout The Faerie Queene , Spenser creates "a network of allusions to events, issues, and particular persons in England and Ireland" including Mary, Queen of Scots, the Spanish Armada, the English Reformation, and even the Queen herself. It is also known that James VI of Scotland read the poem, and was very insulted by Duessa – a very negative depiction of his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots. The Faerie Queene
7015-714: The book is to fashion a gentleman or noble person in virtuous and gentle discipline". Spenser considered his work "a historical fiction" which men should read for "delight" rather than "the profit of the ensample". The Faerie Queene was written for Elizabeth to read and was dedicated to her. However, there are dedicatory sonnets in the first edition to many powerful Elizabethan figures. Spenser addresses "lodwick" in Amoretti 33, when talking about The Faerie Queene still being incomplete. This could be either his friend Lodowick Bryskett or his long deceased Italian model Ludovico Ariosto, whom he praises in "Letter to Raleigh". The poem
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#17328763061897130-443: The carrions, happye wheare they could find them, yea, and one another soone after, in soe much as the verye carcasses they spared not to scrape out of theire graves; and if they found a plott of water-cresses or shamrockes, theyr they flocked as to a feast… in a shorte space there were none almost left, and a most populous and plentyfull countrye suddenly lefte voyde of man or beast: yett sure in all that warr, there perished not manye by
7245-495: The commencement of his career. However, Spenser's models were rather the Renaissance eclogues of Mantuanus . The title, like the entire work, is written using deliberately archaic spellings, in order to suggest a connection to medieval literature, and to Geoffrey Chaucer in particular. Spenser dedicated the poem to Philip Sidney . The poem introduces Colin Clout, a folk character originated by John Skelton , and depicts his life as
7360-462: The complete work, published 1897, considered a great example of the Arts and Crafts movement. In " The Mathematics of Magic ", the second of Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague de Camp 's Harold Shea stories , the modern American adventurers Harold Shea and Reed Chalmers visit the world of The Faerie Queene, where they discover that the greater difficulties faced by Spenser's knights in the later portions of
7475-488: The deceitful crocodile who may represent Mary, Queen of Scots, in a negative light. The House of Busirane episode in Book III in The Faerie Queene is partially based on an early modern English folktale called "Mr. Fox's Mottos". In the tale, a young woman named Lady Mary has been enticed by Mr. Fox, who resembles Bluebeard in his manner of killing his wives. She defeats Mr. Fox and tells about his deeds. Notably, Spenser quotes
7590-542: The earlier The Shepheardes Calender , is in part deliberately archaic. Seventeenth-century philologist Sir William Davenant considered Spenser's use of "obsolete language" as the "most vulgar accusation that is laid to his charge". Samuel Johnson found Spencer's writings "a useful source for obsolete and archaic words", but also asserted that "in affecting the ancients Spenser writ no language". Herbert Wilfred Sugden argues in The Grammar of Spenser's Faerie Queene that
7705-571: The end, the poet praises her spiritual beauty and he worships her because of her Divine Soul. Though Spenser was well-read in classical literature, scholars have noted that his poetry does not rehash tradition, but rather is distinctly his. This individuality may have resulted, to some extent, from a lack of comprehension of the classics. Spenser strove to emulate such ancient Roman poets as Virgil and Ovid , whom he studied during his schooling, but many of his best-known works are notably divergent from those of his predecessors. The language of his poetry
7820-544: The final canto, Artegall aids Sir Burbon and slays the monstrous Grantorto. Book VI is centred on the virtue of Courtesy as embodied in Sir Calidore who is on a mission from the Faerie Queene to slay the Blatant Beast. After helping reconcile two lovers and taking on the courteous young Tristram as his page, he falls prey to the pleasant distractions of pastoral life and eventually wins the affections of Pastorella away from
7935-489: The final scene, Queen Elizabeth II, portrayed by Claire Foy , is being photographed. Prompting Her Majesty's poses, Cecil Beaton says: "All hail sage Lady, whom a grateful Isle hath blessed." Not moving, not breathing. Our very own goddess. Glorious Gloriana . Forgetting Elizabeth Windsor now. Now only Elizabeth Regina. Yes. Near the end of the 1995 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility , Colonel Brandon reads The Faerie Queene aloud to Marianne Dashwood . Quotes from
8050-500: The first aeglogue of Spenser's Shepheard's Calender ", in 1921 and revised it in 1923. Edmund Spenser Edmund Spenser ( / ˈ s p ɛ n s ər / ; born 1552 or 1553; died 13 January O.S. 1599) was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene , an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I . He is recognized as one of the premier craftsmen of nascent Modern English verse, and he
8165-432: The first three books of The Faerie Queene were published in 1590, Spenser found himself disappointed in the monarchy; among other things, "his annual pension from the Queen was smaller than he would have liked" and his humanist perception of Elizabeth's court "was shattered by what he saw there". Despite these frustrations, however, Spenser "kept his aristocratic prejudices and predispositions". Book VI stresses that there
8280-428: The following year, Spenser released Prothalamion , a wedding song written for the daughters of a duke, allegedly in hopes to gain favour in the court. Spenser used a distinctive verse form, called the Spenserian stanza , in several works, including The Faerie Queene . The stanza's main metre is iambic pentameter with a final line in iambic hexameter (having six feet or stresses, known as an Alexandrine ), and
8395-414: The form of children's literature have been made – the work was a popular choice in the 19th and early 20th century with over 20 different versions written, with the earliest being E. W. Bradburn's Legends from Spencer's Fairy Queen, for Children (1829), written in the form of a dialogue between mother and children. 19th-century adaptations often concentrated on the moral aspect of the tale. Adaptions of
8510-433: The fundamental theological controversies of the Reformation". During The Faerie Queene's inception, Spenser worked as a civil servant, in "relative seclusion from the political and literary events of his day". As Spenser laboured in solitude, The Faerie Queene manifested within his mind, blending his experiences into the content of his craft. Within his poem, Spenser explores human consciousness and conflict, relating to
8625-526: The girl released, which the god grants. Book V is centred on the virtue of Justice as embodied in Sir Artegall, who defeats a demagogic giant and mediates several conflicts, including a joust held in honor of Florimell's nuptials. The knight then attempts to free several men from their indenture to the Amazon Radigund. She defeats Artegall in battle by guile, and, according to the terms of their duel, he,
8740-653: The historical elements of his text, Spenser is careful to label himself a historical poet as opposed to a historiographer. Spenser notes this differentiation in his letter to Raleigh, noting "a Historiographer discourseth of affairs orderly as they were done ... but a Poet thrusteth into the midst ... and maketh a pleasing Analysis of all". Spenser's characters embody Elizabethan values, highlighting political and aesthetic associations of Tudor Arthurian tradition in order to bring his work to life. While Spenser respected British history and "contemporary culture confirmed his attitude", his literary freedom demonstrates that he
8855-496: The last decade of the 16th century, almost all of which consider love or sorrow. In 1591, he published Complaints , a collection of poems that express complaints in mournful or mocking tones. Four years later, in 1595, Spenser published Amoretti and Epithalamion . This volume contains eighty-eight sonnets commemorating his courtship of Elizabeth Boyle. In Amoretti , Spenser uses subtle humour and parody while praising his beloved, reworking Petrarchism in his treatment of longing for
8970-412: The late 16th and early 17th centuries include woodcuts for each month/poem, and thereby have a slight similarity to an emblem book which combines a number of self-contained pictures and texts, usually a short vignette, saying, or allegory with an accompanying illustration. Spenser's masterpiece is the epic poem The Faerie Queene . The first three books of The Faerie Queene were published in 1590, and
9085-427: The man in the enchanted mirror. Arthegal pledges his love to her but must first leave and complete his quest. Scudamore, upon discovering Britomart's sex, realizes his mistake and asks after his lady, but by this time Britomart has lost Amoret, and she and Scudamore embark together on a search for her. The reader discovers that Amoret was abducted by a savage man and is imprisoned in his cave. One day Amoret darts out past
9200-438: The man is considered a "goodly knight of a gentle race" who "withdrew from public service to religious life when he grew too old to fight". Here, we note the hermit's noble blood seems to have influenced his gentle, selfless behaviour. Likewise, audiences acknowledge that young Tristram "speaks so well and acts so heroically" that Calidore "frequently contributes him with noble birth" even before learning his background; in fact, it
9315-500: The mid-17th century. It is probable that it was kept out of print during the author's lifetime because of its inflammatory content. The pamphlet argued that Ireland would never be totally "pacified" by the English until its indigenous language and customs had been destroyed, if necessary by violence. In 1598, during the Nine Years' War , Spenser was driven from his home by the native Irish forces of Aodh Ó Néill . His castle at Kilcolman
9430-418: The moral allegory of Book I. Here, allegory is organized in the traditional arrangement of Renaissance theological treatises and confessionals. While reading Book I, audiences first encounter original sin, justification and the nature of sin before analysing the church and the sacraments. Despite this pattern, Book I is not a theological treatise; within the text, "moral and historical allegories intermingle" and
9545-514: The myths of Proserpine and Adonis, respectively. Florimell, much like Eurydice, represents the pursuit of the unattainable, highlighting themes of purity and chastity. Marinell's link to Adonis underscores the fragility and vulnerability inherent in beauty and desire. Similarly, the characters Una and Redcross can be seen as archetypal representations of divine grace and the Christian Church in England. Una, equated with Dante's Beatrice, embodies
9660-709: The newly appointed Lord Deputy , Arthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey de Wilton . Spenser served under Lord Grey with Walter Raleigh at the Siege of Smerwick massacre. When Lord Grey was recalled to England, Spenser stayed on in Ireland, having acquired other official posts and lands in the Munster Plantation . Raleigh acquired other nearby Munster estates confiscated in the Second Desmond Rebellion . Sometime between 1587 and 1589, Spenser acquired his main estate at Kilcolman , near Doneraile in North Cork. He later bought
9775-542: The piece was to show that Ireland was in great need of reform. Spenser believed that "Ireland is a diseased portion of the State, it must first be cured and reformed, before it could be in a position to appreciate the good sound laws and blessings of the nation". In A View of the Present State of Ireland , Spenser categorises the "evils" of the Irish people into three prominent categories: laws, customs and religion. According to Spenser, these three elements worked together in creating
9890-558: The plot does not center on their friendship; the two men appear only briefly in the story. The book is largely a continuation of events begun in Book III. First, Scudamore is convinced by the hag Ate (discord) that Britomart has run off with Amoret and becomes jealous. A three-day tournament is then held by Satyrane, where Britomart beats Arthegal (both in disguise). Scudamore and Arthegal unite against Britomart, but when her helmet comes off in battle Arthegal falls in love with her. He surrenders, removes his helmet, and Britomart recognizes him as
10005-463: The poem are explained by the evil enchanters of the piece having organized a guild to more effectively oppose them. Shea and Chalmers reveal this conspiracy to the knights and assist in its overthrow. In the process, Belphebe and Florimel of Faerie become respectively the wives of Shea and Chalmers and accompany them on further adventures in other worlds of myth and fantasy. A considerable part of Elizabeth Bear 's "Promethean Age" series takes place in
10120-461: The poem from others of its time is Spenser's use of allegory and his dependence on the idea of antiquity. The poem also set the groundwork for Spenser's best known work The Faerie Queene . The Shepheardes Calender was also crucial to the naturalization of the English language and the introduction of vocabulary along with literary techniques. The Irish composer Ina Boyle first drafted her Colin Clout , "a pastoral for orchestra for orchestra after
10235-512: The poem's "myriad figures". In fact, Sir Walter Raleigh's wife identified many of the poem's female characters as "allegorical representations of herself". Other symbols prevalent in The Faerie Queene are the numerous animal characters present in the poem. They take the role of "visual figures in the allegory and in illustrative similes and metaphors". Specific examples include the swine present in Lucifera's castle who embodied gluttony, and Duessa,
10350-548: The poem's characters by analyzing the symbols and attributes that spot Spenser's text. For example, readers would immediately know that "a woman who wears scarlet clothes and resides along the Tiber River represents the Roman Catholic Church". However, marginal notes jotted in early copies of The Faerie Queene suggest that Spenser's contemporaries were unable to come to a consensus about the precise historical referents of
10465-473: The reader encounters elements of romance. However, Spenser's method is not "a rigorous and unyielding allegory," but "a compromise among conflicting elements". In Book I of The Faerie Queene the discussion of the path to salvation begins with original sin and justification, skipping past initial matters of God, the Creeds, and Adam's fall from grace. This literary decision is pivotal because these doctrines "center
10580-483: The rhyme scheme is ababbcbcc. He also used his own rhyme scheme for the sonnet. In a Spenserian sonnet, the last line of every quatrain is linked with the first line of the next one, yielding the rhyme scheme ababbcbccdcdee. "Men Call you Fayre" is a fine Sonnet from Amoretti. The poet presents the concept of true beauty in the poem. He addresses the sonnet to his beloved, Elizabeth Boyle, and presents his courtship. Like all Renaissance men, Edmund Spenser believed that love
10695-400: The rustic Shepherd's life, are titled for the months of the year. Each eclogue is preceded by a woodcut and followed by a motto describing the speaker. The opening line of each eclogue expresses characteristics of the month, and the poem as a whole charts common accuracy of the seasons, the toil and celebrations of the village year. The precision of the description of birds, flowers, and harvests
10810-613: The savage and is rescued from him by the squire Timias and Belphoebe. Arthur then appears, offering his service as a knight to the lost woman. She accepts, and after a couple of trials on the way, Arthur and Amoret finally happen across Scudamore and Britomart. The two lovers are reunited. Wrapping up a different plotline from Book III, the recently recovered Marinell discovers Florimell suffering in Proteus' dungeon. He returns home and becomes sick with love and pity. Eventually he confesses his feelings to his mother, and she pleads with Neptune to have
10925-423: The second set of three books was published in 1596. Spenser originally indicated that he intended the poem to consist of twelve books, so the version of the poem we have today is incomplete. Despite this, it remains one of the longest poems in the English language. It is an allegorical work, and can be read (as Spenser presumably intended) on several levels of allegory, including as praise of Queen Elizabeth I . In
11040-556: The significance of Elizabeth's reign by converting myth into event rather than the other way around. This approach blurs the lines between archetypal and historical elements within the poem. For instance, the British Chronicle, which Arthur reads in the House of Alma, serves as a poetical equivalent for factual history despite its partially imaginary nature. This kind of poetical history is distinct from myth, as it consists of unique events recorded in chronological order. This distinction
11155-471: The speach being Irish, the hart must needes be Irishe; for out of the aboundance of the hart, the tonge speaketh". He pressed for a scorched earth policy in Ireland, noting its effectiveness in the Second Desmond Rebellion : "'Out of everye corner of the woode and glenns they came creepinge forth upon theire handes, for theire legges could not beare them; they looked Anatomies [of] death, they spake like ghostes, crying out of theire graves; they did eate of
11270-410: The story as Britomart makes her way through the House, with warning mottos above each doorway "Be bold, be bold, but not too bold". While writing his poem, Spenser strove to avoid "gealous opinions and misconstructions" because he thought it would place his story in a "better light" for his readers. Spenser stated in his letter to Raleigh, published with the first three books, that "the general end of
11385-448: The supposedly "disruptive and degraded people" who inhabited the country. One example given in the work is the Irish law system termed " Brehon law ", which at the time trumped the established law as dictated by the Crown . The Brehon system had its own court and methods of punishing infractions committed. Spenser viewed this system as a backward custom which contributed to the "degradation" of
11500-496: The sworde, but all by the extreamytie of famine ... they themselves had wrought.'" 1569: 1579: 1590: 1591: 1592: 1595: 1596: Posthumous: Washington University in St. Louis professor Joseph Lowenstein, with the assistance of several undergraduate students, has been involved in creating, editing, and annotating a digital archive of the first publication of poet Edmund Spenser's collective works in 100 years. A large grant from
11615-635: The throne following the death of her half-sister Mary, Elizabeth changed the official religion of the nation to Protestantism. The plot of book one is similar to Foxe's Book of Martyrs , which was about the persecution of the Protestants and how Catholic rule was unjust. Spenser includes the controversy of Elizabethan church reform within the epic. Gloriana has godly English knights destroy Catholic continental power in Books I and V. Spenser also endows many of his villains with "the worst of what Protestants considered
11730-422: The treasurer to pay Spenser the original £100. This story seems to have attached itself to Spenser from Thomas Churchyard , who apparently had difficulty in getting payment of his pension, the only other pension Elizabeth awarded to a poet. Spenser seems to have had no difficulty in receiving payment when it was due as the pension was being collected for him by his publisher, Ponsonby. The Shepheardes Calender
11845-408: The ultimately agreeable but somewhat cowardly Coridon. This book also features the knight Calepine and his quest for his lady Serena who is cared for by a strangely well-mannered Savage who, like the humble Pastorella, turns out to be a long-lost scion of nobility; Arthur later takes on Serena and leaves her to the care of his page Timias and a Hermit who has been a knight. Calidore rescues his love from
11960-438: The use of classical vocabulary and forms. Spenser is "a conscious literary artist," and his language is "the only fitting vehicle for his tone of thought and feelings." Spenser's language may be contrasted with that of the "free and unregulated" grammar of Shakespeare. Overall, Spenser's style is standardized, lyrically sophisticated, and occasionally archaic, all of which give the poem its character. Numerous adaptations in
12075-501: The virtue of Magnificence , which ("according to Aristotle and the rest") is "the perfection of all the rest, and containeth in it them all"; and that the Faerie Queene herself represents Glory (hence her name, Gloriana). The unfinished seventh book (the Cantos of Mutability) appears to have represented the virtue of "constancy." The Faerie Queene was written during the Reformation, a time of religious and political controversy. After taking
12190-569: The work were more popular in the United Kingdom than in the United States . The Edwardian era was particularly rich in adaptation for children, and the works richly illustrated, with contributing artists including A. G. Walker , Gertrude Demain Hammond , T. H. Robinson , Frank C. Papé , Brinsley Le Fanu , and H. J. Ford . Additionally, Walter Crane illustrated a six-volume collection of
12305-409: The work, with the likely assistance of Raleigh. He was successful enough to obtain a life pension of £50 a year from the Queen. He probably hoped to secure a place at court through his poetry, but his next significant publication boldly antagonised the queen's principal secretary, Lord Burghley (William Cecil) , through its inclusion of the satirical Mother Hubberd's Tale . He returned to Ireland. He
12420-430: The year. Spenser uses rhyme differently in each month. There is a very cyclical pattern that shows off the kind of style that Spenser was going for, making the reader feel as though they are going through the cycle of each year just as the narrator does. The months all have repetition of elements and arguments. The style of the poem is also influenced by writers such as Chaucer and Skelton. Edmund Spenser's involvement with
12535-417: Was "working in the realm of mythopoeic imagination rather than that of historical fact". In fact, Spenser's Arthurian material serves as a subject of debate, intermediate between "legendary history and historical myth" offering him a range of "evocative tradition and freedom that historian's responsibilities preclude". Concurrently, Spenser adopts the role of a sceptic, reflected in the way in which he handles
12650-521: Was adopted by the Welsh and eventually used by the Tudors. Through their ancestor, Owen Tudor , the Tudors had Welsh blood, through which they claimed to be descendants of Arthur and rightful rulers of Britain. The tradition begun by Geoffrey of Monmouth set the perfect atmosphere for Spenser's choice of Arthur as the central figure and natural bridegroom of Gloriana. Spenser's language in The Faerie Queene , as in
12765-534: Was at the centre of a literary circle whose members included his lifelong friend Lodowick Bryskett and Dr. John Longe , Archbishop of Armagh . In 1591, Spenser published a translation in verse of Joachim Du Bellay 's sonnets, Les Antiquités de Rome , which had been published in 1558. Spenser's version, Ruines of Rome: by Bellay , may also have been influenced by Latin poems on the same subject, written by Jean or Janis Vitalis and published in 1576. By 1594, Spenser's first wife had died, and in that year he married
12880-409: Was burned, and Ben Jonson , who may have had private information, asserted that one of his infant children died in the blaze. In the year after being driven from his home, 1599, Spenser travelled to London, where he died at the age of forty-six – "for want of bread", according to Ben Jonson ; one of Jonson's more doubtful statements, since Spenser had a payment to him authorised by the government and
12995-741: Was due his pension. His coffin was carried to his grave, deliberately near that of Geoffrey Chaucer , in what became known as Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey by other poets, probably including Shakespeare , who threw many pens and pieces of poetry into his grave. His second wife survived him and remarried twice. His sister Sarah, who had accompanied him to Ireland, married into the Travers family, and her descendants were prominent landowners in Cork for centuries. Thomas Fuller , in Worthies of England , included
13110-458: Was published it was around the same time that Leicester proposed marriage between the Queen and the Duc d'Alençon. The poem served as a type of propaganda to the proposal. Spenser recognized that the poem was for his own financial and political gains, but it also sets the idea of standing behind one's work. The work was a success; between 1579 and 1597 five editions were published. One thing that separates
13225-518: Was then banned in Scotland. This led to a significant decrease in Elizabeth's support for the poem. Within the text, both the Faerie Queene and Belphoebe serve as two of the many personifications of Queen Elizabeth, some of which are "far from complimentary". Though it praises her in some ways, The Faerie Queene questions Elizabeth's ability to rule so effectively because of her gender, and also inscribes
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