Edmund Spenser: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|English poet (c. | {{Short description|English poet (c. 1552–1599)}} | ||
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}} | {{Use British English|date=August 2014}} | ||
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'''Edmund Spenser''' ( | '''Edmund Spenser''' ({{c.|1552}} – 13 January 1599 [[Old Style and New Style dates|O.S.]]<ref name=NA>{{cite web |url= http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/searches/subjectView.asp?ID=P37670 |title=National Archive documents}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The death of Edmund Spenser |work=OUPblog |access-date=20 December 2020 |url=https://blog.oup.com/2013/01/the-death-of-edmund-spencer/ |first1=Andrew |last1=Hadfield |date=13 January 2013}}</ref>) was an English poet best known for ''[[The Faerie Queene]]'', an epic poem and fantastical [[allegory]] celebrating the [[House of Tudor|Tudor dynasty]] and [[Elizabeth I]]. He is recognized as one of the premier craftsmen of nascent Modern English verse, and he is considered one of the great poets in the English language. | ||
==Life== | ==Life== | ||
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[[File:Fowre Hymnes by Edmund Spenser 1596.jpg|thumb|right|230px|[[Title page]], ''Fowre Hymnes'', by Edmund Spenser, published by [[William Ponsonby (publisher)|William Ponsonby]], London, 1596]] | [[File:Fowre Hymnes by Edmund Spenser 1596.jpg|thumb|right|230px|[[Title page]], ''Fowre Hymnes'', by Edmund Spenser, published by [[William Ponsonby (publisher)|William Ponsonby]], London, 1596]] | ||
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 was due his pension.<ref>Hadfield pp. 391–393</ref> 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 | 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 was due his pension.<ref>Hadfield pp. 391–393</ref> 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, who threw many pens and pieces of poetry into his grave.<ref>{{cite book|last=Beeson|first=Trevor|title=Westminster Abbey|year=1983|publisher=FISA, Barcelona, Spain|page=53|isbn=84-378-0854-5}}Guide to the Abbey, English translation.</ref> 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. | ||
==Rhyme and reason== | ==Rhyme and reason== | ||
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==Shorter poems== | ==Shorter poems== | ||
Spenser published numerous relatively short poems in the last decade of the 16th century, almost all of which consider love or sorrow. In 1591, he published ''[[Complaints (poetry collection)|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- | Spenser published numerous relatively short poems in the last decade of the 16th century, almost all of which consider love or sorrow. In 1591, he published ''[[Complaints (poetry collection)|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-nine 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 a woman.{{sfn|Dasenbrock|1985|pp=47–48}} ''[[Epithalamion (poem)|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 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.<ref>Prescott, Anne. "Spenser's shorter poems". ''The Cambridge Companion to Spenser''. Ed. Andrew Hadfield. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 143–161. Print.</ref> | ||
==The Spenserian stanza and sonnet== | ==The Spenserian stanza and sonnet== | ||
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 the [[rhyme scheme]] is {{not a typo|ababbcbcc}}.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.poetryfoundation.org/resources/learning/glossary-terms/detail/spenserian-stanza| title = Spenserian stanza at Poetry Foundation.| date = 2 January 2023}}</ref> 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 {{not a typo|ababbcbccdcdee}}.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Development of the Sonnet : an Introduction.|last=Spiller|first=Michael R. G.|date=2003|publisher=Taylor and Francis|isbn=978-0-203-40150-7|pages=142|oclc=1027500333}}</ref> "Men | 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 the [[rhyme scheme]] is {{not a typo|ababbcbcc}}.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.poetryfoundation.org/resources/learning/glossary-terms/detail/spenserian-stanza| title = Spenserian stanza at Poetry Foundation.| date = 2 January 2023}}</ref> 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 {{not a typo|ababbcbccdcdee}}.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Development of the Sonnet : an Introduction.|last=Spiller|first=Michael R. G.|date=2003|publisher=Taylor and Francis|isbn=978-0-203-40150-7|pages=142|oclc=1027500333}}</ref> "Men call you fayre" is a fine sonnet from ''Amoretti'': | ||
<blockquote><poem> | |||
Men call you fayre, and you doe credit it, | |||
for that your selfe ye dayly such doe see: | |||
but the trew fayre, that is the gentle wit, | |||
and vertuous mind is much more praysd of me. | |||
For all the rest, how euer fayre it be, | |||
shall turne to nought and loose that glorious hew: | |||
but onely that is permanent and free | |||
from frayle corruption, that doth flesh ensew. | |||
That is true beautie: that doth argue you | |||
to be diuine and borne of heauenly seed: | |||
deriu'd from that fayre Spirit, from whom all true | |||
and perfect beauty did at first proceed. | |||
He onely fayre, and what he fayre hath made, | |||
all other fayre like flowres vntymely fade. | |||
</poem></blockquote> | |||
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 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 the end, the poet praises her spiritual beauty and he worships her because of her Divine Soul. | |||
==Influences== | ==Influences== | ||
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.<ref>Burrow, Colin. "Spenser and classical traditions". ''The Cambridge Companion to Spenser''. Ed. Andrew Hadfield. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 217–236. Print.</ref> The language of his poetry is purposely archaic, reminiscent of earlier works such as ''[[The Canterbury Tales]]'' of [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] and ''[[Il Canzoniere]]'' of [[Petrarch]], whom Spenser greatly admired. | 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.<ref>Burrow, Colin. "Spenser and classical traditions". ''The Cambridge Companion to Spenser''. Ed. Andrew Hadfield. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 217–236. Print.</ref> The language of his poetry 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<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/edmund-spenser |title=Edmund Spenser |website=Poetry Foundation |access-date=30 May 2020}}</ref> 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 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]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/fqueen/context/ |title=The Faerie Queene Context |website=SparkNotes |access-date=30 May 2020}}</ref> | An Anglican<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/edmund-spenser |title=Edmund Spenser |website=Poetry Foundation |access-date=30 May 2020}}</ref> 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 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]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/fqueen/context/ |title=The Faerie Queene Context |website=SparkNotes |access-date=30 May 2020}}</ref> | ||
Spenser was called "the Poet's Poet" by Charles Lamb,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Alpers |first1=Paul |year=1990 |chapter=Poet's poet, the |editor1-last=Henderson |editor1-first=A. C. |title=The Spenser Encyclopedia |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LPxd5sliodAC&q=%22century+this+was+the+epithet%22&pg=PA551 |location=Toronto |publisher=University of Toronto Press |publication-date=1990 |page=551 |isbn=0-8020-2676-1 |access-date=23 October 2017 }}</ref> and was admired by [[John Milton]], [[William Blake]], [[William Wordsworth]], [[John Keats]], [[Lord Byron]], [[Alfred Tennyson]] and others. Among his contemporaries [[Walter Raleigh]] wrote 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 [[Duns Scotus|Scotus]] or [[Aquinas]]".<ref>Milton, John. [[s:Areopagitica|''Areopagitica'']].</ref> In the 18th century, [[Alexander Pope]] compared Spenser to "a mistress, whose faults we see, but love her with them all".<ref>Elliott, John, ed. ''The Prince of Poets''. New York: New York University Press, 1968. 7–13. Print.</ref> | Spenser was called "the Poet's Poet" by Charles Lamb,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Alpers |first1=Paul |year=1990 |chapter=Poet's poet, the |editor1-last=Henderson |editor1-first=A. C. |title=The Spenser Encyclopedia |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LPxd5sliodAC&q=%22century+this+was+the+epithet%22&pg=PA551 |location=Toronto |publisher=University of Toronto Press |publication-date=1990 |page=551 |isbn=0-8020-2676-1 |access-date=23 October 2017 }}</ref> and was admired by [[John Milton]], [[William Blake]], [[William Wordsworth]], [[John Keats]], [[Lord Byron]], [[Alfred Tennyson]] and others. Among his contemporaries [[Walter Raleigh]] wrote 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 [[Duns Scotus|Scotus]] or [[Aquinas]]".<ref>Milton, John. [[s:Areopagitica|''Areopagitica'']].</ref> In the 18th century, [[Alexander Pope]] compared Spenser to "a mistress, whose faults we see, but love her with them all".<ref>Elliott, John, ed. ''The Prince of Poets''. New York: New York University Press, 1968. 7–13. Print.</ref> | ||
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He pressed for a [[scorched earth]] policy in Ireland, noting its effectiveness in the [[Second Desmond Rebellion]]: | He pressed for a [[scorched earth]] policy in Ireland, noting its effectiveness in the [[Second Desmond Rebellion]]: | ||
<blockquote>"'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 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 | <blockquote>"'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 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 the sworde, but all by the extreamytie of famine ... they themselves had wrought.'"<ref name="ucc.ie"/></blockquote> | ||
==List of works== | ==List of works== | ||
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* ''[[Prothalamion]]''<ref name=cufeesb/> | * ''[[Prothalamion]]''<ref name=cufeesb/> | ||
* ''[[The Faerie Queene]]'', Books 4–6<ref name=cufeesb/> | * ''[[The Faerie Queene]]'', Books 4–6<ref name=cufeesb/> | ||
* ''Babel, Empress of the East – a dedicatory poem prefaced to [[Lewes Lewkenor]]'s The Commonwealth of Venice, 1599. | * ''Babel, Empress of the East – a dedicatory poem prefaced to [[Lewes Lewkenor]]'s The Commonwealth of Venice'', 1599. | ||
Posthumous: | Posthumous: | ||
* 1609: ''Two Cantos of Mutabilitie'' published together with a reprint of ''[[The Faerie Queene]]''<ref name=ahccs>Hadfield, Andrew, [https://books.google.com/books?id=kc__ztz7j0UC ''The Cambridge Companion to Spenser''], "Chronology", Cambridge University Press, 2001, {{ISBN|0-521-64199-3}}, p xx, retrieved via Google Books, 24 September 2009</ref> | * 1609: ''Two Cantos of Mutabilitie'' published together with a reprint of ''[[The Faerie Queene]]''<ref name=ahccs>Hadfield, Andrew, [https://books.google.com/books?id=kc__ztz7j0UC ''The Cambridge Companion to Spenser''], "Chronology", Cambridge University Press, 2001, {{ISBN|0-521-64199-3}}, p xx, retrieved via Google Books, 24 September 2009</ref> | ||
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==Editions== | ==Editions== | ||
* Edmund Spenser, ''Selected Letters and Other Papers''. Edited by Christopher Burlinson and Andrew Zurcher (Oxford, OUP, 2009). | * Edmund Spenser, ''Selected Letters and Other Papers''. Edited by Christopher Burlinson and Andrew Zurcher (Oxford, OUP, 2009). | ||
* Edmund Spenser, ''The Faerie Queene'' (Longman-Annotated-English Poets, 2001, 2007) Edited by A. C. Hamilton, Text Edited by [http://www008.upp.so-net.ne.jp/hybiblio/1_HTML. | * Edmund Spenser, ''The Faerie Queene'' (Longman-Annotated-English Poets, 2001, 2007) Edited by A. C. Hamilton, Text Edited by [http://www008.upp.so-net.ne.jp/hybiblio/1_HTML.html Hiroshi Yamashita and Toshiyuki Suzuki] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303232729/http://www008.upp.so-net.ne.jp/hybiblio/1_HTML.html |date=3 March 2016 }}. | ||
== Digital archive == | == Digital archive == | ||
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* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/edmund-spenser}} | * {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/edmund-spenser}} | ||
* [http://www.english.cam.ac.uk/spenseronline/welcome/ The Edmund Spenser Home Page at the Cambridge University] | * [http://www.english.cam.ac.uk/spenseronline/welcome/ The Edmund Spenser Home Page at the Cambridge University] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109193816/http://www.english.cam.ac.uk/spenseronline/welcome/ |date=9 January 2018 }} | ||
* [[iarchive:completeworksin02spengoog|Complete works in Verse and Prose]] at [[Internet Archive]] | * [[iarchive:completeworksin02spengoog|Complete works in Verse and Prose]] at [[Internet Archive]] | ||
* [[iarchive:worksofedmundspe00spen|The works of Edmund Spenser]] in a single volume at [[Internet Archive]] | * [[iarchive:worksofedmundspe00spen|The works of Edmund Spenser]] in a single volume at [[Internet Archive]] | ||