A Critical Companion to Spenser Studies


Book Description

This book provides an authoritative guide to debate on Elizabethan England's poet laureate. It covers key topics and provides histories for all of the primary texts. Some of today's most prominent Spenser scholars offer accounts of debates on the poet, from the Renaissance to the present day. Essential for those producing new research on Spenser.










Selected Shorter Poems


Book Description

Although known best for his sweeping allegorical epic "The Faerie Queen," Edmund Spenser wrote a number of other significant poems. His first major poetical work "The Shepherd's Calendar" begins this collection of his "Selected Shorter Poems." An emulation of Virgil's "Eclogues," "The Shepherd's Calendar" depicts the life of shepherd Colin Clout through the twelve months of his year. The twelve eclogues of the poem, each named after a different month, discuss abuses of the church, offer praise for Queen Elizabeth, and reveal the struggles of a lonely shepherd. Also included in this edition of Spenser's poetry are the following poems: "The Ruins of Time," "Prosopopoia," "Muiopotmos," "Colin Clout's Come Home Again," "Amoretti," and "Epithalamion."




Spenser's Forms of History


Book Description

In Spenser's Forms of History, Bart Van Es presents an engaging study of the ways in which Edmund Spenser utilized a number of "forms of history"--chronicle, antiquarian discourse, secular typology, political prophecy, and others--in both his poetry and his prose, and assesses their collective impact on Elizabethan poetry.




The Fairy Queen


Book Description

AT LAST! An edition of the finest epic poem in British literature printed in Modern Spelling that the student can read easily! A tale of a young knight fighting for his queen, his faith, and his love against cruel monsters and evil magicians written by EDMUND SPENSER. The most enticing work of FANTASY literature from the Elizabethan age - - The FAIRY QUEEN - - with translations of archaic words at the end of the lines and footnotes to explain allusions and obscure sentences. Illustrated by the celebrated artist, WALTER CRANE, and enhanced with critical essays by distinguished scholars. A MUST READ for fans of great literature. The purpose of this scholastic edition of Book I of The Fairy Queen is to offer students a version of Spenser's great opus that they can read easily. Therefore this edition of the epic modernizes the spelling (which has little impact on the end rhyme), offers a synonym for archaic words at the line's end, and provides footnotes to illuminate the murky parts. A brief summary at the start of each canto points the student in the proper direction, and short selections by critics at the end of the book help the reader to interpret the deeper message. The New Folger Library editions of Shakespeare's plays offer students these same aids without destroying the artistry of the plays. Hopefully, this edition will do the same with The Fairy Queen.




Poetry and Politics in the English Renaissance


Book Description

This title establishes the radical currents of thought shaping Renaissance poetry: civic humanism and apocalyptic Protestantism. The author shows how Elizabethan poets like Sidney and Spenser, often seen as conservative monarchists, responded powerfully if sometimes ambivalently to radical ideas.




The Cambridge Companion to Spenser


Book Description

In this accessible introduction to Spenser's poetry and prose, a set of fourteen essays provide extensive commentary on his life and the historical and religious contexts in which he wrote