Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene

University Degree European Languages, Literature and related subjects

INTRODUCTION

“Spenser..has always been felt by his countrymen to be what Charles Lamb called him, the `Poet's Poet'. He has had more idolatry and imitation from his brethren than all the rest put together.” (Hunt, L, 1845:75). Sharing Hunt’s view, we certainly believe his assertion is beyond dispute. Born in London in 1552, Edmund Spenser is considered one of the most outstanding Elizabethan poets.

He benefitted from the patronage of Robert Nowell since 1569, he started his education in Merchant Taylor School, where he attained a Bachelor’s degree in 1572. After four years, he achieved the Master’s degree at Pembroke Hall, Cambridge (Jokinen, A., 2006:1).

With the satisfaction of having lived a long politically and literarily productive life, Spenser died in January, 13th, 1599, in London, being buried at Westminister Abbey (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1994:1,4)

SPENSER’S LIFETIME

His connections with Politics and its influence

In 1580, Spenser was named secretary to Lord Arthur Grey of Wilton, the lord-deputy of Ireland. He was asked to help in the brutal and blood-spattered English settlements in Ireland, where he spent the next two years (Zurcher, A., 2008:2).

Such was Spenser’s admiration for Lord Grey, that Arthegal – the personification of justice in the Faerie Queene – is his evident embodiment. Spenser wholeheartedly approved of Grey’s cruel political measures in Ireland, as the aim justifies the means. The poet considered them essential for the continuance of English control and the Protestant religion. The Lord’s repulsive methods promoted a discord with the queen’s distinctive retarding manner, which resulted in Grey’s recall in 1582. From that moment, Spenser stepped down from his appointment, yet remained in the public service.

Due to Spenser’s experiences in Ireland, he wrote in 1596 A view of the Present State of Ireland (published posthumously in 1633), in which the Irish plight is described and possible solutions are put forward (Jokinen, A., 2006:2,3).

Spenser’s relationship with Elizabeth I

It is an undoubted fact that Edmund Spenser felt an extreme fascination for England’s ruler of those times: Queen Elizabeth I. It was due to Spenser’s veneration that his extremely important masterpiece The Faerie Queene was written and therefore dedicated to Elizabeth I. It was considered the most tremendous compliment ever offered to any woman in a poem.

In view of Elizabeth’s brilliant policies about government and religion, Spenser dared to compare her with the Virgin Mary, contrasting both queens: of Heaven and of Earth; and evoking Elizabeth’s power, humility and glorious government. (Sinclair, 1999:2).

Spenser’s literature

Early works

By the 1580s, the young artist had already written hundreds of poems although he did not publish them. His first masterpiece was called “The Shepherd's Calendar” (1579), which importance relied on the usage of a variety of poetic forms in order to enrich the vocabulary of English poetry (Anonymous, 2006: 1). ...

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Spenser’s literature

Early works

Model Writers

Edmund Spenser’s philosophical style of writing is a blend of ancient and contemporary poets and philosophers. He combines Platonism using the ideas of love on human and divine levels with the moral reflection of life of Aristotelianism. (Anonymous, 2006:2).

The period the poet spent at the University of Cambridge was highly beneficial, as it provided him the basis for his writing and his personal style. After being influenced by Virgil, Ludovico Ariosto and Torquato Tasso, Spenser started his masterpiece The Faerie Queene; and being in contact with the Italian and the French pastoral poetry led him to produce “The Shepherd’s Calendar”. The influence of Petrarch was of the utmost importance for writing Epithalamion and Amoretti (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1994:2).

Notwithstanding, the most influential people in Spenser’s literature were the “Areopagus”, a literary and intellectual group of gentlemen including Sir Philip Sidney, Sir Edward Dyer, Daniel Rogers, and Thomas Drant, who would gather in order to discuss law, philosophy and poetry (Zurcher, 2008:2).

Spenser and other Elizabethan poets.

Due to his peculiar writing style, which was based on the usage of archaic diction, Spenser is considered an equal among William Shakespeare, Sir Philip Sidney and John Milton.

Even though the poems written during the Elizabethan times were alike in themes, the poets rarely agreed with the view about them. For example the way Sidney, Spenser and Shakespeare differed when writing about love (Anonymous, 2001: 1).

Sidney’s characters, for instance, represent the typical unrequited lover whose suffering is caused by the impossibility of being able to gain his long dreamt lady.

In his poems Spenser describes love as the most wonderful of feelings, mostly because his marriage was a lasting and successful one.

Creation of Spenserian stanza

The most remarkable achievement Spenser reached was unquestionably the creation of a new writing style: the Spenserian stanza. It is believed that the poet made this approach in order to embellish the literary power of his marvellous Faerie Queen (Zurcher, 2008:1).

The stanza consists of nine iambic lines rhyming ababbcbcc, the first eight pentameters and the final, ninth line a hexameter (Zurcher, 2008:1).

Spenser’s stanza was the perfect element to make the narrative thrilling and explosive. The usage of literary devises such as repetition, alliteration, assonance, anadiplosis, and similes (Zurcher, 2008:3) allowed him to turn individual stanzas into others whose energy passed from one into the other.

Masterpieces

Despite the exceedingly magnitude of Spenser's works, "The Shepherds Calendar" and the Faerie Queene are the most praiseworthy ones.

The former, was an eclogue collection based on the life accounts of shepherds during the twelve months of the year, metaphorically representing human beings motion in their lifestyle. A wide range of variety of forms and meters is used in the poem, casting a very positive light on the reader. (Net Industries, 2009:2).

Faerie Queene

The Faerie Queene is the most significant work written by Spenser and one of the longest poems ever written in English. It gives account of adventures lived by several knights who serve a common ruler. Each of the adventurers represents a moral virtue (Holiness, Temperance, Chastity, Friendship, Justice and Courtesy) and Gloriana, the queen, is the personification of Elizabeth I. This is the reason why the Faerie Queene is considered to have perfectly blended the religious, moral and political issues of the time (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1994:3). The major achievement in this work was the way in which Spenser used romance as a prototype of human beings’ paradox stating that life is a coalescence of morality and warfare whilst it can also be seen as an illumination trance (Anonymous, 2006:2).

The poem is divided into 6 books and cantos, which are characterised by its complex chronicle (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1994:3).

CONCLUSION

In view of the great achievements attained by Spenser, we feel that not only did his work mean a significant contribution to the literature and politics of his epoch, but also to modern times. Thanks to his experiences reflected on his work is that nowadays we are able to picture how life was in Elizabethan times.

Last but not least, his great masterpiece The Faerie Queene, is still regarded as one of the pillars of the sixteenth-century literature. Due to Spenser’s admiration towards Elizabeth I demonstrated throughout the epic, we realise he was the perfect representant of how much loved, respected and admired the Queen was during her reign.

REFERENCE

Anonymous. “Edmund Spenser.” 2006. 27 Jun. 2009.

<http://www.answers.com/topic/edmund-spenser>

Anonymous. “Sidney, Spencer and Shakespeare Conceptions of Love.” 2002. 26 Jun. 2009.

<http://www.exampleessays.com/viewpaper/42491.html>

Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. “Edmund Spenser.” 1994. 8 Jun. 2009.

< http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/559324/Edmund-Spenser>

Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. “The Faerie Queene.” 1994. 8 Jun. 2009.

< http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/200149/The-Faerie-Queene>

Hunt, L. Imagination and Fancy. (1845). London. Smith, Elder and Co. Google Search Book. 1 Jul. 2009.

<http://books.google.com.ar>

Jokinen, A. “The Life of Edmund Spenser.” 2 Sep. 2006. 27 Apr. 2009.

< http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/spensbio.htm>

Net Industries. “Edmund Spenser – Life, Poetry, List of Works.” 2009. 28 Jun. 2009.

< http://encyclopedia.stateuniversity.com/pages/6406/Edmund-Spenser.html>

Sinclair, J. “The Errour of Rome: Spenser's Defence of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth I, and the Church of England in The Faerie Queene.” 20 Oct. 1999. 27 Jun 2009.

< http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/sinclair.htm>

Zurcher, A. “Biography.” The Edmund Spenser Home Page. 1 Mar. 2008. 29 Apr. 2009.

< http://www.english.cam.ac.uk/spenser/biography.htm>

Zurcher, A. “Spenserian Stanza Competition.” The Edmund Spenser Home Page. 1 Mar. 2008. 27 Jun. 2009.

< http://www.english.cam.ac.uk/spenser/stanza/about.html>

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anonymous. “Edmund Spenser.” 2006. 27 Jun. 2009.