Literature

Edmund Spenser

orn in 1552 in London, Spenser attended Cambridge University where he was strongly educated in classical literature. At university, his education was enriched by anti - RC feelings and a friendship with Gabriel Harvey (a prominent British intellectual leader) and consequently Sir Philip Sidney.

In 1580 he became the secretary to the governor of Ireland, Lord Grey of Wilton, and remained in Ireland. His first great poem was The Shepherd's Calendar, written in 1579, a pastoral poem on a shepherd's unrequited love for a girl named Rosalind. The poem also involved some criticism of the church, reflecting his university exposure to these feelings. In 1590, the first three books of Spenser's Faerie Queene were published. In 1594 Spenser married Elizabeth Boyle, and had four children, and two years later published the next three books of The Faerie Queene.

In 1598 He was appointed Sheriff of Cork, and on a visit of duty to London to report unrest, he died there in 1599 at the age of 47.

Spenser, often referred to as the 'poets' poet, is viewed as the first great poet of the Elizabethan Era.

This allegorical romance was set in a fairyland but the characters are realistic. The story of this work centers on the Queen of Faerie who is holding a feast. On each of the 12 days the story is set in, a distressed stranger appeals to the Queen for a knight to champion his cause. The work is divided into 12 "books" or sections, of which Jonson only completed the first six, and a fraction of the seventh.

Each "book" centers around one adventure. For example, one of the books deals with the legend of the Red Cross Knight. Each character adds allegorical meaning to the work, like the Faerie Queene represents Queen Elizabeth. Una, the lady, represents Religion, and respective knights represent Holiness, Temperance, Chastity, Friendship, Justice and Courtesey. In the poem both moral and political allegory is made use of, and into the story Spenser weaves happenings and current issues of his day.

Spenser wrote this work in stanzas consisting of 8 pentameters, followed by an alexandrine. This pattern is referred to as a Spenserian stanza, and has a rhyme scheme of ababbcbcc.

1579 - The Shepheardes Calender - 12 eclogues.

1595 - Colin Clonts Come Home Agaire - written after a visit to London, this aptly embodies his disillusionment with court life in London.

1595 - Amoretti - his well-known series of 89 sonnets on love.

1595 - Epithalanion - is known as the greatest poem about marriage, and follows 20 hours of an Irish wedding day. It blends classical and traditional with Irish folklore.