EDMUND SPENSER

EDMUND SPENSER : -

INTRODUCTION  :~

"  Spenser is at once the child of the Renaissance and the Reformation. On one side we may regarded him with Milton as " the sage and serious Spenser " on the other he is the 

humanist, alive to the finger-tips with the sensuous beauty of the Southern Romance."

                                       - Rickett

              Three Heads of 16th century

     1) William Shakespeare
     2) Edmund Spenser
     3) Philip sidney

 These three are the heads of 16th century. During this time period they became very famous. They have given their best in the field of English poetry. Here, we will talk about Edmund Spenser's contribution in English literature. Let's know about different critics' views on Edmund Spenser and why he is different from others.

 Spenser as a poet's poet :-

  Renaissance was the age of 'Edmund Spenser'. But after him Charles lamb talks about him and his poetry deeply. According to Charles lamb Spenser is  ' The poet's poet ' .  Why he is given this extraordinary position to Spenser that we will discuss.

   Actually, Spenser is not an ordinary poet because common people are not able to understand his poetry very easily. This is possible because of two reasons 1} His Grandiose Language , 2} His Marvelous Knowledge. To understand Spenser's poetries, we must have the knowledge of ' Greek Mythology and Western Theology ' as most of the subjects of Spenser's poetries are from them only. Spenser has followed Virgil that is why Virgil's influence upon Spenser's writing can be seen very easily.

     Apart from Greek Mythology and Western Theology Spenser has taken the paths of Ariosto and Tasso so, his poetries are full of  romantic tradition as well as moral tradition. These both were the Western poets. Except them Spenser has tried to understand the philosophical grounds of Plato and Aristotle. That is why to understand Spenser's poetry we must have the knowledge of Plato, Aristotle, Tasso, Greek mythology as well as Western theology. In his poetry , many examples of all these subjects are found . It shows the vast reading of Edmund Spenser. Thus, he is called ' The poet's poet '.

The Spencerian Stanza and Sonnet :~

      Spenser used a distinctive verse form, called the Spenserian stanza , in several works, including Faerie Queene. The stanza's main meter is iambic hexameter, and the rhyme scheme is " ababbcbcc". He also used his own rhythm 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". The characteristics of Renaissance are found in Spenser's poetry :

1) Spirit of adventure and love for active life.

2) Sensuousness and love of beauty

3) Influence of classical learning

 Spenser's works   :~

  " Had there been no Spenser, there would have been no Milton" and "Had there been no Faerie Queene, there would have been no Paradise lost." These sentences show the importance of Spenser and his work.

       Actually, Spenser has written PASTOTAL POETRY too. ' The Shepherd's Calendar' is the best example of it. It is divided into twelve ecologues, one for each month of the year

 Then, ' Faerie Queene ' , it has been considered the most influential work of Spenser. We can say that it is the seed of an epic poetry. John Milton got inspiration of writing epic poetries from Spenser's Faerie Queene. This poem is not considered as an epic because of its subject matter otherwise it has capacity to stand beside ' paradise lost'. Thus, in the history of English literature Spenser and his works are very noteworthy and important. 

  Conclusion  : ---

" Spenser's poetry is steeped in the humanism of the classics and Italian literature, and  it everywhere testifies to the strenuous idealism and moral earnest of Protestantism."

                              - Hudson

         Spenser, a true child of Renaissance , is     thoroughly imbued with the classical spirit and his acquaintance with classical writers is perfect . He was influenced by Plato, Virgil, Ariosto, and Tasso. It was Plato who taught Spenser to view the beauty of the physical world as a symbol of divine beauty. According to this philosopher , " All that is fair is by nature Good ".