1. Edmund Spenser Spenserian poetry: The Faerie Queene Sonnet 1 Sonnet 26 Sonnet 35 Sonnet 75

2. Edmund spenser1552-1599 Edmund Spenser, the "poet's poet, is one of the very greatest poets of the English Renaissance. An imaginative experimenter, he invented what became known as the Spenserian stanza and the Spenserian sonnet, new verse forms that exerted a powerful influence on the poets who followed him. Unlike many poets of the time, Edmund Spenser was born into a working-class family. His father was a clothmaker, and Edmund attended the Merchant Taylors' School on a scholarship for a poor man's son. He went on to Cambridge University as a "sizar," a student who was required to work his way through school. During Spenser's first year at Cambridge, his earliest poems were published. Graduating with an M.A. degree in 1576, Spenser served in a variety of positions with wealthy noblemen, including that of secretary to the Earl of Leicester, a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I. While in Leicester's service, he became friends with Sir Philip Sidney, and the two of them formed the core of a select literary group. In 1580 Spenser took a position as secretary to the Lord Deputy of Ireland. Thereafter he spent most of his life in Ireland, acquiring Kilcolman Castle, an Irish estate, where he did much of his writing. Sir Walter Raleigh visited him at Kilcolman Castle and was so impressed by Spenser's unfinished The Faerie Queene that he persuaded Spenser to take the first three books to London for publication.

3. The Faerie Queene established Spenser's reputation as the leading poet of his day. This great work, intentionally written in an archaic style, combines two literary forms, the romance and the epic, in an allegory about "the twelve moral virtues." Dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I, The Faerie Queene brought Spenser a small pension but no position at court. In 1595 Spenser married Elizabeth Boyle, whom his sonnet sequence Amoretti commemorates. Amoretti, which means "little cupids" or "little love poems," is unique in the English Renaissance for being addressed to the poet's wife. Irish rebels destroyed Spenser's castle during an uprising, and Spenser returned to London. He died on January 13, 1599, and is buried in what is now the Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey.

4. Sonnet Form (Spenserian): • Spenserian Sonnet (Variant of Shakespearean Sonnet): • 14 lines • Iambic Pentameter • Rhyme Scheme: ABAB BCBC CDCD EE • 3 quatrains develop the problem, conflict, or issue • Final couplet resolves, solves, or answers

5. Spenserian poetry • Edmund Spenser had a lifelong interest in theories of poetry, and he is recognized as one of the great innovators in English verse forms. Two of his innovations are especially notable. When Spenser wrote The Faerie Queene, he created a new type of stanza that was later named for him. A Spenserian stanza consists of nine lines, the first eight of which are in iambic pentameter, The ninth line has two additional syllables and is called an alexandrine. The rhyme scheme of a Spenserian stanza is ababbcbcc. • Although most sonnets follow either the Petrarchan or the Shakespearean form, there is a third type called the Spenserian sonnet. A Spenserian sonnet has fourteen lines, but its rhyme scheme differs from that of other sonnets. The rhyme scheme is ababbcbecdcdee. Often there is no break in a Spenserian sonnet between the octave (first eight lines) and sestet (last six lines). • Spenser intended The Faerie Queene, a lengthy allegory, to consist of twelve books, but he completed only six. In each, a hero representing a moral virtue was to have a series of adventures, fighting off such enemies as Envy, Pride, and Despair. Among the virtues in Spenser’s plan are Holiness, Friendship, Justice, and Courtesy. All twelve books were to be unified by the presence of the legendary Prince Arthur and of Gloriana, who represents Queen Elizabeth I. • Even in Elizabethan days, poets had trouble getting paid. The Oxford Book of Literary Anecdotes records the following event Queen Elizabeth ordered that Spenser be given one hundred pounds in payment for some poems he had written in her honor. Lord Treasurer Burleigh objected to the payment, scorning Spenser’s work with the comment, "What, all this for a song?" The Queen replied, "Then give him a reason [for not being paid]. After waiting some time and receiving neither reason nor money, Spenser decided to remind the Queen of her promise. He sent her the following poem: "I was promised on a time/To have reason for my rhime./From that time, unto this season,/l received nor rhime, nor reason“ The paper produced the intended effect, and the Queen, after sharply criticizing the Treasurer, immediately ordered that Spenser be paid the hundred pounds she had promised.

6. Edmund Spenser • 1552-1599 • The Faerie Queen: • Written purposefully in archaic diction • Recounts the adventures of several knights and their virtues. • Allegory of good and evil • Dedicated to Queen Elizabeth (The Faerie Queen) • Amoretti: sonnet sequence written for his own wife, not an idealized beauty.

7. Sonnet 35 (Spenser) 1. My hungry eyes, through greedy covetise 2. Still to behold the object of their pain, 3. With no contentment can themselves suffice; 4. But, having, pine; and, having not, complain. 5. For, lacking it, they cannot life sustain; 6. And, having it, they gaze on it the more; 7. In their amazement like Narcissus vain, 8. Whose eyes him starv’d: so plenty makes me poor. 9. Yet are mine eyes so filled with the store 10. Of that fair sight, that nothing else they brook, 11. But loathe the things which they did like before, 12. And can no more endure on them to look. 13. All this world’s glory seemeth vain to me, 14. And all their shows but shadows, saving she.

8. Sonnet 35 (Spenser) 1. MY hungry eyes, through greedy covetiseA 2. Still to behold the object of their pain, B 3. With no contentment can themselves suffice; A 4. But, having, pine; and, having not, complain. B 5. For, lacking it, they cannot life sustain; B 6. And, having it, they gaze on it the more; C 7. In their amazement like Narcissus vain, B 8. Whose eyes him starv’d: so plenty makes me poor. C 9. Yet are mine eyes so filled with the store C 10. Of that fair sight, that nothing else they brook, D 11. But loathe the things which they did like before, C 12. And can no more endure on them to look. D 13. All this world’s glory seemeth vain to me, E 14. And all their shows but shadows, saving she. E

9. Sonnet 35 (Spenser) U / | U / | U / | U /| U / | My hungry eyes, through greedy covetise Still to behold the object of their pain, (Iambic: U/ Pentameter: 5)

10. Sonnet 35 (Spenser) What poetic device is used immediately to set the tone for the poem? My hungry eyes, through greedy covetise Still to behold the object of their pain, With no contentment can themselves suffice; But, having, pine; and, having not, complain. For, lacking it, they cannot life sustain; And, having it, they gaze on it the more; In their amazement like Narcissus vain, Whose eyes him starv’d: so plenty makes me poor. Mythological allusion alert!

11. Sonnet 35 (Spenser) The speaker’s eyes are personified, which leads to a feeling of intense longing. My hungry eyes, through greedy covetise Still to behold the object of their pain, With no contentment can themselves suffice; But, having, pine; and, having not, complain. For, lacking it, they cannot life sustain; And, having it, they gaze on it the more; In their amazement like Narcissus vain, Whose eyes him starv’d: so plenty makes me poor. What feeling is evoked in the speaker as he gazes on this (so far) unnamed object?

12. Sonnet 35 (Spenser) The speaker’s eyes are personified, which leads to a feeling of intense longing. My hungry eyes, through greedy covetise Still to behold the object of their pain, With no contentment can themselves suffice; But, having, pine; and, having not, complain. For, lacking it, they cannot life sustain; And, having it, they gaze on it the more; In their amazement like Narcissus vain, Whose eyes him starv’d: so plenty makes me poor. He suffers because he can never get enough.

13. Sonnet 35 (Spenser) What has happened to all other things in the speaker’s vision? Yet are mine eyes so filled with the store Of that fair sight, that nothing else they brook, But loathe the things which they did like before, And can no more endure on them to look.   All this world’s glory seemeth vain to me,   And all their shows but shadows, saving she.

14. Sonnet 35 (Spenser) They pale in comparison to her and become irrelevant. Yet are mine eyes so filled with the store Of that fair sight, that nothing else they brook, But loathe the things which they did like before, And can no more endure on them to look.   All this world’s glory seemeth vain to me,   And all their shows but shadows, saving she.

15. Sonnet 35 (Spenser) They pale in comparison to her and become irrelevant. Yet are mine eyes so filled with the store Of that fair sight, that nothing else they brook, But loathe the things which they did like before, And can no more endure on them to look.   All this world’s glory seemeth vain to me,   And all their shows but shadows, saving she. Object alert!

16. Sonnet 35 (Spenser) What is the problem developed in the first 3 quatrains? MY hungry eyes, through greedy covetise Still to behold the object of their pain, With no contentment can themselves suffice; But, having, pine; and, having not, complain. For, lacking it, they cannot life sustain; And, having it, they gaze on it the more; In their amazement like Narcissus vain, Whose eyes him starv’d: so plenty makes me poor. Yet are mine eyes so filled with the store Of that fair sight, that nothing else they brook, But loathe the things which they did like before, And can no more endure on them to look.   All this world’s glory seemeth vain to me,   And all their shows but shadows, saving she. What is the solution in the couplet?

17. Sonnet 35 (Spenser) His eyes cannot be satisfied… MY hungry eyes, through greedy covetise Still to behold the object of their pain, With no contentment can themselves suffice; But, having, pine; and, having not, complain. For, lacking it, they cannot life sustain; And, having it, they gaze on it the more; In their amazement like Narcissus vain, Whose eyes him starv’d: so plenty makes me poor. Yet are mine eyes so filled with the store Of that fair sight, that nothing else they brook, But loathe the things which they did like before, And can no more endure on them to look.   All this world’s glory seemeth vain to me,   And all their shows but shadows, saving she. …with anything else but her.

18. Sonnet 75 (Spenser) 1 One day I wrote her name upon the strand, 2 But came the waves and washed it away: 3 Again I wrote it with a second hand, 4 But came the tide, and made my pains his prey. 5 Vain man, said she, that doest in vain assay 6 A mortal thing so to immortalize, 7 For I myself shall like to this decay, 8 And eek my name be wiped out likewise. 9 Not so (quoth I), let baser things devise 10 To die in dust, but you shall live by fame: 11 My verse your virtues rare shall eternize, 12 And in the heavens write your glorious name. 13 Where whenas Death shall all the world subdue, 14 Our love shall live, and later life renew.

19. Sonnet 75 (Spenser) 1 One day I wrote her name upon the strand, A 2 But came the waves and washed it away: B 3 Again I wrote it with a second hand, A 4 But came the tide, and made my pains his prey. B 5 Vain man, said she, that doest in vain assayB 6 A mortal thing so to immortalize, C 7 For I myself shall like to this decay, B 8 And eek my name be wiped out likewise. C 9 Not so (quoth I), let baser things deviseC 10 To die in dust, but you shall live by fame: D 11 My verse your virtues rare shall eternize, C 12 And in the heavens write your glorious name. D 13 Where whenas Death shall all the world subdue, E 14 Our love shall live, and later life renew. E

20. Sonnet 75 (Spenser) U / | U / | U / | U /| U / | One day I wrote her name upon the strand, But came the waves and washed it away: (Iambic: U/ Pentameter: 5)

21. Sonnet 75 (Spenser) What problem does the speaker face? What is the symbolic meaning? One day I wrote her name upon the strand, But came the waves and washed it away: Again I wrote it with a second hand, But came the tide, and made my pains his prey. Vain man, said she, that doest in vain assay A mortal thing so to immortalize, For I myself shall like to this decay, And eek my name be wiped out likewise.

22. Sonnet 75 (Spenser) Every time he writes his love’s name, the water erases it. Symbolism: The speaker is trying to immortalize love, but time/nature will run its course and it will end. One day I wrote her name upon the strand, But came the waves and washed it away: Again I wrote it with a second hand, But came the tide, and made my pains his prey. Vain man, said she, that doest in vain assay A mortal thing so to immortalize, For I myself shall like to this decay, And eek my name be wiped out likewise.

23. Sonnet 75 (Spenser) One day I wrote her name upon the strand, But came the waves and washed it away: Again I wrote it with a second hand, But came the tide, and made my pains his prey. Vain man, said she, that doest in vain assay A mortal thing so to immortalize, For I myself shall like to this decay, And eek my name be wiped out likewise. What is his lover’s response?

24. Sonnet 75 (Spenser) One day I wrote her name upon the strand, But came the waves and washed it away: Again I wrote it with a second hand, But came the tide, and made my pains his prey. Vain man, said she, that doest in vain assay A mortal thing so to immortalize, For I myself shall like to this decay, And eek my name be wiped out likewise. She is more realistic than romantic (idealistic). She says that he works in vain.

25. Sonnet 75 (Spenser) What is the speaker’s response to his lover’s doubt? Not so (quoth I), let baser things devise To die in dust, but you shall live by fame: My verse your virtues rare shall eternize, And in the heavens write your glorious name. Where whenas Death shall all the world subdue, Our love shall live, and later life renew.

26. Sonnet 75 (Spenser) He will immortalize his lover through his poetry. Not so (quoth I), let baser things devise To die in dust, but you shall live by fame: My verse your virtues rare shall eternize, And in the heavens write your glorious name. Where whenas Death shall all the world subdue, Our love shall live, and later life renew.

27. Sonnet 75 (Spenser) Not so (quoth I), let baser things devise To die in dust, but you shall live by fame: My verse your virtues rare shall eternize, And in the heavens write your glorious name. Where whenas Death shall all the world subdue, Our love shall live, and later life renew. What is the conclusion?

28. Sonnet 75 (Spenser) Not so (quoth I), let baser things devise To die in dust, but you shall live by fame: My verse your virtues rare shall eternize, And in the heavens write your glorious name. Where whenas Death shall all the world subdue, Our love shall live, and later life renew. Death shall be the end for all the world, except their love which will bring new life.

29. Sonnet 75 (Spenser) What is the problem developed in the first 3 quatrains? One day I wrote her name upon the strand, But came the waves and washed it away: Again I wrote it with a second hand, But came the tide, and made my pains his prey. Vain man, said she, that doest in vain assay A mortal thing so to immortalize, For I myself shall like to this decay, And eek my name be wiped out likewise. Not so (quoth I), let baser things devise To die in dust, but you shall live by fame: My verse your virtues rare shall eternize, And in the heavens write your glorious name. Where whenas Death shall all the world subdue, Our love shall live, and later life renew. What is the solution in the couplet?

30. Sonnet 75 (Spenser) The speaker wants to immortalize his love and his lover is skeptical. One day I wrote her name upon the strand, But came the waves and washed it away: Again I wrote it with a second hand, But came the tide, and made my pains his prey. Vain man, said she, that doest in vain assay A mortal thing so to immortalize, For I myself shall like to this decay, And eek my name be wiped out likewise. Not so (quoth I), let baser things devise To die in dust, but you shall live by fame: My verse your virtues rare shall eternize, And in the heavens write your glorious name. Where whenas Death shall all the world subdue, Out love shall live, and later life renew. This poem will immortalize their love.