The Faerie Queene, Book 1
Edmund Spenser
I am not an academic. I enjoy old literature and consider myself to have a fleeting but passable familiarization with Middle English as a language. I can more or less comfortably read Chaucer and, with some well-placed glosses and footnotes, can fully understand Shakespeare. Where I falter, however, is with Spenser's deliberately overworked poetry. Over-archaized verse that flaunts its superior morality while commiting hypocrisy at every turn, The Faerie Queene is not to be read by those outside of the know. In fact, even those studying it for a conceivable purpose would probably do better with more interesting and feasible works from the era. If this is England's national epic, I'll go to France or Germany- at least I can understand them in translation. Spenser's work is impossible to enjoy and can only be understood with the help of a personal tutor, extensive footnotes, and a doctorate-level understanding of Greek mythology and the history of England.
I hesitate to be so cruel toward Spenser, but I cannot imagine he was much easier to read in his own day. In fact, because we have the benefit of context and scholarship, it may be easier to read Spenser now. Spenser's use of Spenserian (oho!) verse does not propel the story forward or give it the gravity he intends; rather, it creates a forced metrical feel and an utterly painful rhyme scheme that screw up the syntax to a point where it is impossible to discern what is going on at any point in the story. Characters will start dialogues without being properly introduced, point of view will shift dramatically, and names change left and right without explanation. This story requires a map.
In itself, the tale is mainly flawed by its complexity. If Spenser spent more time creating interesting literature and less trying to fluff himself and his image I'm sure he would have created a worthwhile allegory. When the story is focused on itself and not on obscure Greek name-dropping it gets quite interesting. The caveat, of course, is the fact that the virtue of Holinesse can belong to both Catholics and Protestants throughout the story (it is supposed to settle on the latter) and that magic is either evil (Catholic) or good (Protestant) on Spenser's whim. He won't win over any converts with his hole-ridden plot, but he gives it a good whack anyway. Spenser does go a bit overboard by naming characters directly after each vice and virtue encountered, but this fits right in with his grandiose stylization and merely reinforces the reader's notion that Spenser is a man utterly full of himself.
The main fault of The Faerie Queene is that its author doesn't trust its message to speak for itself. Instead, Spenser employs far too much grandstanding for far too little actual substance. He undermines any argument he may have in the process and makes himself look silly instead of academic and/or intelligent. Reading this book is an excruciatingly bad experience that I would recommend avoiding if at all possible. I want to be well-read in English literature, but I don't like having my time blatantly wasted and, indeed, stolen by a hoard of academics who are willing to pry Spenser apart. There is no joy in Faery Lond for the common reader.
Grade: C
Edmund Spenser
I am not an academic. I enjoy old literature and consider myself to have a fleeting but passable familiarization with Middle English as a language. I can more or less comfortably read Chaucer and, with some well-placed glosses and footnotes, can fully understand Shakespeare. Where I falter, however, is with Spenser's deliberately overworked poetry. Over-archaized verse that flaunts its superior morality while commiting hypocrisy at every turn, The Faerie Queene is not to be read by those outside of the know. In fact, even those studying it for a conceivable purpose would probably do better with more interesting and feasible works from the era. If this is England's national epic, I'll go to France or Germany- at least I can understand them in translation. Spenser's work is impossible to enjoy and can only be understood with the help of a personal tutor, extensive footnotes, and a doctorate-level understanding of Greek mythology and the history of England.
I hesitate to be so cruel toward Spenser, but I cannot imagine he was much easier to read in his own day. In fact, because we have the benefit of context and scholarship, it may be easier to read Spenser now. Spenser's use of Spenserian (oho!) verse does not propel the story forward or give it the gravity he intends; rather, it creates a forced metrical feel and an utterly painful rhyme scheme that screw up the syntax to a point where it is impossible to discern what is going on at any point in the story. Characters will start dialogues without being properly introduced, point of view will shift dramatically, and names change left and right without explanation. This story requires a map.
In itself, the tale is mainly flawed by its complexity. If Spenser spent more time creating interesting literature and less trying to fluff himself and his image I'm sure he would have created a worthwhile allegory. When the story is focused on itself and not on obscure Greek name-dropping it gets quite interesting. The caveat, of course, is the fact that the virtue of Holinesse can belong to both Catholics and Protestants throughout the story (it is supposed to settle on the latter) and that magic is either evil (Catholic) or good (Protestant) on Spenser's whim. He won't win over any converts with his hole-ridden plot, but he gives it a good whack anyway. Spenser does go a bit overboard by naming characters directly after each vice and virtue encountered, but this fits right in with his grandiose stylization and merely reinforces the reader's notion that Spenser is a man utterly full of himself.
The main fault of The Faerie Queene is that its author doesn't trust its message to speak for itself. Instead, Spenser employs far too much grandstanding for far too little actual substance. He undermines any argument he may have in the process and makes himself look silly instead of academic and/or intelligent. Reading this book is an excruciatingly bad experience that I would recommend avoiding if at all possible. I want to be well-read in English literature, but I don't like having my time blatantly wasted and, indeed, stolen by a hoard of academics who are willing to pry Spenser apart. There is no joy in Faery Lond for the common reader.
Grade: C
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