I’m looking forward to reading this now! I needed to know the political and historical context you explained. It sounds a wee bit like “the Troubles” when you put it like all that; and it sounds like a fun bit of mischief! Thank you.
Thanks so much for bringing that strange cloak and dagger epic into context. Having bought Spenser's complete poems I was a bit mystified and wondered what I got myself into by purchasing his works.
Massive thanks for the big picture; I'm trying to get my head around the Circe/Nighttown episode of Ulysses so am trying to get my head around FQ and Comus etc.
If you're able to overlook the distasteful attitudes of Spenser, I think the Faerie Queene is just a really good story. There are so many underrated storylines and characters (especially strong female characters like Britomart the knight), I really think it should be more popular.
This was interesting, but I wish there was more exploration of Spenser's criticism of Elizabeth. Do you view Spenser as loyal to the Tudor Dynasty, and do you see Shakespeare as loyal to her as well? It's important to recall that Spenser married Irish (a woman named Boyle), so that has to temper your criticism somewhat. I believe Spenser's house was torched by a group claiming to be Irish, but the allegation that his child died is just that, a rumour. That particular rumour appears to have been started by Ben Jonson. Do you accept Spenser's authorship of the 'View of the Situation in Ireland', even though he had been dead for several decades?
@@divyapriyadarshani1599 Very simply it is about a great Queen representing Elizabeth I, who sends out a troop of errant knights to complete various tasks, usually involving a daring rescue and an evil beast or wizard. Each of the knights is symbolic of a different Christian virtue.
