Faerie Queene [Hardcover]

Edmund Spenser (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0848811771 | ISBN-13: 978-0848811778 | Publication Date: April 1989

The Faerie Queene is the first great epic poem in the English language. It is along and complex allegory which presents the first time reader with many difficulties of allusion and interpretation. This volume is the only convenient and up-to-date guide to Spencer's poem, and is designed as a handbook to be consulted by students while reading the poem. Each chapter is devoted to a separate book of the poem, and sub-sections treat particular episodes or sequences of episodes in detail. Dr Heale considers fully the religious and political context, and pays due attention to the variety of Spencer's literary techniques. She encourages close reading of the poem and a lively awareness of both its rich detail and the intricate interrelation of its episodes.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Amereon Ltd (April 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0848811771
• ISBN-13: 978-0848811778
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,561,378 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I only got 100 pages in, but I shall sally forth again, July 25, 2000

By 

Gordon R Cameron - See all my reviews

This review is from: Faerie Queene (Hardcover)

This is a difficult poem. It's interesting how archaic Spenser's language seems, considering that he was a contemporary of the much more modern-sounding Shakespeare. Of course, there is a deliberately nostalgic tone to the "Fairie Queene," which harkens back to an idealized medieval past. The influence of Middle English poetry -- particularly Chaucer and "Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight" -- is palpable.

I shall try it again in time. The lushness of Spenser's language is at times delightful, and it's also illuminating to see the way pagan and Christian imagery vie for power in the narrative. The structure seems a bit rambling; compared to the precision of (for instance) "Paradise Lost," "The Fairie Queene" requires rather more patience of the reader.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting foray into another language, April 10, 1998

By 

Ursa ([e-mail] (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Faerie Queene (Hardcover)

Edmund Spencer's Faerie Queene is a dense and compelling moral pageant. Unfortunately, it's also written in middle english with layers of metaphor so thick you couldn't peel them off with a snowplow. It's a good book for anyone who likes learning new languages, and a fine read if you enjoy writing from that era, but don't go about it if you don't have the patience for it and a set of Cliff's Notes near at hand. (pause) Did they even do Cliff's Notes for Faerie Queene? (shrug) No matter. Read it anyway.