I assume, of course, that the poem incorporates a pun on
"(di)spenser"--it's a matter of some poignancy, I think, that only in the
20th century was there a Di Spen(c/s)er even more famous than this one.
She's back in the news in ways that make the American republic seem almost
restful by comparison. A word on using print for self-promotion: in this
regard there's also poor Tom Churchyard, whose work has a number of
parallels with Spenser's. I was struck when reading through his works a
few years ago (yes, I know--a loopy thing to want to do, but I was looking
for precedents for Spenser's and Shakespeare's discourse of ruin) that he
was exploiting print for all he was worth and also experimenting with
metrical variety quite as early as Spenser. His problem, aside from that
dreary blackletter, was of course that the Muses simply didn't pay him
much heed. I grew to like poor Tom, who seems to show that exploiting
print isn't enough--writing brilliantly helps too. As one thinks about
Spenser reading to the queen there's an amusing contrast/parallel with
Tennyson reading to Victoria--Max Beerbohm has a funny color cartoon of it
in his *Poets Corner*. Anne Prescott
> Roger,
>
> I'm not sure why it matters, if it does. Spenser went over with
> Raleigh in December; the poem was printed early in the following year.
> We aren't sure whether he read proof in the shop. He says in CCHA (as
> Patrick Cheney reminds me) that he read before the queen, and in one of
> the commendatory verses, "H.B." tells the Muses that "Our Goddesse here
> . . . biddes this rare dispenser of your graces / Bow downe his brow
> unto her sacred hand." That may be purely figurative and imaginary, but
> it could also be a reference to Elizabeth's welcoming the Muses, in the
> form of Spenser and his poem, to England: "Grave Muses march in triumph
> and with prayses, / Our Goddesse here hath given you leave to Land."
>
> So I'm wondering whether Spenser may not have read at court already
> by the time the poem was in press, and even whether Elizabeth may have
> offered her hand in token of some special recognition.
>
> David
>
>
> _____
>
>
> David Lee Miller
>
> Department of English 543 Boonesboro Avenue
> University of Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky 40508
> Lexington, KY 40506-0027
>
> (859) 257-6965 (858) 252-3680
> FAX 323-1072
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sidney-Spenser Discussion List
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Roger Kuin
> Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2004 5:55 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: a biographical detail
>
>
> I'd be surprised if we had any way of **knowing** -- it's the sort of
> thing we'd need a real stroke of hairy luck to find out. But likewise,
> why does it matter? My own feeling is that he may well have read from
> printed sheets -- easier than MS, even one's own -- plus the kudos of
> being able to show that it was getting there, half way to immortality.
> But that's just raw guesswork.
> Other question: who was he reading **to**? "at Court" is pretty general,
> and could range from the circle of people like Robert Langham, the
> irrepressible Keeper of the Council Chamber, to the grandees and the
> Great Cat Herself; with all sorts of possibilities in between. The
> surviving Sidney Circle? the Anglo-Irish crowd? the Literaries?
> Interesting question -- but answerable??
>
> Roger Kuin
>
>
>
> Spenser is reputed to have read at court in 1590 when he came over from
> Ireland with the first installment of The Faerie Queene. It's a
> plausible story. If it's true, would we have any way of knowing whether
> he read before or after the manuscript went to the printer? Before or
> after the first three books were in print?
>
>
>
> _____
>
> David Lee Miller
>
>
> Department of English 543 Boonesboro Ave
> University of Kentucky Lexington, KY 40508
>
> Lexington, KY 40506-0027 (859) 252-3680
>
> (859) 257-6965
>
> FAX 323-1072
>
>
>
>
>
>
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