Now that I've finally gotten into e-mail and read all the answers, my own
seriously meant but possibly corrupt reply: the danger of worrying very
much about relevance is that as the world changes, and it always does,
what's relevant "today" (and "today" is a movable feast) may seem dusty
tomorrow. So too with importance, I think. I'm afraid I don't really care
a lot about importance. I should, maybe, but I just can't, having seen
importance come and go. For the same reason I do mention colonialism,
gender, and all that stuff to my students, or listen when they bring it
up, because after all it was significant to Spenser and interesting now.
But for real relevance the NYTimes is the ticket and for real importance
I'd go for Darwin, say, or the documents around the Constitution. I try to
persuade my students, with some success, of the value of irrelevance--it
is there that real otherness and difference may be found. Spenser is *not*
like them. If they don't want to live in a Hall of Mirrors then the *not*
them is important--well, OK, there's that word--to read and know. On the
other hand, if Spenser, like Chaucer, Donne, Milton, Herbert, whoever, can
speak to something within them then that's wonderful. But that speaking is
very individual, I think. A student of mine, Korean-American and without
much English so far, loves Spenser (which she did not study with me)
because he reminds her of fairies, and she's, like, into fairies. A bit
Victorian (I showed her some Rackham and some Hughes), but the hedonist in
me applauds. Finally, I love Spenser--bad attitudes and all--because he
pleases me. And the world has too little pleasure. There, when I care
about importance, is his importance. We need more pleasure in our
world--real pleasure, that lasts and grows--and for some of us that means
Spenser. But I couldn't prove to a student that in a complex world in
which we have limited lifespans she *should* read TFQ. Except if she's a
major, of course, and we simply require several courses
between
1500 and 1800, a requirement most easily satisfied by taking a junior
colloquium that includes some Spenser. Few object. Anne Prescott.
On Thu, 13 Apr 2000, Candie Woolly wrote:
> This is an elementary question (one I know of which I know my personal
> response), but I want to ask it for a variety of reasons too long to
> list. With this, please be kind and, well, humor me. ; )
>
> Why is Spenser's work still so important today?
>
>
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