Dear Colleagues,
I am currently researching the textual crux of VI.x.24.7-9 involving the spatial positioning of the three Graces.
In the 1596 and 1609 editions of the FQ, the lines reads:
'That two of them still forward seem'd to bee,
But one still towards she'd her selfe afore:
That good should from vs goe, then come in greater store.'
In the 1611 edition, line 7 has been changed to read: 'That two of them still froward seem'd to bee'. Much has been written about the implications of this rerendering of line 7. By positioning two Graces with their backs to the viewer, and one looking 'afore', the sugegstion is that it is better to give than to receive. This interpretation is dependent upon us reading 'then' as a conjunction ('than') rather than as an adverb ('then') as in the 1596 and 1609 editions. As Geller (1972) and Bates (1992) acknowledge, this reordering of the Graces' position invites a more altruistic reading of their significance, and indeed their role in relation to the book's titular virtue of courtesy. It encourages us to to read it in the light of Christian charity.
My question to the list is whether anything has been written specifically about the 1611 edition of the FQ. Do we have any sense as to whether it is a good copy of the text? Do we know whether the editors intentionally changed 'forward' to 'froward'? Could it be seen as a wilfull revision...perhaps working from Spenser's manuscri[pt, or is it merely a textual error?
If any one on the list has a knowledge of a study that might be relevant to my questions then I would be extremely grateful.
As always, many thanks in advance,
Stuart Hart
PhD researcher,
University of Birmingham.
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