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Spenser's ordinary level of fluency is so high that new lines rise to the surface every time I reread. This morning's labor was FQ Book 4, where I found myself staring at the opening line of the passage that describes Ate's dwelling: "And all within the riven walls were hung." Harry Berger says this sort of music puts his students to sleep. I find that it keeps me engaged--rewarded--at the level of "reading as if listening." And because it lures me to slow down, it often serves for me as an unnoticed transition into the activity Berger calls "reading as if perusing," which means, roughly, reading as if Cleanth Brooks. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- 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