Dear Spenserians:
I have a question regarding the work that has been done on Spenser's University education in logic and rhetoric at Cambridge.
In particular, I am working with a range of texts on argumentation (rhetorical and dialectical "invention") that Spenser would have probably encountered at Cambridge, rather than in grammar school. These usually come in the form of manuals in rhetoric and dialectic: Aristotle's Organon, Quintilian's Institutiones, Cicero's treatises/dialogues on rhetoric, Hermogenes, and northern humanists like Agricola, Sturm, Melanchthon, Ramus, Wilson, Fraunce, and others. There is, of course, plenty of material situating such works in the humanist classroom, in the history of ideas, etc. I'm processing this bibliography slowly but surely; but right now, I'm primarily interested in reconstructing how Spenser in particular might have encountered this range of texts, and how it affects our understanding of his thinking and writing.
However, I'm having a bit of trouble uncovering too many modern works that treat Spenser and advanced Renaissance argumentation together. While there have been many good studies on Spenser and certain grammar-school aspects of rhetoric (style and declamation, for example), as well as thoughts on Spenser and his primary education in general (I'm thinking of Dolven's recent work, whose bibliography I've consulted), there doesn't seem to be very many studies that consider Spenser in the context of early modern Unviersity-level training in dialectic (logic) and rhetorical argumentation. We seem to have reconstructed Spenser the primary-school student more thoroughly than we've reconstructed Spenser the Cambridge sizar. I have found an article by Natalie Grimm on Mutability in this line, however, and of course Rosemond Tuve's work has been important to my own. A recent book by E. Armstrong has also been helpful in situating Spenser in an advanced rhetorical and argumentative context. But even the Spenser Encyclopedia entry on "logic" seems to refer the reader primarily to histories of rhetoric, dialectic, and education (Baldwin, Howell, Ong, Jardine, etc.), rather than studies that think specifically about Spenser within this context.
It seemed to me, then, to be the appropriate time to consult this formidable host of Spenserians on this topic, because I would like to make sure I'm not missing any secondary materials as I continue working on Spenser. The question is, again: have there been any notable attempts to think about Spenser and his writing (poetic or otherwise) through the lens of rhetorical and dialectical argumentation? Any biographies that offer a good reconstruction of his university education, particularly in logic and advanced rhetoric? While there are plenty of materials available on humanist education and early modern rhetoric and dialectic in general, I haven't been able to find much on Spenser in this context.
Best, and thanks. How wonderful it is to have such a group of thinkers to consult from my desk at home!
Drew J. Scheler
PhD Candidate, ABD
Department of English
University of Virginia
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