Epic Poetry

"There is no uniformity in the design of Spenser: he aims at the accomplishment of no one action; he raises up a hero for every one of his adventures, and endows each of them with some particular moral virtue, which renders them all equal, without subordination or preference. Every one is valiant in his own legend; only we must do him the justice to observe, that magnanimity, which is the character of Prince Arthur, shines throughout the whole poem, and succours the rest when they are in distress. The original of every knight was then living in the court of Queen Elizabeth; and he attributed to each of them that virtue which he thought was most conspicuous in them; an ingenious piece of flattery, though it turned not much to his account. Had he lived to finish his poem in the six remaining legends, it had certainly been more of a piece; but could not have been perfect, because the model was not true. But Prince Arthur, or his chief patron, Sir Philip Sidney, whom he intended to make happy by the marriage of his Gloriana, dying before him, deprived the poet both of means and spirit to accomplish his design. For the rest, his obsolete language, and ill choice of his stanza, are faults both of the second magnitude; for notwithstanding the first, he is still intelligible, at least after a little practice, and for the last he is more to be admired, that labouring under such a difficulty, his verses are so numerous, so various, and so harmonious, that only Virgil, whom he has professedly imitated, has surpassed him among the Romans, and only Mr. Waller among the English."

"A continued allegory or dark conceit."

"And after all came Life, and lastly Death; Death with most grim and griesly visage seene, Yet is he nought but parting of the breath; Ne ought to see, but like a shade to weene, Vnbodied, vnsoul'd, vnheard, vnseene."

"But Times do change and moue continually."

"Old Spenser next, warmed with poetic rage, In ancient tales amused a barbarous age; An age that, yet uncultivate and rude, Where'er the poet's fancy led, pursued, Through pathless fields and unfrequented floods, To dens of dragons and enchanted woods. But now the mystic tale, that pleased of yore, Can charm an understanding age no more: The long-spun allegories fulsome grow, While the dull moral lies too plain below. We view well-pleased at distance all the sights Of arms and palfreys, battles, fields, and fights, And damsels in distress, and courteous knights. But when we look too near, the shades decay, And all the pleasing landscape fades away."

"For, all that moueth, doth in Change delight: But thence-forth all shall rest eternally With Him that is the God of Sabbaoth hight: O! that great Sabbaoth God, grant me that Sabaoths sight."

"Lastly, came Winter cloathed all in frize, Chattering his teeth for cold that did him chill, Whil'st on his hoary beard his breath did freese; And the dull drops that from his purpled bill As from a limbeck did adown distill. In his right hand a tipped staffe he held, With which his feeble steps he stayed still: For, he was faint with cold, and weak with eld; That scarse his loosed limbes he hable was to weld."

"First, sturdy March with brows full sternly bent, And armed strongly, rode vpon a Ram, The same which ouer Hellespontus swam: Yet in his hand a spade he also hent, And in a bag all sorts of seeds ysame, Which on the earth he strowed as he went, And fild her womb with fruitfull hope of nourishment."

"Iolly Iune, arrayd All in greene leaues, as he a Player were."

"Then came the Autumne all in yellow clad, As though he ioyed in his plentious store, Laden with fruits that made him laugh, full glad That he had banisht hunger, which to-fore Had by the belly oft him pinched sore. Vpon his head a wreath that was enrold With eares of corne, of euery sort he bore: And in his hand a sickle he did holde, To reape the ripened fruits the which the earth had yold."

"After reading a canto of Spenser two or three days ago to an old lady, between seventy and eighty years of age, she said that I had been showing her a gallery of pictures.—I don't know how it is, but she said very right: there is something in Spenser that pleases one as strongly in one's old age, as it did in one's youth. I read the Faerie Queene when I was about twelve, with infinite delight; and I think it gave me as much, when I read it over about a year or two ago."

"Then came the iolly Sommer, being dight In a thin silken cassock coloured greene, That was vnlyned all, to be more light: And on his head a girlond well beseene He wore, from which as he had chauffed been The sweat did drop; and in his hand he bore A boawe and shaftes, as he in forrest greene Had hunted late the Libbard or the Bore, And now would bathe his limbes, with labor heated sore."

"Next was Nouember, he full grosse and fat, As fed with lard, and that right well might seeme; For, he had been a fatting hogs of late."

"The "Faerie Queen," like Dante's "Paradise," is only half estimated, because few persons take the pains to think out its meaning."

"Nought is more honourable to a knight, Nor better doth beseem brave chivalry, Than to defend the feeble in their right And wrong redress in such as wend awry."

"For whatsoever from one place doth fall Is with the tide unto another brought: For there is nothing lost that may be found if sought."

"He maketh kings to sit in sovereignty; He maketh subjects to their power obey; He pulleth down, he setteth up on high; He gives to this, from that he takes away: For all we have is his: what he list do, he may."

"For that which all men then did virtue call, Is now called vice; and that which vice was hight, Is now hight virtue, and so used of all; Right now is wrong, and wrong that was is right."

"And her against sweet Cheerfulness was placed, Whose eyes, like twinkling stars in evening clear, Were decked with smiles that all sad humours chased, And darted forth delights the which her goodly graced."

"Nor less was she in secret heart affected, But that she masked it with modesty, For fear she should of lightness be detected."

"For take thy balance, if thou be so wise, And weigh the wind that under heaven doth blow; Or weigh the light that in the east doth rise; Or weigh the thought that from man's mind doth flow."

"Me seems the world is run quite out of square From the first point of his appointed source; And, being once amiss, grows daily worse and worse."

"Faint friends when they fall out most cruel foemen be."

"True he it said, whatever man it said, That love with gall and honey doth abound; But if the one be with the other weighed, For every dram of honey therein found A pound of gall doth over it redound."

"His name was Doubt, that had a double face, The one forward looking, the other backward bent, Therein resembling Janus ancient, Which had in charge the ingate of the year: And evermore his eyes about him went, As if some proved peril he did fear, Or did misdoubt some ill, whose cause did not appear."

"From that day forth, in peace and joyous bliss They lived together long without debate; Nor private jar, nor spite of enemies, Could shake the safe assurance of their state."

"Ill can he rule the great that cannot reach the small."

"A foul and loathly creature sure in sight, And in conditions to be loathed no less: For she was stuffed with rancour and despite Up to the throat, that oft with bitterness It forth would break and gush in great excess, Pouring out streams of poison and of gall 'Gainst all that truth or virtue do profess; Whom she with leasings lewdly did miscall And wickedly backbite; her name men Slander call."

"For like the stings of Aspes, that kill with smart, Her spightfull words did pricke, & wound the inner part."

"For all that nature by her mother-wit Could frame in earth."

"Sweete is the loue that comes alone with willingnesse."

"Rude was his garment, and to rags all rent, Ne better had he, ne for better cared: With blistred hands emongst the cinders brent, And fingers filthie, with long nayles vnpared, Right fit to rend the food, on which he fared. His name was Care; a blacksmith by his trade, That neither day nor night from working spared, But to small purpose yron wedges made; Those be vnquiet thoughts, that carefull minds inuade."

"What equal torment to the grief of mind, And pining anguish hid in gentle heart, That inly feeds itself with thoughts unkind, And nourisheth her own confusing smart? What medicine can any leech's art Yield such a sore, that doth her grievance hide, And will to none her malady impart?"

"That cruell Atropos eftsoones vndid, With cursed knife cutting the twist in twaine: Most wretched men, whose dayes depend on thrids so vaine."

"All she did was but to wear out day. Full oftentimes she leave of him did take; And oft again devised somewhat to say, Which she forgot, whereby excuse to make: So loath she was his company for to forsake."

"But ah, who can deceiue his destiny, Or weene by warning to auoyd his fate?"

""Much depends," says Charles Lamb, "upon when and where you read a book. In the five or six impatient minutes before the dinner is quite ready, who would think of taking up the Fairy Queen for a stop-gap?" Select rather a June morning, when the brilliant white clouds are sailing slowly through a blue sky, a grassy bank under a tree, looking down a long valley with broken hills in the distance; let mind and body both be at ease, and both disposed to dream, but not to sleep, and when the influences of nature have had their due effect, open, if you please, at the middle of the Legend of Sir Guyon."

"Her birth was of the womb of morning dew, And her conception of the joyous prime."

"Good on-set boads good end."

"All suddenly inflamed with furious fit, Like a fell lioness at him she flew, And on his head-piece him so fiercely smit, That to the ground him quite she overthrew, Dismayed so with the stroke that he no colours knew."

"So, forth issew'd the Seasons of the yeare; First, lusty Spring, all dight in leaues of flowres That freshly budded and new bloosmes did beare (In which a thousand birds had built their bowres That sweetly sung, to call forth Paramours): And in his hand a iauelin he did beare, And on his head (as fit for warlike stoures) A guilt engrauen morion he did weare; That as some did him loue, so others did him feare."

"Roses red and violets blue And all the sweetest flowers that in the forest grew."

"So all did make in her a perfect complement."

"Yet was he but a squire of low degree."

"After long storms and tempests overblown, The sun at length his joyous face doth clear; So whenas fortune all her spite hath shown, Some blissful hours at last must needs appear; Else would afflicted wights oft-times despair."

"A sordid office for a mind so braue. So hard it is to be a womans slaue."

"But well I wote, that to an heauy hart Thou art the roote and nourse of bitter cares, Breeder of new, renewer of old smarts: In stead of rest thou lendest rayling teares, In stead of sleepe thou sendest troublous feares, And dreadfull visions, in the which aliue The dreary image of sad death appeares: So from the wearie spirit thou doest driue Desired rest, and men of happinesse depriue."

"Vnder thy mantle black there hidden lye, Light-shonning thefte, and traiterous intent, Abhorred bloodshed, and vile felony, Shamefull deceipt, and daunger imminent; Fowle horror, and eke hellish dreriment."

"Whether yt diuine Tobacco were, Or Panachaea, or Polygony, Shee fownd, and brought it to her patient deare."

"Thus warred he long time against his will, Till that through weakness he was forced at last To yield himself unto the mighty ill, Which, as a victor proud, 'gan ransack fast His inward parts and all his entrails waste, That neither blood in face nor life in heart It left, but both did quite dry up and blast: As piercing levin, which the inner part Of everything consumes and calcineth by art."