The Shorter Poems

by Edmund Spenser

  211–16 Cf. SC, October, 73–8.

  214 Decorum: rhetorical theory of generic and stylistic propriety.

  217 gentle Spirit: unidentified.

  222 sell: deliver up.

  226 losels: worthless people, good-for-nothings.

  232 breaches… supply: filled the pauses between her sobs.

  234a Euterpe: properly Muse of flute music, but endowed with the reed pipe in Ausonius’ De Musarum Inventis, and consequently taken here for the Muse of pastoral poetry. Cf. note to line 1 above.

  236 Philomele: the nightingale. Cf. SC, August, 183 and note.

  238 diuers: various.

  244 charmes: songs (Latin carmina). Cf. Ast, 46 and note.

  253–64 Cf. Du Bellay, La Musagnoeomachie, 37–44.

  256 Cymerians: in Homer the Cimmerians live in total darkness at the margins of the earth (Odyssey, 11. 14–16). Cf. VG, 370.

  259–63 Ignorance… Night: cf. note to lines 188–90 above.

  264 Syre… brother: incestuous distortion of familial relationships is frequently employed as a metaphor for intellectual or spiritual confusion.

  265–82 He… hard: cf. TW, sonnet 10; VB, 155–66.

  268 Faunes… Satyres: cf. VB, 166 and note.

  raced: razed, demolished.

  271 horsefoot Helicon: mistaking Helicon for Hippocrene. Cf. note to RT, 426.

  273 Castalion: cf. SC, Aprill, [42] and note.

  283 Shriekowles: screech owls were regarded as ill-omened. Cf. TW, sonnet 6. 13; SC, June, 24; RT, 130 and notes.

  285 Eccho: for the myth of Echo cf. SC, June, 52 and note.

  300a Terpsichore: properly the Muse of dance, but here championing the moral value of true art against its abusers. Cf. Boccaccio, Genealogia, 11. 2; MHT, 809–38; CCH, 775–94.

  303 Feareles: not fearing.

  308 bosome… sit: cf. John 1: 18.

  309 virgin Queenes: an oblique compliment to Queen Elizabeth.

  315–18 Cf. the note to line 264 above.

  322 ranke: combining the senses of fecund and gross.

  327 schooles: seats of learning, universities.

  336 discipline of vice: thereby subverting the moral purpose of art. Cf. Sidney, Apology for Poetry, ECE, 1. 178–80.

  340 discountenaunce: show disapproval or disfavour towards.

  346 compassion: pity, sympathize with.

  353 pittilesse: unpitied.

  360a Erato: Muse of the lyre, here taken as the patron of love poetry (cf. Plato, Phaedrus, 259d). Her name was etymologically associated with Eros. The lofty conception of love suggests Platonic influence, but the emphasis on possession of the loved one (365) effects an accommodation of the physical to the spiritual akin to the notion of married chastity in FQ, 3.

  361 gentle Spirits: cf. RT, 281 where Sidney is among them.

  breathing: expressing, uttering. They breathe forth what has been breathed into them (or ‘inspired’) from above.

  362 Venus… bred: cf. the ‘pleasant arbour’ of Venus and Adonis where Cupid is reconciled to Psyche, FQ, 3. 6. 43–52.

  365–6 Cf. HL, 273–9.

  370 compasse: circumference, circle.

  389 bosome… nests: cf. RT, 282 and note.

  392 cannot gesse: cannot even form a conjecture of.

  395 at riot: without restraint or artistic control.

  396 what… behoue: what is fitting or proper for it.

  397 Cytheree: Venus, reputedly born on the island of Cythera.

  398 maist go pack: depart with her belongings, a colloquial phrase designed to create a mock-heroic tone.

  401 gay Sonne: Cupid.

  402 ruffed: ruffled.

  403 three Twins: the three Graces, cf. SC, Aprill, [109] and note. ‘Twins’ was not infrequently used for triplets at this period.

  406 Aggrate: please, gratify.

  410 Court or Schoole: the two natural centres of poetic learning.

  412 lent to: granted to, bestowed upon.

  420a Calliope: Muse of epic poetry, but in Spenser her function overlaps with that of Clio. Cf. SC, Aprill, [100].

  429–30 off-spring… fill: the heroes of Greek mythology were usually descendants of the gods.

  433–44 Cf. RT, 449–55.

  433 rust: in the sense of corrosion.

  447 Irus: a beggarly messenger in Homer’s Odyssey (18. 1–116), here used as a type of lowly insignificance.

  Inachus: an Argive king, often cited as a type of high birth and prestige. Cf. Horace, Odes, 2. 3. 21–4; FQ, 4. 11. 15.

  461 Bacchus… Hercules: Bacchus was renowned for his conquest of the East and Hercules for his twelve labours. They were both deified for their devotion to justice. Cf. Horace, Odes, 3. 3. 9–15; FQ, 5. 1. 2.

  462 Charlemaine: Charlemagne, king of the Franks, and emperor of the West (742–814), together with his twelve Paladins, was the subject of countless chansons de geste. The constellation of Charles’s Wain (the Plough) is so called from a corruption of his name.

  Starris seauen: the seven bodies of the solar system then known.

  463 Clarion: trumpet.

  466 prize of value: an ambiguous phrase, possibly ‘proof of valour’.

  480a Vrania: the Muse of astronomy, here Christianized, as was customary in Renaissance classical dictionaries, as the Muse of heavenly knowledge. In Plato she is patroness of philosophers (cf. Phaedrus, 259d), but by emphasizing her contemplative nature Spenser makes her akin, if not quite identical, to Sapience (HHB, 183–301). He may have been influenced by Du Bartas’s Uranie (1574) to which he alludes at RR, 459–60.

  481 influence: the astrological term for the operation of stellar force (literally a ‘flowing in’ of stellar fluid).

  489 ornaments of wisdome: ‘For there is a golden ornament upon her [learning], and her bands are purple lace’ (Ecclesiasticus 6: 30). As the ‘ornaments’ of learning the poets too are ‘bereft’.

  495 loadstarre: guiding star (often the pole-star).

  499–510 Cf. HHB, 22–105.

  503 knowledge… knowe: the adage ‘know thyself’ was central to Renaissance philosophy. Cf. Sir John Davies, Nosce Teipsum (1599).

  506 Christall firmament: the crystalline sphere or ninth heaven, located between the primum mobile and the sphere of fixed stars. Cf. HHB, 41.

  507 great Hierarchie: the ascending order of the eight spheres leading ultimately to God.

  509 Spirites… Intelligences: the spheres were imagined to possess conscious souls or ‘intelligences’ which were sometimes identified with the Muses. Cf. Macrobius, Somnium Scipionis, 2. 3; Heninger (1977), 136–8.

  520 schoole: schooling, discipline.

  530 would… breed: would generate for them.

  531 loathsome den: reminiscent of the Platonic ‘cave’ in which the unenlightened dwell in ignorance (cf. Republic, 7. 514a–516a).

  532 ghostly: spiritual.

  540a Polyhymnia: the Muse of rhetoric, who laments the lack of artistic discipline in contemporary writing. Cf. Aprill, [100] and note.

  542 curious complements: ingenious (stylistic) formalities.

  549 Diapase: diapason or octave, often used figuratively for concord or harmony. Cf. Heninger (1977), 132–40.

  553–8 Sidney complains of ‘a confused masse of words, with a tingling sound of ryme, barely accompanied with reason’ (Apology for Poetry, ECE, 1. 196).

  553 vphoorded: hoarded or heaped up.

  556 intelligence: understanding.

  558 fantasie: the intellectual faculty which creates and associates images. Without the government of reason it borders on lunacy. Cf. FQ, 2. 9. 49–52.

  559–64 The sacred origin of poetry was a Renaissance commonplace. Cf. Puttenham, Arte of English Poesie, ECE, 2. 6–10.

  566–7 prophaned… vulgar: cf. note to line 194 above.

  571 One onelie: Queen Elizabeth I.

  572 myrrour… maiestie: as the earthly reflection of divine monarchy. Cf. SC, October, 93 and note.

  576 For Elizabeth’s contem
porary reputation as a poet cf. Puttenham, Arte of English Poesie, ECE, 2. 66; CCH, 188–91.

  578 Pandora: the name means ‘all gifts’, but the sinister associations of Pandora, created by Jove to plague mankind, are hard to eradicate. Cf. Comes, Mythologiae, 2. 6; 4. 6; RR, 260; Amor, 24. 8 and notes.

  579 Diuine Elisa: cf. SC, Aprill, 34.

  586 influence: comparing the queen’s effect to that of the stars. Cf. the note to line 481 above.

  590 Acorns: the traditional food of primitive man. Cf. VG, 206–8.

  599 breake: a symbolic gesture, cf. SC, Januarye, 72.

  600 louing: amended to ‘living’ in the first folio (1611).

  Virgils Gnat

  Preoccupation with deciphering the hidden meaning signalled in the prefatory sonnet has long obscured the wider thematic concerns and artistic claims of Virgils Gnat. Most influential has been the suggestion that Spenser, in the persona of the gnat, laments his relegation – for real or imagined offences – to the ‘waste wildernesse’ of Ireland (369). This would place the date of composition around 1580 but there is no corroboratory evidence and an appointment as private secretary to the Lord Deputy of Ireland might well have been regarded as an act of patronage rather than punishment. By the time of publication Leicester was dead (1588), but the issue of patronage was still very pressing. Because the Culex, of which Spenser’s poem is largely an amplified translation, was attributed to Virgil, its opening address to the future emperor Augustus could be taken to exemplify the ideal relationship between prince and poet, a relationship founded on reciprocal support and respect. By contrast, the dedicatory sonnet to Virgils Gnat functions to cast the translator as an Ovidian ‘outcast’ (330), a victim of official neglect rather than a Virgilian laureate. The translation may thus be seen to develop the themes of cultural alienation and aesthetic decline explored in The Ruines of Time and The Teares of the Muses by insinuating that the patron’s obligation to promote the poet’s fame is no less compelling than the poet’s duty to celebrate his sponsor (57–64, 687–8). The concluding couplet is replete with proleptic irony: Spenser’s own grave was fated to lack a fitting monument for many years.

  While Spenser generally sticks close to the original text (as printed in Dumaeus’s edition of 1542), the transformation of Virgil’s unrhymed hexameters into stanzas of ottava rima (rhyming abababcc) has the effect of increasing the total length from 414 to 688 lines. Descriptive adjectives are frequently expanded into whole phrases, the mock-heroic ethos of the narrative is reinforced, and the voice of the gnat is rendered characteristically Spenserian in its concern for ‘vanitie’ and ‘mutabilitie’ (559–60), predominant themes of Complaints. Indeed throughout the translation generally the Virgilian world view is deftly appropriated to the Spenserian. Thus, for example, ‘naiads’ become ‘fairies’ (179), Orpheus becomes ‘Dan Orpheus’ (180) and Spenser’s favourite adjectives abound. The beauty of the pastoral setting is severely compromised by dark mythological allusions (e.g. 171-6) and the ‘huge great Serpent’ takes on a Satanic demeanour (250–64), an effect powerfully enhanced by the sombre vocabulary chosen to render the gnat’s descent to the classical underworld, here significantly translated as ‘hell’ (e.g. 462, 475). Even the mistranslations identified in the notes (e.g. 169–74, 200–206) seem to be informed by Spenser’s pervasive interests since moral interpretation invariably compensates for defective comprehension. Whatever private meaning Leicester may have found in the poem, its aesthetic significance does not depend upon our ability to ‘glose vpon’ such covert allusions. Rather, the act of publication lends public resonance to private complaint, and serves to illustrate the complex social and political uses of classical translation. Cf. Adler (1981); Brink (1996); Greenlaw (1932); Heninger (1987); Lotspeich (1935); D. L. Miller (1983); Mounts (1952); Rosenberg (1955); Van Dorsten (1981).

  Dedication Long since dedicated…

  Leicester: Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, died in 1588. Cf. SC, March, [20]; October [47]; RT, 184 and notes.

  1–14 Wrong’d… knowen: A Spenserian sonnet (rhyming ababbcbccdcdee) which suggests the presence of a cryptic meaning in VG.

  3 clowdie teares: tears that cloud the eyes.

  5 Oedipus: mentioned for having solved the riddle of the sphinx.

  6 diuining: prophetic, with second sight.

  10 glose vpon: comment upon, interpret.

  Virgils Gnat

  1–64 Translating the recusatio of Culex (1–41) which makes a formal denial of epic intentions, and thereby establishing an appropriately ironic context for the mock-heroic ethos of the poem proper.

  1 Augustus: first emperor of Rome (63 BC–AD 14), but addressed as Octavius in Culex, being still a boy (‘puer’) at the alleged time of dedication, hence Spenser’s ‘sacred childe’ at lines 37 and 54.

  2 tender Muse: identified in Culex as Thalia, the Muse of comedy, and appropriate, despite the tone of complaint, to the mock-heroic ethos.

  3 cobweb: a mistranslation. Culex refers to the weaving of little spiders (‘araneoli’, Culex, 2). Cf. note to Muiop, 385.

  5 history: narrative, tale.

  11 bigger notes: loftier, epic strains (‘graviore sono’, Culex, 8). Cf. SC, October, 46 and note.

  allure: poetry’s power to move the emotions was regarded as crucial to its nature. Cf. Sidney, Apology for Poetry, ECE, 1. 171.

  13 Latona: mother by Jove of Apollo and Diana. Cf. FQ, 2. 12. 13.

  14 ornament: most illustrious.

  15 Phœbus: Apollo, god of poetry and father of the Muses.

  16 harp: Apollo’s seven-stringed lyre was taken to symbolize the harmony of the spheres. Cf. Heninger (1977), 136–8.

  18 Poets Prince: in Culex the ‘princeps’ is Apollo himself, but the ambiguity may be intended as an oblique compliment to Elizabeth I, celebrated as a poet at TM, 571–6; CCH, 188–91.

  19 Xanthus… blood: Bellerophon slew Chimera, a hybrid monster, part lion, part dragon and part goat, on the banks of the River Xanthus.

  20 Astery: the island of Delos, birthplace of Apollo. Asteria, daughter of the Titan Coeus hurled herself into the sea off its shores.

  21–3 Parnasse… Castaly: cf. SC, Aprill, [42].

  21 brood: nesting place, home.

  22 forhead… homes: the two peaks of Parnassus, rising above Delphi, between which flows the stream of Castalia.

  26 Pierian streames: streams of Pieria in Thessaly sacred to the Muses.

  Naiades: properly water nymphs but here identified with the Muses (cf. Virgil, Eclogues, 10. 10–12).

  28 Adorne: honour with their presence (‘celebrate’, Culex, 19).

  Pales: Roman goddess of agriculture and fertility. Cf. Ovid, Fasti, 4. 722–4.

  30 successe: succession.

  33 Professing: declaring belief in, acknowledging allegiance to.

  40 Giants… Phlegrœan: Jove fought the Giants on the plain of Phlegra in Macedonia. Cf. FQ, 5. 7. 10.

  41–2 Centaures… Lapithaes: conflict broke out between the Centaurs and Lapiths at the marriage of Pirithous and Hippodamia when the Centaur Eurytus attempted to rape the bride. Cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses, 12. 210-535; FQ, 4. 1. 23. For the bestial nature of Centaurs cf. Comes, Mythologiae, 7. 4.

  42 at bord: at the (wedding) table.

  43–50 Herodotus recounts how Xerxes burned the Acropolis (8. 53), dug a canal across the isthmus between Athos and the Greek mainland (7. 22-5), and madly attempted to fetter the sea (7. 35). Cf. RT, 547 and note.

  46 abord: across, an unusual usage with a play on ‘aboard’.

  48 renowne: make famous, celebrate.

  49 Hellespont: the Dardanelles.

  65 hight: high.

  66 each where: everywhere.

  67 Charet: chariot.

  68 Aurora: goddess of the dawn.

  heare: hair.

  75 ment: mixed or mingled.

  82 brouze: browse upon.

  84 stud: stem. Cf. SC, March, 13.

  86 chaw: chew.

 
; 89–152 The traditional topos of the happy pastoral life. Cf. Virgil, Georgics, 2. 458–540; FQ, 6. 9. 19–33.

  94 macerate: vex, fret or waste.

  99 vnderlayes: underlies.

  100 summer beames: supporting beams, rafters.

  104 Bœtus… Alcons: ancient Greek engravers. For Boethus cf. Pliny, Natural History, 33. 55. 55.

  105 whelky: formed in shells (‘conchea baca’, Culex, 68).

  108 display: stretch out (‘prosternit’, Culex, 69).

  111 from: away from, free from.

  119 neate: sparkling bright, pure.

  123 greedy riches: the transferred epithet from Culex, 81, ‘avidas… opes’.

  124 warlick: warlike.

  133 Panchœa: Panchaia, an Arabian district famed for frankincense.

  139 flow: abound.

  141 resolu’d: relaxed.

  145 Faunes: translating ‘Panes’ (Pans), Culex, 94. The woodland god Faunus was often identified with Pan. For Faunus cf. FQ, 7. 6. 42–50.

  146 Tempe: a celebrated valley in Thessaly.

  countrey Nymphs: dryads or wood nymphs.

  149 Ascrœan bard: the Greek poet Hesiod, author of Works and Days and the Theogony, born in Ascra in Boeotia.

  152 turmoyle: vex, trouble.

  154 batt: staff.

  156 Hyperion: Apollo, the sun god.

  158 world: the heavens (‘aetherio… mundo’, Culex, 102).

  162 draue: drove.

  163 cœrule: sky-blue.

  164 goord: gourd. The comparison is Spenser’s own.

  169–70 The awkward syntax mirrors that of Culex, 111–14. The sense is ‘soon he saw them placed in the sacred wood to which…’

  170 Delian Goddesse: Diana, goddess of woodlands, born on Delos.

  171–2 bad… Agaue: Agave, daughter of Cadmus, tore her son Pentheus to pieces during frenzied Bacchic rites. Cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses, 3. 710–33.

  173 king Nictileus: Spenser’s translation is mistaken. Nyctelius is properly a name for Bacchus.

  178 Dryades: dryads or wood nymphs.

  179 Fairies: for ‘Naiadum coetu’ (band of water nymphs), Culex, 117.

  180 Dan Orpheus: for ‘Dan’ as a title of honour cf. RT, 607. For Orpheus cf. SC, October, [28] and note.