181 Hebrus: a river in Thrace stopped by the music of Orpheus.
183 Peneus: a river of Thessaly flowing through Tempe, not mentioned in Culex. Cf. Proth, 78.
190–224 Cf. the catalogue of trees at FQ, 1. 1. 8–9.
190 Palme trees: for ‘platinus’ (plane trees), Culex, 124.
193 Lotos: the lotus flower induced an intoxicating lethargy in Ulysses’ companions (Homer, Odyssey, 9. 92–104).
196 stay: detained.
198 Sunnes… daughters: the Heliades, daughters of Apollo and sisters of Phaeton, lamented their brother’s death so grievously that they were transformed into poplars. Cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses, 2. 340–66.
199 Phaeton: cf. TM, 7 and note.
201–3 Thinking herself deserted by Theseus’ son, Demophoon, his lover Phyllis died of grief and was transformed into an almond tree. Spenser mistranslates ‘cui’ (to whom) as ‘in which’ (Culex, 131), thereby excluding Phyllis and suggesting that Demophoon was transformed.
204–5 Oke… charmes: supposing this to be another case of metamorphosis, Spenser misinterprets an allusion to the oracular Dodonian oaks. Cf. TW, sonnet 5. 1 and note.
206 Acornes… foode: cf. TM, 590 and note.
207–8 Upon the restoration of her daughter Proserpina, Ceres, goddess of agriculture, supplied Triptolemus with grain and instructed him to spread the gift among his fellow men. Cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses, 5. 642–61.
210–11 Argoan… signe: the Argo, in which Jason sought the Golden Fleece, was transformed into the constellation Argo. Cf. RT, 629 and note.
215 Holme: the holm-oak (‘ilicis… nigrae’, Culex, 140).
219–20 Poplar… strokes: in Culex the ivy binds the arms of the poplars to prevent the Heliades’ grief from turning to self-mutilation (141–2). The translation is confused and appears to blend the ‘strokes’ suffered by Phaeton in his fall with those of his sisters.
221. lythe: pliant, supple.
223–4 Myrtle… reproach: Myrsine, a priestess of Venus, was transformed into a myrtle to keep her from a lover. Cf. Servius, Commentarii (Aeneid, 3. 23). Culex mentions her fate not her ‘reproach’ (145), and Spenser may have confused her with the incestuous Myrrha who was transformed into a myrrh tree. Cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses, 10. 488–502.
225 embowring: nesting, lodging.
229 frogs: cf. Epith, 349 and note.
scowring: scum, dirt.
232 Echo: cf. SC, June, 52 and note.
237 stocke: livestock.
242 dispredd: spread out.
250 pide: blotched, mottled.
251 trace: move (leaving his trace or track in his wake).
254 brandisht: vibrating (and on display).
gride: pierce. Cf. SC, Februarie, [4] and note.
255 boughts: coils, folds.
259 proud vaunt: arrogant bearing or demeanour.
265 dispace: move (a Spenserian coinage). Cf. Muiop, 250.
268 grand: huge. It is the snake that is huge (‘ingens’) in Culex, 174.
280 outstrained: outstretched.
281 at point: fittingly, suitably.
309 slowth: sloth (playing on the previous ‘slowe’).
310 ghastly: in the sense of aghast.
311 blent… sense: cheated or deceived his senses.
313–14 night… Herebus: Night was sister and wife of Erebus, god of darkness.
315 Vesper: Hesperus, the evening star.
316 Oeta: a mountain range in Thessaly. Cf. Virgil, Eclogues, 8. 30.
324 Image: spectre (‘effigies’, Culex, 208).
333 in lieu: in reward or recompense.
338 Lethes: the river of oblivion in the underworld, but Charon is more usually associated with the Styx. Cf. RT, 428 and note.
339 spoyld of: seized by, carried off by.
Charon: son of Night and Erebus, ferryman of the River Styx.
342 Tisiphone: one of the three Furies.
345 Cerberus: three-headed dog that guarded the entrance to Hades.
348 cralling: crawling.
357 piteous: compassionate.
359–60 For the departure of Astraea, goddess of justice, from the earth cf. MHT, 1–4; Daph, 218 and note.
364 render: given in return.
368 relent: mitigate, soften.
369 waste wildernesse: possibly alluding to Spenser’s departure to Ireland in 1580. Cf. FQ, dedicatory sonnets to Grey and Ormond.
370 Cymerian shades: infernal darkness. Cf. TM, 256 and note.
373–5 Othos… Ephialtes: the twin sons of the giant Aloeus who tried to tear down the heavens and overthrow Jove. Cf. Virgil, Aeneid, 6. 582–4.
374 inuades: enters into, penetrates.
377–8 Tityus… Latona: Tityos, a giant son of Jove, was slain by Apollo for offering violence to Latona, Apollo’s mother. Cf. Virgil, Aeneid, 6. 595-600.
385–8 Tantalus revealed (‘did… bewray’) the banquets of the gods by stealing divine food and giving it to mortals. Cf. HL, 200 and note; FQ, 2. 7. 57–60.
389–92 Sisyphus was condemned to the perpetually frustrated task of rolling a stone up a hill. The suggestion that he was punished for refusing to pray is Spenser’s own. Cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses, 4. 460; FQ, 1. 5. 35.
393 damosells: when forced to wed their cousins all but one of the fifty Danaides slew them on the wedding night and were condemned to fill a bottomless cistern with water from sieves. Cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses, 4. 462–3; 10. 44.
394 Erynnis: a Fury. Cf. RR, 327. (Erinyes is the collective name for the Furies.)
tynde: lit, kindled.
395 Hymen: the god of marriage.
397 Colchid mother: Medea, a native of Colchis, slew her children to revenge herself on her husband Jason. Cf. Seneca, Medea.
401–5 Pandionian… Lapwing: Philomela and Procne, daughters of King Pandion of Athens, killed Itys, the son of King Tereus of Thrace, to gain revenge for Tereus’ brutal rape of Philomela. She was transformed into a nightingale, Procne into a swallow and Tereus into a hoopoe (epos). Cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses, 6. 424–674. Arthur Golding translated epos (674) as ‘lapwing’ in his version of 1565–7. Cf. SC, November, [141].
409 Cadmus blood: Eteocles and Polynices, sons of Oedipus and descendants of Cadmus, contested the sovereignty of Thebes.
421 Elisian plaine: abode of the blest in the underworld. Cf. SC, November, 179 and note.
422 Persephone: Proserpina, queen of Hades, mistaken by Spenser for one of the Furies. Cf. TM, 164 and note.
423 fellow Furies: ‘comites heroidas’ (heroine throng), Culex, 261.
425 Alceste: Alcestis chose to die in place of her husband Admetus who had offended the goddess Artemis.
430 Penelope remained true to the absent Odysseus despite pressure to remarry from a throng of unwanted suitors. Cf. Amor, 23. 1–4 and notes.
431 rulesse: either pitiless (rueless) or unruly (ruleless).
433–80 For Orpheus and Eurydice cf. SC, October, [28] and note.
435 looking back: her husband’s act of looking back, not hers.
440 Stygian: infernal (from the River Styx).
441 Phlegeton: a river of fire in Hades. Cf. FQ, 2. 4. 41.
442 compassed: surrounded, encircled.
443 rustie: rust-red (i.e. the colour of Phlegeton’s molten flow).
fowle fashion: hideous sights (i.e. things of foul appearance).
444 Tartar: Tartarus, abode of the wicked in the underworld.
446 The judges of the underworld were Minos, Rhadamanthus and Aeacus. Cf. Plato, Gorgias, 523e–524a; Ovid, Metamorphoses, 9. 434–41.
455 shrill: for ‘sonorae’ (echoing, sonorous), Culex, 281.
459 monthly: alluding to Diana’s lunar cycle.
462 Queene of hell: Proserpina.
463 fere: spouse, mate.
465 approoued: found or proved by experience.
468 arere: backwards (arrear).
473–80 Greatly expanded from Culex, 294–6.
481 Aeacus: son of Jupiter, wa
s made a judge in the underworld as a reward for his justice on earth. Cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses, 13. 25–8.
489 th’one: Telamon wedded his captive Hesione, the sister of King Priam of Troy, and fathered Teucer.
rauisht of: captivated by.
491 th’other… Thetis: Peleus fathered Achilles by Thetis, a goddess of the sea. Cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses, 11. 217–28.
492 Nereus: a god of the sea.
493–6 youngman… fyre: Ajax, son of Telamon, who prevented Hector from burning the Greek ships.
495 Argolick: Grecian (from the city of Argos).
496 Bett: beat.
497 diuorces: divisions or contentions (Latin divortium).
500 Teucrian: Trojan (from Teucer, first king of Troy).
501 Sigœan: Trojan (from Sigeum, a promontory of the Troad).
502 Simois… Xanthus: rivers near Troy.
503 Hector: son of King Priam and principal defender of Troy.
505 Ida: a mountain of Phrygia near Troy. Cf. SC, Julye, [59], [146] and notes.
511 Rhetœan: Trojan (from Rhoeteum, a promontory of the Troad).
513 sonne of Telamon: Ajax.
514 thwarting: holding crosswise.
523 Argos: Greece (from Argos, capital city of Argolis in the Peloponnesus).
defend: fend off, ward off.
524 Vulcane: the god of fire.
525 th’one Aeacide: one grandson of Aeacus, Ajax.
526 th’other: Achilles.
Phrygian: Trojan. Troy lay in Phrygia in Asia Minor.
528 thrice: according to Virgil, Aeneid, 1. 483.
530 unfaithfull Paris: Paris, son of Priam, stole Helen from her husband Menelaus and slew Achilles by piercing him in the heel.
531–2 him… ambushment: distorting Culex, 325–6. Ajax went mad and killed himself when Ulysses outwitted him in the contest for Achilles’ arms. There was no ambush (cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses, 13. 1–398).
533 Laërtes sonne: Ulysses.
535 Strymonian Rhœsus: Rhesus, son of the Thracian river god Strymon, was murdered by Ulysses and Diomede to frustrate the prophecy that Troy would not fall once his horses drank from the River Xanthus.
536 Dolons… surprysall: Dolon was a Trojan spy cunningly ambushed and killed by Ulysses (cf. Homer, Iliad, 10. 314–464).
537 Cycones: Thracian allies of Troy (cf. Homer, Odyssey, 9. 39–61).
538 Lœstrigones: enormous cannibals who destroyed all of the Greek ships except for Ulysses’ own (cf. Homer, Odyssey, 10. 80–132).
539 Scilla: the daughter of Phorcus who was transformed by Circe into a hybrid sea monster, having a female form girdled with savage dogs.
541 Aetnean Cyclops: The Cyclopses acted as assistants to the god Vulcan whose forge was situated under Mount Etna.
542 Charybdis: a whirlpool in the straits of Messina.
543 Tartarie: Tartarus (alluding to Ulysses’ descent to the lower world).
545 Agamemnon: king of Mycenae, leader of the Greeks at Troy.
546 Tantalus: great-grandfather of Agamemnon.
549 Dorick: Greek (the Dorians were a Hellenic tribe).
Iliack: Trojan (from Ilion, Homer’s name for Troy).
552 Hellespont: used loosely here for the Aegean. The Greeks suffered shipwreck off the coast of Euboea.
557 type: summit.
glaunce: blow, impact.
562 Ericthonian: Trojan (Erichthonius was the son of Dardanus, king of Troy).
564 scowre: pass rapidly over, traverse rapidly.
567 Nereis: a Nereid, i.e. a daughter of the sea-god Nereus.
568 claue: cleaved, cut.
573 loadstarre: guiding star by which to navigate.
576 impeach: hinder, prevent.
586 Caphareus: a promontory of Euboea.
587 Euboick: of the island of Euboea, east of the Greek mainland.
588 Hercœan: unidentified, as Spenser indicates (possibly a corruption of Aegean).
599–600 Fabij… Horatij: famous Roman families. Quintus Fabius Maximus frustrated Hannibal; P. Decius Mus sacrificed his life in the Latin War; Horatius Codes defended the Sublician bridge in the war with Lars Porsenna.
601 Camill: Marcus Furius Camillus captured the Etruscan city of Veii and saved Rome from the Gauls.
602 Curtius: Manius Curtius plunged into a mysterious chasm in the Forum (later known as the Lacus Curtius) thereby causing it to close.
606 Mutius: Mucius Scaevola demonstrated Roman defiance of Lars Porsenna by thrusting his hand into a flame.
609 Curius: Manius Curius Dentatus conquered the Sabines and defeated King Pyrrhus.
611 Flaminius: unidentified, but the pun on ‘flamma’ (flame) at Culex, 368 may suggest Caecilius Metellus who lost his sight rescuing the Palladium (a sacred image of Pallas) from the burning temple of Vesta.
613–16 The unclear syntax reflects textual ambiguity at Culex, 370–71.
613 either Scipion: Scipio Africanus (236–183 BC) defeated Hannibal at the battle of Zama thereby assuring victory in the second Punic War; Scipio Aemilianus (185–129 BC) destroyed Carthage itself thereby concluding the third Punic War.
615 vow’d: for ‘devota’ (doomed to destruction), Culex, 370.
623 Minos: king of Crete, and son of Zeus, one of the three judges of the lower world. Cf. note to line 446 above.
632 intollerable: unbearable, insupportable.
638 seuer: scatter, disperse.
641 fit: bout, spell.
651 squaring… compasse: fashioning all around, playing on the notion of squaring the circle (‘orbem’) of the gnat’s tomb, Culex, 396.
well beseene: of pleasant aspect.
657 hoorded: stacked, piled.
664 scape: escape.
670 Costmarie: a form of chrysanthemum grown as a flavouring herb. Cf. Muiop, 195.
671 Saffron… Cilician: Cilicia in Asia Minor was famed for saffron (Crocus sativus). Cf. Ovid, Fasti, 1. 76.
672 Lawrell: associated with Phoebus Apollo as the god of poetry. Cf. TW, sonnet 7. 12 and note.
673 Rhododaphne: oleander.
Sabine flowre: savin (Juniperus sabina), a small evergreen shrub. Cf. FQ, 3. 2. 49.
676 Box… offence: for ‘bocchus’ at Culex, 406, named after King Bocchus of Mauretania who betrayed his son-in-law Jugurtha to the Romans (Sallust, Jugurtha, 113–14).
677 Amaranthus: in Thomas Watson’s Amynta (1585), adapted from Tasso’s pastoral play, Amintas dies for love and is transformed into an amaranthus. Abraham Fraunce translated the work into English in 1587.
679 Narcisse: dying through self-love, Narcissus was transformed into the flower of the same name. Cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses, 3. 339–510.
687 in lieu: see note to line 333 above.
Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale
George Puttenham defines ‘prosopopoia’ as ‘the Counterfait in Personation’ (cf. ECE, 2. 170), and Spenser’s use of the term seems to apply both to his own literary skill in ‘counterfeiting’ the poem’s personae and to the malign social impersonations of the fox and the ape. The work takes the form of four beast fables, loosely inspired by the cycle of Renard the Fox – available to Spenser in the translations of Caxton (1481) and Gaultier (1550) – and narrated by the traditional story-teller Mother Hubberd at a time of plague, like the stories narrated in Boccaccio’s Decameron. The astrological detail of the opening lines obliquely signals the work’s satiric emphasis in recalling the departure of Virgo (Astraea or Justice) from a corrupt world (1–8): the golden age, we learn, has been succeeded by an age of iron (141–53, 254). Thereafter the work is carefully structured to present, in ascending order of seriousness, a wide range of political and ecclesiastical abuses stretching from the impostures of masterless vagabonds at one end of the social scale to the systematic, but disconcertingly similar, abuse of courtly office at the other. Implicit in the account is the responsibility of the ‘sleeping’ or ‘sluggish’ lion (952–4, 1327), representing the permissive or careless monarch, f
or the worst of the nation’s troubles. No less than divine intervention is necessary to awaken royal vengeance (1225-332) – a political achievement to which the poem itself would seem to aspire.
The pervasive pastoral imagery links the poem’s concerns with those of The Shepheardes Calender. The fox and the ape first abuse their position as shepherds (303–40), then as pastors or spiritual ‘shepherds’ (431–574), and finally as courtiers or political ‘shepherds’ (1205–22). In the mode of medieval estates’ satire their trail of corruption encompasses the citizenry, the church, the court and ultimately the monarchy itself. Yet the maintenance of the traditional social hierarchy is perceived to be vital to social stability: the radicalism of the fox’s philosophy with its emphasis upon ‘libertie’ and community of goods taps the deepest anxieties of a conservative society (129–53).
Spenser’s assertion in his dedication that the poem was ‘long sithens composed in the raw conceipt of my youth’ has occasioned much debate concerning the date of composition. If, as is generally suspected, the fourth episode reflects worries concerning the Queen’s proposed marriage to the Duc d’Alençon (whose ambassador Simier is thought to be figured in the ape) and the possible alienation of the crown to the House of Valois, some version of the text must date from 1579 or 1580. As Lord Burghley was commonly believed to favour the French match, he is a good candidate for the fox (cf. The Ruines of Time, 216–17). At the time of publication, however, the Queen’s marriage was no longer an issue yet contemporary evidence suggests that attempts were made to have the poem ‘called in’ thereby increasing both its popularity and its price [cf. Peterson (1997)]. Writing in 1592 Gabriel Harvey observes that ‘Mother-Hubbard in the heat of choler, forgetting the pure sanguine of her sweete Feary Queene, wilfully over-shot her malcontented selfe’ (Works, 1. 164), and the account is largely substantiated by Thomas Nashe (Works, 1. 281–2). As the following notes demonstrate, thinly veiled criticism of Lord Burghley and his son Robert Cecil is likely to have prompted official action. In view of Burghley’s position as Lord Treasurer, the fox’s obsession with the accumulation of ‘treasure’ (1171–2, 1306), the illegal enrichment of his ‘cubs’ (1151–8) and the formulation of devious ‘pollicie’ (1036) seem to underscore Spenser’s satiric intention. Whereas passages obliquely critical of Burghley in The Ruines of Time were tacitly altered in the folio edition of 1611, Mother Hubberds Tale was not republished until after the death of Robert Cecil.
The Shorter Poems Page 73
