The Shorter Poems

by Edmund Spenser

  152 mothers bosome: Gea or earth (hence the spelling ‘geaunts’ in FQ).

  153 all… it: although it were.

  loue… sire: ambiguous in Du Bellay (11. 13). Here presumably alluding to the Titan Cronus, Jove’s father.

  155–8 The Giants piled Mount Ossa upon Mount Pelion in an attempt to storm heaven. Cf. Virgil, Georgics, 1. 278–83; Ovid, Metamorphoses, 1. 151–5.

  167 scorned: contemptible (in comparison with lost glory)

  168 secure: free from apprehension or anxiety.

  169 aspiring: rising or mounting up.

  174 rust: in the sense of erosion.

  175 vnstable: fickle, changeable.

  176 opposd’… puissance: in the civil wars.

  178 that God: the Tiber. Cf. Ovid, Fasti, 5. 637–62.

  snakie-paced: moving in a sinuous, serpentine course, Du Bellay’s ‘tortueux’ (13. 10).

  180 abaced: cast down, humbled.

  185 aboord: adrift (apparently a unique usage).

  189 vaine foolhardise: empty or feigned bravado.

  191–2 Troy… colde: cf. Homer, Iliad, 22. 369–75.

  191 dastards: despicable cowards.

  192 braue: swagger.

  202–3 Styx… three: the River Styx encircled Hades nine times. Cf. Virgil, Aeneid, 6. 439.

  203 wards: defensive circuits.

  207 accrewe: increase.

  211–14 Like… poyse: cf. Virgil, Georgics, 3. 237–40.

  213 shouldred narre: shoved or thrust nearer.

  214 poyse: impact.

  215 Boreas: the north wind, a Titan in Greek mythology. Cf. line 358.

  218 cariere: career, course.

  220 spyre: spiral upwards.

  225–6 Bird… fire: the eagle, emblem of imperial Rome, traditionally bore Jove’s thunderbolts. Cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses, 12. 560–61.

  233 Germane… disguise: Spenser has misunderstood Du Bellay where the raven disguises itself as the eagle, i.e. the new Gothic kingdoms assume the imperial mantle and, ultimately, the Holy Roman Empire arises from Rome’s fall.

  234 cleaue asunder: Spenser mistakes Du Bellay’s ‘feindre’ (feign) for ‘fendre’ (cleave) (17. 10).

  239–52 For this motif cf. Propertius, Elegies, 4. 1; Ovid, Fasti, 5. 93–4.

  241 maystred: overcome, subdued.

  244 hynde: farmer, shepherd.

  245–8 yearely… tooke: Roman consuls held office for a year, dictators for six months but with much wider powers. Julius Caesar became perpetual dictator thereby paving the way to empire.

  250 Peters successor: the Pope, alluding to the ‘Donation of Constantine’ whereby imperial power was allegedly transferred to the papacy.

  betooke: delivered, handed over.

  252 all… being: cf. FQ, 7. 7. 58.

  253–4 Cf. note to line 122 above.

  260 Pandora… store: Pandora’s chest, a wedding gift from Zeus, was variously reported to contain all worldly blessings or evils. Cf. TM, 578; Amor, 24. 8–12 and note.

  261 huge Chaos: Rome itself, as a chaotic blend of good and evil.

  turmoyling: agitating, throwing into a state of turmoil.

  269 compas arch’t: arched in a circle (as a rainbow).

  270 Tethys bosome: the ocean. Tethys, a Titan, and wife to Oceanus, personified the fecundity of the sea. Du Bellay confuses her with Thetis, a lesser sea-goddess and mother of Achilles (20. 4). Cf. note to line 44 above. The two figures were often conflated. Cf. Comes, Mythologiae, 8. 2.

  271–4 mounting… horld: cf. Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, 6. 451–534.

  272 spreds: overspreads, extends over.

  274 horld: hurled.

  279 vade: fade, perish.

  281–94 For the topos of Rome’s self-destruction cf. Horace, Epodes, 16. 1–10; Lucan, Pharsalia, 1. 1–32.

  281 Pyrrhus: king of Epirus and antagonist of Rome during the Pyrrhic Wars (282–272 BC).

  281–2 puissance of Afrike: the city of Carthage, Rome’s opponent in the three Punic Wars. Du Bellay refers more specifically to ‘le Mars de Libye’ or Hannibal (21. 1).

  282 braue Citie: Rome.

  285 freakes: vagaries, unpredictable upsets.

  289 obiect: external enemies, the external object of her valour.

  292 for: because of.

  294 port… riue: proverbial for the destruction of arrogant success.

  296 Byze: Byzantium.

  300 Harten: take heart or courage.

  304 sixe… ronne: the duration of the ‘great year’ which marked the return of all of the heavenly bodies to their point of origin (their ‘compast course’) was variously estimated. Cf. Boccaccio, Genealogia, 8. 2.

  307–8 seedes… Chaos: cf. Lucan, Pharsalia, i. 72–82; for the seeds of creation cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses, 1. 5–20; the Gardens of Adonis, FQ, 3. 6. 30–38.

  309 the man: Scipio Nasica opposed Cato’s call for the destruction of Carthage. Cf. Plutarch, Cato Major, 27.

  would: willed or wished.

  310 spoile… forborne: should be preserved from destruction.

  312 cancring laisure: corrupting leisure.

  316 matter: material, substance.

  320 humours superfluitie: an excess of one of the four bodily humours of blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile.

  322 prince… kin: a garbled version of Du Bellay’s ‘du beaupere et du gendre’ (of the father-in-law and son-in-law), referring to Pompey’s marriage to Caesar’s daughter Julia (23. 14).

  323 blinde furie: the spirit of civil war, cf. Horace, Epodes, 7. 13–20; Lucan, Pharsalia, 1. 8.

  324 equall: of the same species, uniform.

  327 Erynnis: a Fury. Cf. ‘civilis Erinys’, the frenzy of civil war at Lucan, Pharsalia, 4. 187; VG, 394 and note.

  328 grype: grasp, clutch.

  imbew’d: inspired.

  332 old sinne: Rome was often considered to be cursed for the destruction of Carthage.

  334 brothers blood: the murder of Remus by Romulus was held to have entailed the curse of civil war. Cf. Horace, Epodes, 7. 17–20.

  334–5 spilt… walls: for this detail cf. Lucan, Pharsalia, 1. 95.

  336 foundation sure: cf. Luke 6: 48–9.

  337 Thracian… harpe: Orpheus’ harp. Cf. Comes, Mythologiae, 7. 14; SC, October, [28] and note.

  341 Amphions: Amphion’s music built the walls of Thebes. Cf. Horace, Ars Poetica, 394–6; Boccaccio, Genealogia, 5. 30.

  344 Ausonian: Italian, from Ausonia an antique name for southern Italy common in Virgil.

  347 paterne: example, model (i.e. by imitating Virgil).

  349 leuell: punning on a builder’s spirit-level. Cf. ‘Virgils spirit diuine’ at line 347.

  350 compyle: put (back) together, reconstruct.

  351 forth to figure: imagine, form a conception of.

  352 vsage right: correct use or employment.

  353 line: plumb-line.

  lead: bob or lump of lead at the end of a plumb-line.

  rule: ruler.

  squaire: set square for measuring right angles.

  355 in… round: right around, the whole circumference.

  357 where… ground: tropical Africa.

  yerely starre: Du Bellay’s ‘l’Astre annuel’, the sun (26. 7).

  358 where… Boreas: the Arctic regions. Cf. note to line 215 above.

  360 equalize: match, coincide with. The notion that names encode the true nature of things is both biblical and Platonic. Cf. Genesis, 2. 19–20; Plato, Cratylus.

  362 comprize: include, comprehend.

  363 Plot: ground-plan, map.

  367 heapes: with biblical nuances, cf. Isaiah 25: 2.

  371 helde… best: held in highest esteem.

  372 Yet: still, Du Bellay’s ‘encor’ (27. 8).

  paternes borne: taken for models or exemplars. Du Bellay’s ‘servent d’exemples’ (27. 8).

  375 buildings… gay: substituted for Du Bellay’s ‘d’œuvres divines’ (27. 11) to suggest the ‘Whore of Babylon’. Cf. MHT, 23
1 and note.

  376 Romaine Dœmon: the Genius or guardian spirit of Rome. Cf. RT, 19 and note.

  377 himselfe… enforce: strive or exert himself.

  378 pouldred: reduced to dust, pulverized (powdered).

  379–92 Du Bellay applies to Rome a comparison Lucan applied to Pompey (Pharsalia, 1. 136–43). Cf. SC, Februarie, 102–14, 207–12 and notes.

  382 foote: root.

  384 wreathed: twisted, contorted.

  387 owe… winde: is bound to fall with the first gust of wind.

  388 deuout: in the sense of superstitious.

  394 embraue: embellish, adorn.

  395–6 Ionicke… Corinth: the standard architectural orders as listed by Du Bellay (29. 2–3). The general term ‘Atticke’ (Athenian) embraces them all.

  396 graue: carve, engrave.

  397 Lysippus: cf. note to RT, 417 above.

  practike: skilful, experienced.

  398 Apelles: ancient Greek painter of the courts of Philip of Macedon and Alexander the Great. Cf. Pliny, Natural History, 35. 36. 79–97.

  Phidias: ancient Greek sculptor famed for the statue of Zeus at Olympia. Cf. RT, 491 and note.

  402 strange: unfamiliar, marvellous (from the proverb ‘ex Africa semper aliquid novi’, Africa always produces something strange).

  403 of prise: of great value (that was highly prized).

  407–10 An ironic application of a simile used in the Gospels to describe the imperishable Kingdom of God. Cf. Mark 4: 26–9.

  412 heares: ears.

  414 reares: sets up, raises.

  418 pill: pillage, plunder (as though it were a stone quarry).

  419 gleane: gather stray ears of corn left by the reapers.

  421–34 For Rome’s self-destruction cf. note to lines 281–94 above.

  421 champian: level open country or plain.

  424 Nyle… Euphrate: the four rivers which fostered ancient civilization.

  426 Thamis brincks: banks of the Thames.

  427 Alemaine: Germany.

  428 Rhine… drinks: drinks the running waters of the Rhine. Possibly alluding to Gideon’s preference for warriors who lapped up river water over those who knelt to drink it. Cf. Judges 7: 4–8.

  430 Aemathian fields: Lucan’s phrase for the battlefield of Pharsalia where Caesar defeated Pompey (Pharsalia, 1. 1); Emathia was in Macedonia.

  431 As at line 322 Spenser has missed, or deleted, Du Bellay’s specific reference to the conflict between Caesar and Pompey (31. 11).

  proper: own.

  435–48 For artistic immortality cf. E. K.’s gloss to SC, December, ‘Embleme’ and the concluding epilogue; RT, 400–406.

  437–8 that… meed: that such poor harp’s work (poetry) may ever claim the reward of immortality.

  441 Porphyre: porphyry, a form of reddish marble.

  443 Phœbus: Apollo, as patron of music and poetry.

  446–8 how… long: adapting Horace, Odes, 3. 30. 12–14.

  448 gowned long: wearing the toga. Cf. Virgil’s description of the Romans as ‘gentemque togatam’, people of the toga (Aeneid, 1. 282).

  449–62 Spenser’s addition to the sequence, and in form partly an English sonnet and partly Spenserian (rhyming ababcdcddedeff).

  449 garland: in the figurative sense of ‘glory’ or adornment.

  452 writs: writings.

  454 dead decayes: lifeless ruins.

  459–60 Bartas… Muse: alluding to Du Bartas’s Uranie (1574). Cf. TM, 480a and note. A translation from a Roman Catholic poet ends with praise of a staunchly Protestant poet. Spenser was much impressed by Du Bartas’s most famous work, La Semaine (1578).

  Mviopotmos, or The Fate of the Butterflie

  The playful beast fable of Muiopotmos affords a striking contrast to the ponderous solemnity of the preceding poem yet continues its exploration of mutability and decay in a different key. Underlying the whole narrative lies a learned pun: the Greek word psyche means both ‘soul’ and ‘butterfly’ and the mock-heroic style of Spenser’s epyllion (or little epic) is brilliantly designed to exploit this ambiguity. Depending upon the reader’s viewpoint the tale means everything or nothing – or both. The myth of Cupid and Psyche, to which the narrative alludes (129–36), was traditionally allegorized as the soul’s journey towards God and Spenser had recently developed its deeper applications in The Faerie Queene (3. 6. 50–52). Not surprisingly, therefore, Muiopotmos has often been interpreted as a ‘tragick’ (413) variant on the same theme with the butterfly (as the soul) falling prey to the devilish Aragnoll (433–6) through the ‘riotous excesse’ (168) of sensual indulgence (179) or vainglorious presumption (41–5, 209–14). Such a reading is possible but reductive. Clarion’s youthful beauty and innocence are just as evident as his folly (169–84). He is a ‘foolish Flie without foresight’ (389) who mistakes the world for ‘Paradise’ (186) and roams about, unaware of the existence of spiders, in ‘the pride of his freedome principall’ (380) and ‘regardles of his gouernaunce’ (384). Yet while such false security certainly contributes to his downfall, he is also the innocent victim of ancestral malice (241–56), envy (337–52) and ‘fell spight’ (436), and his ‘fate’ has sometimes been regarded as a warning to unwary courtiers and princes of the need for prudence and circumspection. Spenser’s appeal to Lady Carey to place ‘a milde construction’ on his work, combined with his allusion to the ‘rancour’ of ‘mightie men’ (16), has fuelled the search for topical allusions but none of those suggested is particularly compelling. Uncertainty as to the date of composition greatly complicates the matter. The title-page gives a date of 1590, a year earlier than the other title-pages of Complaints, but this may simply refer to the date of printing and may conceivably be old style (referring to the first three months of 1591).

  The mock-heroic description of the butterfly owes much to Virgil’s Culex (which Spenser translated – also in ottava rima – as Virgils Gnat) and to his description of the kingdom of the bees in the Georgics. As the latter work reminds us that the spider ‘is hateful to Minerva’ (4. 246–7) it forms a bridge between the main storyline and the mythological insets, borrowed from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, describing the weaving contest of Pallas (Minerva) and Arachne and the latter’s transformation into a spider (257-352). The transformation of Astery into a butterfly (113–44) is original to Spenser but Ovidian in manner. The insertion of such passages lends considerable complexity to an otherwise simple narrative and the interpretation of the work largely depends upon the perceived thematic relationship between the various episodes. Spenser’s use of Ovidian materials has been interpreted, for example, as commenting obliquely upon the fraught relationship between artistic liberty and political control, the poet finding safe haven – figured here in the branches of the peaceful olive tree (326–36) – only within the aesthetic constraints of political patronage, flourishing or perishing within the politician’s web [cf. Bernard (1989), 118–22].

  On a more general level the conflict between Pallas and Arachne gives prominence to the imagery of weaving and thereby to the relationship between art and life (280, 329–36) [cf. Dundas (1975)]. Clarion’s fate is ‘wouen’ (235) by Jove as surely as the butterfly which occasions Arachne’s transformation is woven into Pallas’ tapestry. Yet Arachne’s skill survives her fall: art becomes nature in the person of the spider who weaves the net that entraps Clarion (357). Pallas’ artificial butterfly seems alive, but the real butterfly dies in the ‘curious networke’ of Aragnoll’s web (368), and all of these fictitious creatures are themselves spun into the verbal tapestry of Spenser’s text. In the pleasure gardens frequented by Clarion ‘Arte’ aspires to ‘excell the naturall’ (165–6), yet the text reminds us that nothing earthly ‘can long abide in state’ (217). Cf. Allen (1956); J. H. Anderson (1971); Bender (1972); Bond (1976); Brinkley (1981); Grant (1979); B. Harris (1944); Hulse (1981); Macfie (1990); Morey (1988), (1995); A. D. Weiner (1985); W. Wells (1945).

  Dedication To the right worthy…

  Ladi
e… Carey: Elizabeth Spencer (1557–1618), daughter of Sir John Spencer of Althorp, married Sir George Carey, Lord Hunsdon (later patron of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men) in 1574. She is celebrated as ‘Phyllis’ at CCH, 541–7 and is one of the dedicatees of FQ.

  7 person yeelded: the body itself delivered up.

  13 vnminded: disregarded.

  13–14 name… vouchsafed: Spenser also claims kinship to the Spencers of Althorp in the dedications to TM, MHT and at CCH, 536–9; Proth, 130–31.

  19 take in worth: take in good part.

  20 milde construction: innocent interpretation. Spenser disavows and simultaneously encourages political interpretation.

  Muiopotmos

  1 sing… debate: a mock-heroic opening in imitation of Homer’s Iliad.

  2 Nemesis: goddess of divine retribution, often dealing destruction to the arrogant, vainglorious or those guilty of hubris.

  3 mightie ones: possibly Minerva and Arachne [cf. W. Wells (1945)]. Ovid’s Arachne is lowly born but gains renown through her skill (Metamorphoses, 6. 7–16). The application of the first two stanzas to the rest of the poem is problematic and does not accord well with the story of Clarion and Aragnoll. Topical allusion is possible.

  10 Muse: Melpomene. Cf. SC, November, 53; TM, 115–74.

  14 Clarion: trumpet, an emblem of fame. Cf. RT, 434; TM, 457–63. The sense of the Latin clarus, ‘brilliant’ or ‘bright’, may also be present.

  14–15 declyne… wretchednes: regarding tragedy as the ‘fall of great men’ after the fashion of Chaucer’s Monk’s Tale. Cf. RT, 43–56; TM, 151–62.

  15–16 And… men: adapting Virgil’s question about the gods (Aeneid, 1. 11).

  17 Flies: insects.

  18 Empire… aire: cf. note to line 212 below.

  23 Muscaroll: from the Latin musca, ‘a fly’.

  26 toward: promising.

  28 equall peares: his contemporaries, his fellows.

  29 forered: betoken, predict.

  39 inquire: investigate, explore.

  44–5 mount… hight: a mock-heroic version of Platonic ascent from the earthly to the celestial. Cf. HL, 57–70.

  48 tempt… winde: assay the tempestuous wind.

  51 Hyperions… childe: Ovid’s periphrasis for Apollo (Metamorphoses, 4. 192, 241). The Titan Hyperion was the father of the sun god.