Edmund Spenser

1552–1599

10
SPENSER READING THE FAIRIE QUEEN TO RALEIGH.
Edmund Spenser is one of the most important poets of the Elizabethan Era. His masterpiece, The Fairie Queen remains one of the most renowned epic poems in the English language. Spenser was a contemporary, and a close friend of Sir Walter Raleigh, who introduced him to Elizabeth's court. Both Spenser and Raleigh served in their youth in campaigns in Ireland, and both were granted estates there. The Fairie Queen was written in Ireland, but it is an allegorical work, tracing the history of the Tudor dynasty. It is of particular interest to students of English history because many of the mythical characters and incidents in the poem are reflective of actual English characters and circumstances, and the prospect of matching personalities represented in the book to actual historical persons is of continuing interest.

Spenser was ultimately granted a pension in appreciation of the poem, and continued to revise and add to it for the rest of his life.


Key events during the life of Edmund Spenser:


Year
Event
1552
 Edmund Spenser born in England
1570
 Went to Ireland to help put down Desmond Rebellion
1580
 Granted lands in Ireland confiscated from the Munsters
  Made acquaintance with Walter Raleigh. Began to compose the The Fairie Queen
1590
 Published the first version of The Fairie Queen.
1591
 Received a small pension in recognition of his work.
1596
 Published the second version of The Fairie Queen.
1599
 Death of Spenser.

Other Resources


Story Links
Book Links
Spenser—'The Shepherd's Calendar'  in  English Literature for Boys and Girls  by  H. E. Marshall
Fairy Queen  in  The Awakening of Europe  by  M. B. Synge
England's Greatness in the Days of Elizabeth  in  The Tudors and the Stuarts  by  M. B. Synge

Book Links
Stories from the Faerie Queen Told to the Children  by  Jeanie Lang


Image Links


Spenser read the first part of his book, 'The Faery Queen' to Raleigh.
 in English Literature for Boys and Girls

Spenser reading the Fairie Queene to Raleigh
 in The Tudors and the Stuarts


Contemporary
Short Biography
Walter Raleigh Courtier of Queen Elizabeth. Explorer, mastermind of the Jamestown colony in Virginia.
Elizabeth I Led England through tumultuous age of reformation and discovery. Reigned 45 years.