Spenser and Virgil: The Pastoral Poems

This volume examines Spenser's pastoral poetry, which announces the inception of a Virgilian career in The Shepheardes Calender and Colin Clouts Come Home Againe, revealing a profound debt to Virgil and a deep-seated unease with his values and priorities. It draws on the commentary tradition and engages with current critical debates to cast new light on both poets and the genre of pastoral itself.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 368 pages
Publication date: 08 September 2020
Publisher: Manchester University Press

Spenser, often referred to as the English Virgil during his lifetime, has been compared to the Augustan laureate ever since. He welcomed this comparison, hoping that a readership familiar with Virgil's works would recognize and interpret his intricate web of allusion and imitation, as well as his significant departures and transformations. This volume examines Spenser's pastoral poetry, which marked the beginning of a Virgilian career in The Shepheardes Calender and later reappeared in Colin Clouts Come Home Againe, reversing the trajectory of the Virgilian career. Through his sustained dialogue with Virgil's Eclogues, Spenser's work reveals a profound debt to Virgil while simultaneously expressing a deep-seated unease with his values and priorities, particularly his subordination of pastoral to epic. By drawing on the commentary tradition and engaging with current critical debates, this study of Spenser's interpretation, imitation, and revision of Virgil sheds new light on both poets and the pastoral genre itself.

Weight: 466g
Dimension: 140 x 216 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781526119889