“The Faerie Queene was intended by its author to be a philosophical poem and was so regarded by his contemporaries and immediate successors, whose appreciation of it was so great.” — Janet Spens Copy Share Image
“We have, then, three Books wholly and one partially written before, and two after, the Preface; and only one of the first four is… — Janet Spens Copy Share Image
“Most critics agree with the seventeenth-century printer who gave them to the world, that the Mutabilitie Cantos seem to be part of some following… — Janet Spens Copy Share Image
“The aim I have set before me in this book is to give back to English readers the understanding of and delight in this… — Janet Spens Copy Share Image
“The Faerie Queene was intended by its author to be a philosophical poem and was so regarded by his contemporaries and immediate successors, whose… — Janet Spens Copy Share Image
“We have then, in the first part of The Faerie Queene, four of the seven deadly sins depicted in the more important passages of… — Janet Spens Copy Share Image
“Now the twelfth canto of Book II is an almost literal translation from Tasso description in the Jerusalem Delivered of the island of Armida.… — Janet Spens Copy Share Image
“Thus, on the one hand, Spenser's thought is steeped in sensuous detail, so that for him there is no really abstract thinking; men, he… — Janet Spens Copy Share Image
“The sin of Book I is at first sight more obscure, but it is particularly significant. We have seen that there appear to be… — Janet Spens Copy Share Image
“The most interesting inconsistency in thought is connected with the Bower of Bliss. This passage--the twelfth canto of the second Book--is probably the best… — Janet Spens Copy Share Image
