The Shorter Poems

by Edmund Spenser

  Gloss

  [19] Infelix… pecus: ‘O ever luckless flock of sheep’ (Eclogues, 3. 3).

  [26] Theocritus… Virgile: cf. Idylls, 1. 23–56; 5. 20–30; Eclogues, 3. 28–51.

  [46] Pousse: pulse, field of peas.

  [131] Et… hic: ‘You deserve the heifer and he also’ (Eclogues, 3. 109).

  enterchaunge: exchange.

  [138] Paris: cf. Julye, [146], [147] and note.

  [138] pryce: award, trophy.

  Emblem

  dew: due.

  moderate: control, restrain.

  leaue of with: quit or end with.

  September

  September, the third and last of Spenser’s ecclesiastical eclogues, is directed, according to the ‘Argument’, against the ‘loose liuing of Popish prelates’. Its model is Mantuan’s ninth eclogue which attacks the depravity of the Roman curia and extols, by way of contrast, the virtues of the good shepherd. Yet the ‘farre countrye’ deplored by Diggon Davie is never expressly identified, and the term ‘popish’ is richly ambiguous. Frequently, as the following notes indicate, overt satire of Rome insinuates oblique satire of the Anglican establishment, a circumstance that accounts for Hobbinol’s fear that his friend may speak ‘to plaine’ (136). The setting of topical satire in a ‘forraine’ location is a standard device of the form: the corruption of the ‘other’ is found within a divided self.

  Diggon Davie has been convincingly identified with Richard Davies, bishop of the Welsh diocese of St David’s, a figure well placed to speak from experience. His own diocese had suffered at the hands of greedy courtiers (122–35) and he had served on Archbishop Grindal’s commission of inquiry into ecclesiastical abuses [cf. McLane (1961), 216–34]. From his viewpoint, a mercenary market in religious commodities has supplanted Christ’s spiritual generosity (34–7; 96–9). Not surprisingly, therefore, the moral complaints of Maye and Julye are aggravated here in the same ‘flatt’ diction (105) and rugged tetrameters. The structure is also similar with dialogue giving way to moralized fable (180–225).

  While the precise details of Roffy’s ‘particular Action’ (as E. K. terms it, [180–225]) have eluded interpretation, his discovery of a wolf in sheep’s clothing – in a country in which ‘wolves’ are supposed to have been exterminated (150–55) – is suggestive of a successful act of opposition to the Jesuit mission. His call for ‘watchfulnesse’ (230–35) would probably evoke a more optimistic response from Protestant readers than it elicits from Hobbinol (236–41) who sympathizes with the endeavour but despairs of success [cf. Hume (1984), 37–9]. This is all the more significant in that the pastoral topos underlying the satire traditionally pits a corrupt town against an innocent country. But Hobbinol’s pastoral paradise seems far less idyllic than it did in June (1–13). Now ‘the Westerne wind bloweth sore’ (49) and he feels ‘stiffe’ and ‘stanck’ (47). Evils abound in Arcadia too, and innocence, in itself, is no guarantee of immunity [cf. Gless (1994), 19–22]. Echoes of Virgil’s first and ninth eclogues – poems of war, wolves and dispossession – exacerbate the sombre mood with the result that the contrast between home and abroad is considerably blurred.

  Since Roffy is certainly to be identified with Bishop John Young, Spenser has followed Mantuan in denoting his own patron as the archetypal good shepherd, a potent counter-example to the prevailing corruption. By insisting upon the association between Roffy and Colin (176–9) he forges a link between September and August where the vigilance of the good shepherd is depicted on Willye’s mazer (August, 31–4). But Mantuan’s good shepherd is himself a poet whose art is said to surpass that of Orpheus [cf. Eclogues, 9. 215], while Roffy’s ‘boye’ seems increasingly inclined to agree with Virgil’s Moeris that song alone cannot save, or create, the good place [cf. Eclogues, 9. 7–16]. As E. K. observes, Diggon’s emblem is equally applicable to Colin who is again said to represent ‘the Authour selfe’ [176]. In the fullness of time both will be driven ‘for neede to come home agayne’ (67), but to an imperfect country. Cf. Berger (1988); L. S. Johnson (1990); King (1990); Lane (1993); Lindheim (1990).

  September

  1 Diggon Dauie: Diggon is the Welsh form of Diccon, a nickname for Richard. The name suggests that of the candid Davy Diker of Thomas Churchyard’s Davy Dycars Dreame (c. 1552). Cf. King (1990), 25.

  her: him, a Welsh usage probably designed, like others, to prompt the identification of Davie as Richard Davies, bishop of St David’s, who translated the New Testament and prayer book into Welsh.

  2 missaye: speak incorrectly, mistake. Cf. line 106.

  7 dight: maltreated, abused.

  10 at mischiefe: in (or by) misfortune.

  12 gall: chafe.

  13 ripeth vp: (painfully) opens up.

  24 astate: state, condition.

  26 of yore: of old.

  30 dempt: deemed, thought.

  33 being: living, livelihood.

  truely mene: are honestly intentioned or disposed.

  34–5 But… remaine: ‘But there is no better country to be in for those who profit from deceit.’

  36 setten… shame: shamefully sell their wares (referring to simony).

  37 Mart: a common topos of anti-Catholic satire, cf. Maye, 298 and note.

  39 baytes: baits, traps.

  40–41 Or… throte: possibly glancing at the prevalent traffic in ecclesiastical fines and the displacement of worthy ministers from wealthy benefices. If so, apparent satire of Rome encodes oblique satire of Anglicanism.

  44 Bulls: a biblical image. Cf. note to line 124 below.

  bate: fed.

  46 cranck: boldly, vigorously.

  50 souereigntee: supremacy.

  52 vnder… hill: in the shelter of the hill.

  61 Dogge… mouth: Aesop relates how a dog lost the meat it was carrying when it attempted to snatch the reflection. Cf. Fables, no. 185.

  65 pyne: pain, pangs of hunger. Cf. FQ, 1. 9. 35.

  74 wote ne: know not.

  81 ledde of: lead by.

  83 casten to compasse: contrive or plot to accomplish.

  89 holy water: a standard topic of Protestant satire, cf. Februarie, [209].

  doen… drench: drown them all.

  90 high way: an ironic claim since the broad highway leads to hell, the strait and narrow way to heaven (cf. Matthew 7: 13–14).

  91 vndersaye: say by way of reply or riposte.

  93 balk: either miss by error or avoid by intention.

  94–7 Roman Catholic rites of exorcism were commonly associated with black magic by Protestant polemicists.

  95 paund: pawned, staked.

  96 Marrie: by Mary (a common oath).

  great Pan: Christ, cf. Aprill, [50] and note.

  borrow: pledge, security. Cf. Maye, 131 and note.

  99 For… drawe: for which reason (they) would draw.

  100 a… name: in God’s name.

  101 brewed: brought about, caused.

  102 dirke: darkly, in the sense of obscurely or enigmatically.

  103–21 Diggon rehearses the complaints of Maye, 73–94 but qualifies their impact by ascribing them to those who ‘missay’ the clergy. Once again, satire of Rome encodes oblique criticism of Anglicanism: Roman Catholic priests might have mistresses and illegitimate offspring but only Anglican priests had the worldly ‘care’ of wives and families.

  103 to: too.

  104 speake… what: what most concerns shepherds.

  105 flatt: plain, unadorned.

  106 Their… missay: their bad behaviour causes men to speak ill of them.

  107 faye: faith (archaic).

  108 world… war: cf. Februarie, 11–13 and note.

  109 All for: because.

  beastly… blont: sensual and stupid.

  110 note: know not (i.e. a contraction of ne wot).

  111 cote: either sheep-cote or clerical garb. Cf. Julye, 162 and note.

  112 sticke… say: do not hesitate or scruple to say.

  whote… tongue: possibly derived fr
om Isaiah 6: 6–7.

  113 graseth: ‘moves on devouring’ (OED).

  114 casten… care: make too much account of worldly concerns.

  115 deck… Dame: dress their wife (or mistress).

  116–19 The perceived decline in hospitality was often attributed to absenteeism, enclosure of common land and materialism.

  116 encheason: reason. Cf. Maye, 147.

  117 reeking: smoking.

  120 steads: farms, farmsteads.

  121 Monster: the many-headed Hydra slain by Hercules was often allegorized as the multitude.

  122–35 Diggon lends support to the criticism of rapacious patrons who levied extortionate rents upon the incumbents of the livings to which they presented. Prominent courtiers such as Burghley and Leicester were alleged to be complicit in the abuse. Cf. MHT, 515–40.

  122 shooten… pricke: hit nearest the mark or the bull’s-eye.

  123 other… lick: proverbial expression for appropriating the profits of someone else’s labours. Cf. MHT, 78.

  124 Bulles of Basan: cf. Psalms 22: 12–13. Cf. line 44.

  130 wagmoires: quagmires.

  132 wind: draw or pull in twisting movements.

  134 of: off.

  135 leese… grosse: lose the whole.

  136 to: too.

  138 cleanly couer: gloss over, conceal.

  139 forced: enforced, imposed upon us.

  140 creepe: apparently in the sense of ‘get by’ or ‘make do’.

  143 But… choyce: unless he calls them when they want to be called.

  146 But… cal: but it would be better for them to come at their call.

  148 yrent: rent, torn apart.

  149 All… nould: because they would not.

  154 soth: truth.

  155 Foxes: the fox signifies both crypto-Catholics within the Anglican Church, and Catholics who, denied the power to be persecutors (wolves), scheme to regain control. Cf. Maye, 219 and note.

  156–61 Cf. ‘Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves’ (Matthew 7: 15). Probably a topical allusion to the Jesuit missions of 1578–80.

  156 wise: manner.

  158 widely: at large, freely over a wide range.

  159 raungers: forest rangers, gamekeepers. The ‘ranging’ of the keepers curtails the ‘wide ranging’ of the wolf, cf. line 195.

  160 prolling: prowling.

  162 priue… pert: clandestinely or openly.

  164 ball: an odd usage if employed as a common noun. Osgood (1915) and Herford (1932) take it to be the dog’s name. Cf. note to line 190 below.

  169 mayntenaunce: demeanour, behaviour (a Chaucerian usage).

  171 Roffynn: John Young (1534?–1605), Bishop of Rochester (‘Roffensis’ in Latin) and, prior to that, Master of Pembroke Hall, Cambridge during Spenser’s residence. Cf. Aprill, 21 and note.

  172 hight: entails or purports, a pseudo-archaic usage found only in Spenser (OED).

  173 betight: betide, befall.

  174 merciable: merciful.

  175 conuenable: consistent.

  176 selfe boye: his own boy. Spenser was Bishop Young’s secretary.

  180 Thilk… marke: this same shepherd I may well note.

  183 and if but: but if.

  185 gulfe: voracious appetite (the abyss or ‘gulf’ of his stomach).

  186 repayre: make his way, betake himself.

  190 ball: (bawl) howl.

  202 practise: ploy, stratagem.

  203 Argus: cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses, 1. 624–7; Julye, [154].

  206 counterfect: counterfeit.

  210 widder: wider.

  211 hidder… shidder: young male and female sheep (specifically those between eight or nine months old and their first shearing, OED).

  217 Lowder: a common dog’s name.

  227 All for: because.

  deuoyr: duty.

  230 watchfulnesse: cf. Matthew 24: 42–3; 25: 1–13.

  238 fleshe: cf. ‘the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak’ (Matthew 26: 41).

  240 chaungeable rest: rest by way of change from labour, periodic rest.

  255–7 Echoing Virgil, Eclogues, 1. 79–83 but in a gloomier key.

  259 lite: light upon, encounter.

  261 Inopem… fecit: ‘Plenty makes me poor.’

  Gloss

  [10] vsurped of: used by.

  Lidgate… Chaucer: cf. Lydgate, Falls of Princes, 8, epigraph; Chaucer, The Romaunt of the Rose, 4552.

  [47] Stanck: a neologism coined from Italian stanco, ‘weary’.

  [54] Debes… ventis: ‘Beware lest you become the winds’ laughing stock’ (Horace, Odes, 1. 14. 15–16).

  [57] Soote: not used in September.

  [76] Mantuane: cf. Eclogues, 6. 8–9.

  [83] Per Syncopen: ‘By deletion of letters or syllables.’ E. K.’s explanation is incorrect; ‘emprise’ and ‘enterprise’ are wholly distinct.

  [119] Crumenall: a neologism, coined from the Latin crumena, ‘purse’.

  [151] yeare… Lorde: Edgar reigned from AD 959 to 975. The dates appear to have been accidentally omitted in E. K.’s gloss.

  proper policie: Edgar demanded an annual tribute of three hundred wolves from the king of Wales thereby eradicating the species. Cf. Holinshcd, Chronicles, 1. 695.

  [153] Ethelbert: Ethelbert, king of Kent, received St Augustine in 597, converted to Christianity and established the new religion at Canterbury although he did not impose it on his subjects. Ethelbert, king of Wessex, was also for a time king of Kent (855–60). His reign was marred by Danish invasions. E. K.’s explanation is spurious.

  [162] Chaucer: cf. the pseudo-Chaucerian La Belle Dame Sans Mercy, 174.

  [171] Roffy: Raffy Lyonnois is mentioned not in Marot’s Eglogue au Roy soubz les noms de Pan et Robin but in Eglogue sur le Trépas de ma Dame Loyse de Savoye (42). Spenser has merely adapted the name, the persons are quite distinct.

  [176] Musarum Lachrymœ: Smithus, vel Lachrymae Musarum (1578) commemorates the death of Sir Thomas Smith (1577), assigning one lament to each of the nine Muses, a format adapted in TM. For Smith, cf. Januarye, [10] and note.

  Gratulationum Valdinensium: Gratulationes Valdinenses (1578) consists of four books of Latin verse addressed to the Queen and various prominent courtiers including Lord Burghley, the Earl of Leicester and Sir Philip Sidney. The manuscript was presented to the Queen during the progress of 1578 at Audley End in Essex, and the printed version at Hadham Hall in Hertfordshire, the home of Harvey’s friend Arthur Capel.

  Tyrannomastix: not extant.

  Ode Natalitia: published in 1575 to commemorate the death of the rhetorician Peter Ramus in the Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Day (1572). Harvey was a leading exponent of Ramist rhetoric at Cambridge.

  Rameidos: not extant, but the title suggests a further celebration of the life and thought of Peter Ramus.

  Philomusus: not extant, and it is unclear whether this is a separate title or a constituent element of the preceding or succeeding titles.

  Anticosmopolita: not extant, an epic poem (subtitled ‘Britanniae Apologia’) in celebration of Queen Elizabeth mentioned in Letters (cf. Prose, 460). [240] Quod… est: ‘Whatever lacks periodic rest does not endure’ (Ovid, Heroides, 4. 89).

  Emblem

  Narcissus in Ouid: cf. Metamorphoses, 3. 466; June, 52 and note; Amor, 35; FQ, 1. 4. 29.

  October

  The October eclogue explores the stark contrast between the sublime aspirations of poetry and the material needs of the poet. Mediating between them is the elusive figure of the patron. No less is at stake here than the role of literature in Elizabethan society, and the hopes and fears of the Calender’s ‘new Poete’ are accordingly canvassed through the medium of pastoral debate [cf. Helgerson (1978)]. The eclogue is quoted in the Spenser–Harvey Letters (1580) where Harvey notes the financial concerns of ‘Cuddie, alias you know who’ by way of emphasizing the pressing need to secure commercial success (cf. Pros
e, 470–71). Ideally, as the ‘Argument’ asserts, poetry is properly considered to be a ‘diuine gift’, rather than a mere ‘arte’, and the ‘glory’ is ‘much greater then the gayne’ (20), but in the real world poets must ‘feede’ (34) and Platonic values entail a financial cost [cf. Schleiner (1985)]. Cultivation of the poet’s divine gift demands a reciprocal generosity on the part of man. The sour tones of Mantuan’s fifth eclogue, with its miserly patron and embittered poet, echo in the background [cf. Hoffman (1977), 13–21], as do those of Theocritus’ attack upon the crass philistinism of his own mercenary age [cf. Idylls, 16]. By contrast, Virgil, ‘the Romish Tityrus’ patronized by Maecenas and inspired by Augustus, proceeded from pastoral, through georgic, to epic poetry thereby establishing a paradigm for the careers of both poet and patron (55–60). As Mantuan observes, ‘good fortune gave him eloquence’ [cf. Eclogues, 5. 89]. The woodcut suggests the possibility of a similar progression in that Cuddie looks beyond the central emblem of the panpipes, proffered by Piers, towards the classical temples in the background [cf. Luborsky (1981)]. The positions are reversed in the dialogue, however, where Piers espouses artistic aspirations while Cuddie laments the moral and social decline which stifles poetic endeavour (67–78).

  It is surprising to find Cuddie, rather than Colin, described as ‘the perfecte paterne of a Poete’ but, as E. K. observes, ‘some doubt, that the persons be different’ [1]. Through this complex presentational device Cuddie is made to stand in relation to Colin as Colin stands to ‘the authour selfe’. Notably absent from all of the ‘Satyricall’ eclogues, Colin, as it were, dons the persona of Cuddie to criticize ‘the contempte of Poetrie’ evident in ‘Princes pallace’ (81). The verse form is an adaptation of the six-line stanza of Colin’s Januarye monologue (now rhyming abbaba). It falls to Piers, the moral spokesman of Maye, to advance the cause of ‘Elisa’ and ‘the worthy whome shee loueth best’ (45–7) as suitable themes for heroic verse while insisting upon the centrality of poetry to the spiritual well-being of the nation. In this manner the eclogue attempts to pre-empt its own reception by inspiring the heroic milieu of which it appears to despair. For the poet to perceive the celestial in the material – by regarding Queen Elizabeth, for example, as an ‘immortall mirrhor’ of the divine (93) – it is essential that those he considers ‘worthy’ of his ‘payne’ be ‘also fauourers of hys skil and faculty’ [43].