Festival of song: a series of evenings with the poets . r of one of the most romantic poems in the Englishlanguage, Edmund Spenser, was born near the Tower of London,in 1553. To affirm that his Faerie ^eene is replete with brilliant and luxurious imagery, enriched with wondrous sweetness of ver-sification, is but to echo the universal verdict of critics. Camp-bell styles Spenser the Rubens of English poetry, while CharlesLamb refers to him as the Poets poet ; and such, indeed, he is :for not only was he the special favourite of Milton, Dryden, Pope,and Gray, but there has scarcely been any emi
Festival of song: a series of evenings with the poets . r of one of the most romantic poems in the Englishlanguage, Edmund Spenser, was born near the Tower of London,in 1553. To affirm that his Faerie ^eene is replete with brilliant and luxurious imagery, enriched with wondrous sweetness of ver-sification, is but to echo the universal verdict of critics. Camp-bell styles Spenser the Rubens of English poetry, while CharlesLamb refers to him as the Poets poet ; and such, indeed, he is :for not only was he the special favourite of Milton, Dryden, Pope,and Gray, but there has scarcely been any eminent poet since hisday who has not delighted to peruse, if not to pilfer from, hisprolific productions. Leigh Hunt considers him, in the imaginativefaculty, superior even to Milton ; his grand characteristic is poeticluxury. Another of our noted bards speaks of him as steeped inromance ; and as the prince of magicians. Glance at his groupof the Seasons ; how daintily his allegorical impersonations are deckedwith flowers, and Iedolent with perfume :—. So forth issewd the seasons of the yeare : First, lusty Spring all dight in leaves of flowres That freshly budded and new bloosmes did beare,Li which a thousand birds had built their bowresThat sweetly sung to call forth paramours ; And in his hand a iavelin he did beare, And on his head (as fit for warlike stoures) A guilt engraven morion he did weare ;That as some did him love, so others did him Then came the iollv Sommer, being dightIn a thin silken cassock colored greene, That was unlyned all, to be more light :And on his head a girlond well beseeneHe wore, from which as he had chauffed been
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booksu, booksubjectenglishpoetry
