That shind, like twinkling stars, with stones most pretious rare: 1 Redounding-flowing. A goodly Knight.-This is Prince Arthur, in whose faultless excellence Spenser is supposed to have represented his illustrious friend, Sir Philip Sidney, whose beautiful character and splendid accomplishments kindled a warmth of admiration among his contemporaries, of which we find it difficult to conceive in our colder and more prosaic age. Shapt like a Ladies head, exceeding shone, His haughtie helmet, horrid all with gold, XXXII. Upon the top of all his loftie crest, A bounch of heares discolourd diversly, With sprincled pearle and gold full richly drest, Like to an almond tree ymounted hye On top of greene Selinis2 all alone, With blossoms brave bedecked daintily; Whose tender locks do tremble every one At everie little breath, that under heaven is blowne. Book 1. Canto VII. DESCRIPTION OF BELPHEBE. XXI. Eftsoone3 there stepped foorth A goodly Ladie1 clad in hunters weed, That seemd to be a woman of great worth, And by her stately portance borne of heavenly birth. XXII. Her face so faire, as flesh it seemed not, The which ambrosiall odours from them threw, 1 Slights-devices. 2 Greene Selinis.-Selinis is evidently the name of some hill or mountain, which I do not find in ♦ A goodly Ladie, &c.In the beautiful and elaborate portrait of Belphæbe, Spenser has drawn a And gazers sence with double pleasure fed, Hable to heale the sicke and to revive the ded. XXIII. In her faire eyes two living lamps did flame, She broke his wanton darts, and quenched bace desyre. XXIV. Her yvoire forhead, full of bountie brave, All good and honour might therein be red; For there their dwelling was. And, when she spake, XXV. Upon her eyelids many Graces sate, And everie one with meekenesse to her bowes: So glorious mirrhour of celestiall grace, And soveraine moniment of mortall vowes, How shall frayle pen descrive her heavenly face, XXVI. So faire, and thousand thousand times more faire, She seemd, when she presented was to sight; And was yclad, for heat of scorching aire, Purfled upon with many a folded plight,7 Xxx. Her yellow lockes, crisped like golden wyre, And, when the winde emongst them did inspyre,10 1 Persant-plercing. 2 Rubins-rubles. 3 Belgardes-sweet looks. 4 Retrate-picture. 5 Camus-thin dress. • Purfled-embroidered. 7 Plight-plait. 8 Aygulets-tagged points. The yellow locks of Queen Elizabeth enter largely into the descriptions of beauty by the poets of her reign. 10 Inspyre-breathe. And low behinde her backe were scattered: And is there care in heaven? And is there love In heavenly spirits to these creatures bace, There is-else much more wretched were the cace Of men then beasts: But O! th' exceeding grace II. How oft do they their silver bowers leave O, why should Hevenly God to men have such regard! Book II. Canto VIII. THE SEASONS. XXVIII. So forth issew'd the Seasons of the yeare: And on his head (as fit for warlike stoures1) A guilt engraven morion® he did weare; That as some did him love, so others did him feare. XXIX. Then came the iolly Sommer, being dight He wore, from which, as he had chauffed been, A bowe and shaftes, as he in forrest greene Had hunted late the libbard' or the bore, And now would bathe his limbes with labor heated sore. XXX. Then came the Autumne all in yellow clad, As though he ioyed in his plentious store, Laden with fruits that made him laugh, full glad Had by the belly oft him pinched sore: With ears of corne of every sort, he bore; To reape the ripened fruits the which the earth had yold.2 The chief prose work of Spenser is his "View of the State of Ireland." It gives an excellent account of the customs, manners, and national character of the Irish, and there is no contemporary piece of prose to compare with it in purity. From it we have room to select the following short extract, only upon 8 Nose. 4 Retort. 5 Old age. 1 Leopard. 2 Yielded. 6 Wield, move. 7 "I have just finished 'The Faerie Queen.' I never parted from a long poem with so much regret. He is a poet of a most musical ear-of a tender heart-of a peculiarly soft, rich, fertile, and flowery fancy. His verse always flows with ease and nature, most abundantly and sweetly; his diffusion is not only pardonable, but agreeable. Grandeur and energy are not his characteristic qualities. He seems to me a most genuine poet, and to be justly placed after Shakspeare and Milton, and above all other English poets.”—Sir James Mackintosh. "Spenser excels in the two qualities in which Chaucer is most deficient-invention and fancy. The invention shown in his allegorical personages is endless, as the fancy shown in his description of them is gorgeous and delightful. He is the poet of romance. He describes things as in a splendid and voluptuous dream."-Hazlitt. "His command of imagery is wide, easy, and luxuriant. He threw the soul of harmony into ou verse, and made it more warmly, tenderly, and magnificently descriptive than it ever was before, or, with a few exceptions, than it ever has been since. It must certainly be owned that in description he exhibits nothing of the brief strokes and robust power which characterize the very greatest poets; but we shall nowhere find more airy and expansive images of visionary things, a sweeter tone of sentiment, or a finer flush in the colors of language, than in this Rubens of English poetry."-Campbell's Specimena, i. 125. The best, or variorum edition of Spenser, (so called because it has all the notes of the various commentators,) is that of Todd, 8 vols. 8vo. London, 1805. Read-an article on Spenser's Minor Poems in Retrospective Review, xii. 142: also, Edinburgh Review, xxiv.: also, a brilliant series of papers on the Faerie Queene, in Blackwood's Magazine, 1834 and 1835, by Professor Wilson: also, "Ohservations on the Faerie Queene," by Thomas Warton. |