Edmund Spenser New and Renewed Directions

This is a collection of wide-ranging papers on Edmund Spenser, including criticism on the 'Shepheardes Calender', Spenser's rhymes, his impact on Louis MacNeice, the medieval organizations of the 'Faerie Queene', on the 'Mutabilite Cantos', Temperance in Book II, and Friendship in Book IV. Written by younger as well as by well-established scholars, the contributors move quietly away from theoretically dominated criticism, and emphasize the importance of historical criticism, both breaking new ground and recuperating neglected insights and approaches. The introduction describes and defends the current trend towards a renewed historical criticism in Spenser criticism. The papers contribute to our knowledge of Spenser's life as well as to our understanding of his poetry.