LESSON II.

FROM THE "HYMN OF HEAVENLY BEAUTY." BY EDMUND SPENSER.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE.

1. EDMUND SPENSER was born in the year 1552, and educated in Merchant Taylors' School and Cambridge. His first poems were translations from French and Italian, but the “ Shepherd's Calendar," a series of pastorals published in 1580, first proved him a true poet. He was the friend of Sir Philip Sidney, Sir Walter Raleigh, and of Lord Grey of Wilton, accompanying the latter as private secretary to Ireland.

2. Spenser's Irish residence was Kilcolman Castle in the Co. Cork, a spot which had beauty of scenery, but nothing else to recommend it to a man who, like Spenser, was born into the midst of the Elizabethan heroes and poets, and missed their society. Ireland was in a disturbed state, and in 1598 an insurrection broke out, and the poet had to fly for his life. Kilcolman Castle was set on fire by the rebels, and one of his little children perished in the flames. Spenser arrived in London a broken-hearted man, and died in 1599. He was buried near Chaucer, his great master in verse, in Westminster Abbey.

3. Spenser was one of the brightest stars of the grand Elizabethan time-the first great poet who had appeared in England since Chaucer. He is known by his great work, "The Faëry Queen," an allegorical poem in six books (there were to have been twelve, but the remaining six were either lost or had never been written). It is composed in a stanza framed by himself, and called after him the Spenserian. Spenser may be called an allegorical poet, his poem dealing chiefly

with personified virtues and vices. Its characteristics are great richness of imaginative power and description, and extreme melody of language and versification. It is also remarkable for a language which is older in form and more nearly approaching Chaucer's than was common to his contemporaries. It was Spenser's pride that it should be so, and in reading or analysing his poetry, the fact that his language was not exactly the language of his time must be borne in mind. We give the first five stanzas of the 1st Book, for study.

4. Among Spenser's works, not the least beautiful are four Hymns to "Love," "Beauty," "Heavenly Love," and "Heavenly Beauty." A portion of the latter is here given for analysis. Besides the Chaucerian form of the language, which occasionally puzzles a beginner, the student, in tracing the sense of each line, should not fail to remark the high spiritual fervour and beauty of the idea and the expression which clothes it. This was one of Spenser's most splendid characteristics, and wherever found, marks the true poet. Spenser in his day received the name of "Prince of Poets."

FROM THE "HYMN OF HEAVENLY
BEAUTY."

Rapt with the rage of mine own ravisht thought 1
Through contemplation of those goodly sights,
And glorious images in Heaven wrought,

Whose wondrous beauty, breathing sweet delights,
Do kindle love in high conceipted sprights;

I faine to tell the things that I behold,

But feele my wits to faile, and tongue to fold.

5

Vouchsafe then, oh thou most Almighty Spright!
From whom all guifts of wit and knowledge flow,
To shed into my breast some sparkling light,
Of thine eternall Truth, that I may shew
Some little beames to mortall eyes below
Of that immortall beautie, there with thee,
Which in my weake distraughted mind I see;

That with the glory of so goodly sight

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15

The hearts of men, which fondly here admyre
Fair seeming shewes, and feed on vaine delight
Of those fair formes, may lift themselves up hyer,
And learne to love, with zealous humble dewty,
Th' Eternall fountaine of that heavenly beauty. 20

In which they see such admirable things,

As carries them into an ecstasy,

And heare such heavenly notes and carolings

Of God's high praise, that fills the brasen sky;
And feele such joy and pleasure inwardly,
That maketh them all worldly cares forget,
And onely thinke on that, before them set.

25

So full their eyes are, of that glorious sight
And senses fraught with such satietie,
That in nought else on earth they can delight,
But in th' aspect of that felicitie,

30

Which they have written in their inward ey;

On which they feed and in their fastened mind
All happie joy, and full contentment fynd.

Ah then my happie soule which long hast fed
On idle fancies of thy foolish thought,

35

And, with false beauty's flattering bait misled,
Hast after vaine deceiptfull shadowes sought
Which all are fled and now have left thee nought
But late repentance through thy follie's prief;
Ah cease to gaze on matter of thy grief:

40

45

And looke at last up to that Soveraine Light,
From whose pure beames al perfect beauty springs.
That kindleth love in every godly spright
Even the love of God; which loathing brings
Of this vile world and these gay-seeming things;
With whose sweete pleasures being so possest,
Thy straying thoughts henceforth for ever rest.

1. What is the meaning of the word "rapt," and what part of speech is it? Give its noun and verb. (Line 1.)

2. What was the chief ornament of Anglo-Saxon poetry, and how imitated in line 1 ?

3. What does "goodly" mean in line 2?

4. What kind of things do you imagine Spenser to be referring to?

5.)

5. What is the modern form of "spright." (Line 5.) 6. What does "high-conceipted" mean here? (Line

7. Paraphrase the last two lines of the first verse. 8. What verb does the word " distraughted" come from, and what does it mean? (Line 14.) Give its

modern form.

9. Supply the omission of a word in line 15. 10. What is the subject of the sentence

themselves up higher"? (Line 18.)

may lift

11. To what does the word "carries" refer in line

22? Why is it in the singular form?

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12. Why are maketh" and "fills in the same

stanza, both in the singular number? What are their nominatives?

13. Paraphrase clearly the stanza which addresses the soul.

14. Substitute a word for "soveraine" in the first line of the last verse. What part of speech is it?

15. What is the antecedent of "which," in line 45. 16. Explain line 32: "Which they have written," &c. 17. In what reign did Spenser live? Give the name of his chief work and the dates of his birth and death. 18. What kind of poem is "The Faëry Queene?" 19. What are some of the characteristics of Spenser's poetry?

LESSON III.

FROM THE FIRST BOOK OF THE " FAERIE

QUEENE."

BY EDMUND SPENSER.

CANTO I.

1. A gentle knight was pricking on the plaine, Ycladd in mighty armes and silver shield, Wherein old dints of deepe woundes did remaine The cruel markes of many a bloudy fielde;

1

Yet armes till that tyme did he never wielde:

5

His angry steede did chide his foming bitt,

As much disdayning to the curbe to yield :

Full jolly knight he seemd and faire did sitt,

As one for knightly giusts and fierce encounters fitt.

2. And on his brest a bloudie crosse, he bore, The deare remembrance of his dying Lord,

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