Framed in Spenser's distinctive, opulent stanza and in some of the trappings of epic, Book One of Spenser's The Faerie Queene consists of a chivalric romance that has been made to a typical recipe--fierce warres and faithfull loves--but that has been Christianized in both overt and subtle ways. The physical and moral wanderings of the Redcrosse Knight dramatize his effort to find the proper proportion of human to divine contributions to salvation--a key issue between Protestants and Catholics. Fantastic elements like alien humans, humanoids, and monsters and their respective dwelling places are vividly described.

Product Description: These paired Arthurian legends suggest that erotic desire and the desire for companionship undergird national politics. The maiden Britomart, Queen Elizabeth's fictional ancestor, dons armor to search for a man whom she has seen in a crystal ball...read more

Product Description: From its opening scenes--in which the hero refrains from fighting a duel, then discovers that his horse has been stolen--Book Two of The Faerie Queene redefines the nature of heroism and of chivalry. Its hero is Sir Guyon, the knight of Temperance, whose challenges frequently take the form of temptations...read more

Product Description: The Faerie Queene is one of the great seminal masterpieces of English literature, and has influenced, inspired, and challenged generations of writers, readers and scholars since its completion in 1596. Hamilton' s widely acclaimed annotated work, Spenser' s Faerie Queene, has now been completely updated...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Presents a collection of 225 poems that inspire and uplift the spirit from such poets as William Blake, Robert Browning, Emily Dickinson, and Robert Frost

Product Description: A critical edition of Wilhelm of Jordaens's Avellana

From the Introduction by Douglas Brooks-Davies: Spenser's Faerie Queene stands as one of the great humanistic landmarks in the English poetic renaissance. Its style is at once eloquent and simple, and yet through it we encounter all the excitement and complexity of the late Elizabethan period. Spenser saw himself as Elizabeth I's epic poet, writing of his queen's imperial and religious supremacy, aware that earthly things are constantly subject to decay and corruption but that the Elizabethan court could be an image of an ideal, other-worldly existence. . . .