The Faerie Queene (Longman Annotated English Poets) [Paperback]

Fortunately, in reviewing this book I am not faced with the usual difficulty of separating the quality of the work itself from the quality of its presentation; both are exquisite.

Edmund Spenser's _The Faerie Qveene_ is rightly considered one of the timeless masterpieces of English literature. Collectively, it is an embodiment of and a response to both medieval and Renaissance themes and devices. The medieval romantic and Arthurian genres are blended with Petrarchan techniques and Neoplatonic philosophy. Nevertheless, Spenser maintains a distinct style all his own; the nine-line stanza is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful conventions in poetic verse. Oh yeah, and it's a darn good story too.

This edition of the "booke" far outshines any other I've encountered. The text itself is annotated with copious footnotes which explain unclear passages, point out allusions to classical, medieval and contemporary events, and provide criticism. All of the peripheral material associated with _The Faerie Qveene_ is also provided, including the dedication to Raleigh and introductory sonnets. Other value-adding perks include a comprehensive bibliography, a chart showing minor changes made between the poem's three publications, and a character guide.

Though this thick volume may seem daunting, it is in fact quite enjoyable. The notes are fairly unintrusive, so the casual reader can skim or read through the poem at his or her own pace, with the option to delve deeper if he or she desires.

I strongly advise anyone with an interest in Renaissance literature, Shakespeare, poetry, or English literature as a whole, to purchase this book, and to dish out the bit of extra money for this particular edition.

This is the second edition of the best version of The Faerie Queene available. It is a marked improvement over the first edition. For one thing, you can actually read the type. The first edition looked like it was mimeographed (for those of you who remember what that looked like). The layout is now much better, and the notes (on the same page and with the same size font as the text) and cross references remain indispensable for anyone not born in 1600.

This second edition of Spenser's The Faerie Queene is massive. It's huge. It's a Titan of a book. Double-columned and small-printed, it's a 735-page extravaganza that abounds with meticulous academic footnotes - and get this - all in a humongous book whose size is exactly like one of those cumbersome science textbooks from high school. And the footnotes. I'm just gonna say that they are just way too detailed for a first read, though there are some helpful explanations and clarifying paraphrases of some lines. I think it's best to skim the footnotes and enjoy the poetry. There are, however, two footnotes that are too hilarious not to share:

Arthur sees a poor squire pursued by a formidable knight whose eyes are literally emitting laser beams (For from his fearefull eyes to fierie beams/...did proceed... (IV viii 39)), and Spenser describes the chase:

He all the way did rage at that same Squire,
And after him full many threatenings threw,
With curses vain in his avengefull ire:
But none of them (so fast away he flew)
Him overtooke, before he came in vew...
(IV viii 40)

And the footnote to lines 4 and 5 reads: "The squire is fleeing at supersonic speed."

Another instance is when a heroin sees her archenemy work a black magic:

That horrour gan the virgins hart to perse,
And her faire locks up started stiffe on end
(III xii 36)

And the footnote to the second line reads: "up started: stood up. A formidable sight for her hair extends to her ankles; see ix."

So yeah, these are pretty funny instances where you're not really sure if A.C. Hamilton is making fun of Spenser or just being dead serious. But anways, I digress. This book is not shy at all in its use of footnotes, and they are more for the academics who are interested in knowing what kind of academic papers are out there about the most miniscule things in the poem.

The presentation, let me tell you, is gorgeous. Quality paper, ink that doesn't come off (e.g., Oxford's Chaucer book uses cheap, dirty, gray newspapery paper with cheap ink that smears and comes off so easily that it turns your fingers all inky as you flip through the pages), and nice covers. But the question is: is it worth the $50? I'd say Penguin's $14 version is good enough for anyone with the balls to plow through 4000+ stanzas, and only after you plowed it through to the end and feel like you need MORE, then by all means, buy this edition, which will probably give you references to a lifetime of academic papers to read and fulfill your death wish.

On to the poem itself. GOD it's LONG. But it's not so bad, actually. Once you get used to Spenser's English and get into the rhythm of the poetry and story, it's enjoyable, because after all, Spenser chose the form of "historical fiction" to "delight" the reader. There are tons of stanzas where Spenser expatiates on the details of a scenery or a building, but they are bearable (except in Book IV, Canto XI where he describes all the rivers in England and Ireland, taking up a whole goddamn canto, and that makes it quite a 10 thick pages to enjoy). Overall, I think, the first book and the fifth book are the most fun (i.e. no homiletic descriptions of buildings and sceneries, and this terminator of a character in Book V is just absurdly invincible and fun to read about esp. when he decimates tribes and nations), and the rest are pretty good as well. I'd say Spenser is a mix of Chaucer, Malory, and Ovid, and takes the best from each, as he never forgets to keep the story going (there is always something happening, like Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur, but none of his interminable digressions and formulaic monotony), keeps it real poetically (like Chaucer, but none of that Middle English difficulty), and seamlessly integrates various romances into a coherent whole (like Ovid, but none of his overwhelming abundance of characters).

So, all in all, a goodish ok read = 2.5