Quantity:

More Buying Choices

46 used & new from �4.00

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

The Faerie Queene (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

by Edmund Spenser (Author), Jr. Thomas P. Roche (Editor), Jr. C. Patrick O'Donnell (Editor) "Lo I the man, whose Muse whilome did maske, As time her taught in lowly Shepheards weeds, Am now enforst a far vnfitter taske, For..." (more)

4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

RRP:	�10.99
Price:	�10.55 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save:	�0.44 (4%)
	o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Thursday, November 12? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details

25 new from �8.42 21 used from �4.00

Other Editions:	RRP:	Our Price:	Other Offers:
Hardcover (New Ed)	�12.00	�12.00	79 used & new from �0.01
Paperback			Order it used
Audio CD (Audiobook)	�14.00	�12.59	14 used & new from �6.99
Audio Cassette (Abridged,Audiobook)			5 used & new from �4.06
Audio Download (Abridged)	�10.99	�8.24
Unknown Binding			Order it used

Frequently Bought Together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia (The Old Arcadia) (Oxford World's Classics)

by Sir Philip Sidney

5.0 out of 5 stars (1) �5.49

Sir Philip Sidney: The Major Works (Oxford World's Classics)

by Philip Sidney

5.0 out of 5 stars (1) �5.49

The Norton Anthology of English Literature: 16th and Early 17th Century v. B

by Stephen Greenblatt

�15.09

The Roaring Girl (New Mermaids)

by Thomas Middleton

3.0 out of 5 stars (1) �6.69

The Unfortunate Traveller: and Other Works (English Library)

by Thomas Nashe

5.0 out of 5 stars (1) �8.19

› Explore similar items

Product details

Paperback: 1248 pages
Publisher: Longman; Reissue edition (13 Jun 2007)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0140422072
ISBN-13: 978-0140422078
Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13 x 5.4 cm

Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 56,522 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories:
#22 in Books > Poetry, Drama & Criticism > Poetry > By Period > 16th to 18th Centuries
#57 in Books > Poetry, Drama & Criticism > Poetry > World > American

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

The Faerie Queene was the first epic in English and one of the most influential poems in the language for later poets from Milton to Tennyson. Dedicating his work to Elizabeth I, Spenser brilliantly united medieval romance and renaissance epic to expound the glory of the Virgin Queen. The poem recounts the quests of knights including Sir Guyon, Knight of Constance, who resists temptation, and Artegall, Knight of Justice, whose story alludes to the execution of Mary Queen of Scots. Composed as an overt moral and political allegory, The Faerie Queene, with its dramatic episodes of chivalry, pageantry and courtly love, is also a supreme work of atmosphere, colour and sensuous description.

About the Author

Edmund Spenser (1552-99) is best known for The Faerie Queene, dedicated to Elizabeth I, and his sonnet sequence Amoretti and Epithalamion dedicated to his wife Elizabeth Boyle. Secretary to the Lord Deputy to Ireland, Spenser moved there in 1580 and remained there until near the end of his life, when he fled the Tyrone Rebellion in 1598. T.P. Roche is Professor of English at Princeton University and author of many books on Renaissance literature.

Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
Lo I the man, whose Muse whilome did maske, As time her taught in lowly Shepheards weeds, Am now enforst a far vnfitter taske, For trumpets sterne to chaunge mine Oaten reeds, And sing of Knights and Ladies gende deeds; Whose prayses hauing slept in silence long, Me, all too meane, the sacred Muse areeds To blazon broad emongst her learned throng: Fierce warres and faithfull loues shall moralize my song. Read the first page

Explore More
Concordance

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

(What's this?)

Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)

epics

edmund spenser

penguin classics

medieval and renaissance poetry

great romances

elizabethan poetry

british literature

women

poetry

middle english

magic carpet ride

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	75% buy the item featured on this page: The Faerie Queene (Penguin Classics) 4.7 out of 5 stars (6) �10.55
	12% buy The Faerie Queene (Longman Annotated English Poets) 5.0 out of 5 stars (1) �18.49
	5% buy The Riverside Chaucer: Reissued with a new foreword by Christopher Cannon �11.99
	4% buy The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia (The Old Arcadia) (Oxford World's Classics) 5.0 out of 5 stars (1) �5.49

Explore similar items

Customer Reviews

6 Reviews

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece, 29 May 2005

By	Michael Jacobs - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The literature of Spenser, unlike that of Shakespeare or other contemporaries, is almost always printed with the exact spelling found at at time. I guess this could throw a lot of people off course, but it really is just one of the many amazing elements of this book. As well as the fantastic and fabulous content, the reader becomes aware and synchronised with the linguistic element of such poetic beauty as well.

As an English student, I'm probably slightly biased about the accessibility of the book, but I'd only read a handful of plays from the late 1500s and early 1600s before launching into it. Although being vaguely familar with the syntax of the period, it was unlike anything I'd looked at previously.

But whether you intend to read the whole book from front to cover, or just dip into a few pages to experience the sheer poetic genius and brilliance, you'll experience great pleasure in doing so. It's also great to see this as a paperback version - although it's relatively large, it is portable (if that makes sense).

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing. Worth the effort., 11 April 2003

By A Customer

The Faerie Queene is, to my mind, the finest single work of literature in English. It's a huge, encyclopaedia poem that draws in and represents the whole psychological landcape of a highly-educated early modern individual with an extraordinarily fertile imagination. Its allegory tries to incorporate everything - from major cultural structures like the seven deadly sins and the myth of British descent from the Trojans to contemporary political intrigues and theories on the workings of the human mind and body. The poem goes from the heights of religious exultation to brutal representations of colonial power and imperial violence.

No review here is going to do it justice; I've read it several times and written about it a fair bit, but still can't imagine really feeling on top of it. Not everyone will like its dreamlike atmosphere and its frequently slow pace. Even the biggest fan will probably admit that long stretches of it are pretty tedious, particularly in the later stages. But the neglect it's fallen into is unforgiveable. Far too many undergraduates never get made to study the thing, and probably many who don't study literature at university won't ever try it. They should. There's nothing else like it and on its own ground nothing else can come close. In terms of density and richness of meaning, and of sheer proliferation of stories, it's an amazing work of genius that puts Spenser up there with Dante, Shakespeare and the rest of the world's very best writers. It's long and you need to put in a fair bit of effort, but it's worth it.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest fantasy novels ever - seriously!, 13 Jul 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Faerie Queene (Audio Cassette)

Literature was never this easy! If you enjoyed Lord of the Rings or similar, this is the book for you. The Olde Englishe takes a little getting used to, but it's easier to read than Shakespeare, and the poetry only adds to the vividness of description. All of the standard fantasy elements: giants, dragons, knights, temptations, virtues etc. are present, but in unconventional forms in wonderfully original stories. It really is great fun, and a real treat for the regular fantasy reader. I wish we'd done it at school.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 6 customer reviews...

Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Looks daunting but is a great read
Spenser is probably the least read of the 'great' Elizabethan writers, and picking up his Faerie Queen it's easy to see why: it's over a thousand pages of poetry (9 line stanzas)... Read more

Published 7 months ago by Roman Clodia

3.0 out of 5 stars Words cannot express...
...the unutterable tedium that this poem filled me with.
Passages are certainly great, its scope is - indeed - enormous and it is a "one off". Read more

Published on 9 Jun 2003 by Lovborg

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful, sensitive Midevil epic poem.
The Faerie Queene is a classic of the English language and a must read for anyone who has ever felt a touch of solitude. Read more

Published on 17 Nov 1996

› See all 6 customer reviews...

.jsOffDisplayBlock { display: block; } .jsOffDisplayInline { display: inline; } .jsOffVisibility { visibility: visible; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jsOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jqOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jqOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jqOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; }