An exploration of the ways in which new interpretations of theological doctrine inform Spenser's poetry.

Carol V. Kaske examines how the form, no less than the theology, of Spenser's writings reveals the influence of the Bible and medieval and Renaissance Biblical hermeneutics. Her approach partakes of both the old historicism and the new. Spenser and Biblical Poetics is the first comprehensive account of the contradictions and inconsistencies in Spenser's imagery—particularly in The Faerie Queene. These and his well-known contradictions in doctrine Kaske accepts and celebrates. She shows that Spenser challenges the reader with problems arising from his endorsement of both Protestant and Catholic traditions. She connects Spenser's contradictory style not only with such religious topics (for example, adiaphorism) but also with secular ones such as colonialism, the conflict between nature and culture, and the policies of the Queen. Spenser and Biblical Poetics makes an indispensable contribution to the history of reading in the Renaissance.

In this study, Kathryn Walls challenges the standard identification of Una with the post-Reformation English Church, arguing that she is, rather, Augustine’s City of God – the invisible Church, whose membership is known only to God. Una’s story (its Tudor resonances notwithstanding) therefore embraces that of the Synagogue before the Incarnation as well as that of the Church in the time of Christ and thereafter. It also allegorises the redemptive process that sustains the true Church. Una is fallible in canto I. Subsequently, however, she comes to embody divine perfection. Her transformation depends upon the intervention of the lion as Christ. Convinced of the consistency and coherence of Spenser’s allegory, Walls offers fresh interpretations of Abessa (as Synagoga), of the fauns and satyrs (the Gentiles), and of Una’s dwarf (adiaphoric forms of worship). She also reinterprets Spenser’s marriage metaphor, clarifying the significance of Red Cross as Una’s spouse in the final canto.

"Much has been written about Spenser's theological allegory and its sources but, until now, no one has suggested sustained patristic influence. Harold Weatherby argues that taking patristic theology as a measure for certain episodes in The Faerie Queene affords more convincing evidence than the familiar (usually Protestant) references. He shows that sixteenth-century editions of the works of the principal Fathers were available to Spenser, and that, in addition, there appeared to be considerable interest in the Fathers at Spenser's college, Pembroke. With the additional evidence of the poem itself, Weatherby introduces the theory that patristic theology affected the poet's understanding of Christianity." "To demonstrate, the author examines seven allegorical episodes in The Faerie Queene, each of which has had extensive previous interpretive attention, quite different from the approach taken here. He looks closely at the dragon fight and the figure of St George; the subsequent nuptial celebration with Una and Red Crosse; the role of Belphoebe as an emblem of temperance (as the Fathers conceive temperance); Guyon's descent into Mammon's cave; Guyon's encounter with Mordant, Amavia, and Ruddymane, and his futile effort to cleanse the child's hands; Arthur's defeat of Maleger; and the presentation of Dame Nature. In each of these episodes, patristic thought is seen to have significantly shaped the allegory." "The epilogue suggests how patristic thought influenced Spenser's presentation of eros in Books III and IV, introducing a new hypothesis about these books and about Spenser's conception of chastity."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

In this accessible introduction to Spenser's poetry and prose, a set of fourteen essays provide extensive commentary on his life and the historical and religious contexts in which he wrote

A brutal killer lurks near Hyde River in the Pacific Northwest. When wildlife biologist Steve Benson is called in to investigate the latest murder, he discovers that the victim is his brother. But why are the terrorized townspeople silent—and unwilling to help? Something evil is at work in Hyde River, an isolated mining town in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Under the cover of darkness, a predator strikes without warning—taking life in the most chilling and savage fashion. The community of Hyde River watches in terror as residents suddenly vanish. Yet, the more locals are pressed for information, the more they close ranks, sworn to secrecy by their forefathers’ hidden sins. Only when Hyde River’s secrets are exposed is the true extent of the danger fully revealed. What the town discovers is something far more deadly than anything they’d imagined. Something that doesn’t just stalk its victims—it has the power to turn hearts black with decay as it slowly fills their souls with darkness. Standalone Christian thriller with over one million copies sold Book length: approximately 100,000 words Includes discussion questions for book clubs

Though his writings have long been integral to the canon of early modern English literature, it is only in very recent scholarship that Edmund Spenser has been understood as a preeminent anthropologist whose work develops a complex theory of cultural change. The contributors to this volume approach Spenser’s work from that new perspective, rethinking his contribution as a theorist of culture in light of his poetics. The essays in the collection begin with close readings of Spenser’s writings and end by challenging the ethnographic allegories that shape our knowledge of early modern England. In this book Spenser is proven to be not only a powerful theorist of allegory and poetics but also a profound and subtle ethnographer of England and Ireland. This is an interdisciplinary volume, incorporating studies on history and art history as well as literary criticism. The essays are based on papers presented at The Faerie Queen in the World, 1596-1996: Edmund Spenser among the Disciplines , a conference which took place at the Yale Center for British Art in September 1996.