صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني
[blocks in formation]

His target alwayes over her pretended.] i. e. held, oppofed, Virg. ix. 599. morti prætendere muros, i. e. opponere. See note on B. vi. C. 4. St. 10. XXV.

That even his heart for very fell defpight, And his own flesh be ready was to teare.] To teare or rend the heart is a fcriptural phrafe, and a metaphor from peoples ufing to tear their garments, or their hair in affliction: Rend (or teare] your hearts,and not your garments, Joel. ii. 13. Oid Homer has the fame expreffion, Il. á 243. σὺ δ ̓ ἔνδοθι θυμὸν ἀμύξεις, tu vero intus animum lacerabis. The fame allufion our poet has in B. i. C. 5. St. 39.

Which hearing his rafh fire began to rend
His hair and hafty tongue that did offend.
Ibid.

And fared like a furious wyld beare, Whofe whelpes are ftolne away.-] This fimile is fcriptural, 2 Sam. xvii. 8. Prov. xvii. 12.

[blocks in formation]
[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

There gan a dreadful fight.] None of the books read, Then gan

XLVIII.

How many flyes---] See note on B. i. C 1. St. 23. Here are two fimiles following each other; the one of the loweft kind, the other great and majeftic: the thieves were as deferving of the one image as Sir Calidore of the other. This ordering of various comparisons is agreeable to Homer's manner; for in the fecond Iliad, where the troops are affembled for battle, he compares the troops to a fwarm of flies, and their general to a majestic bull. In the following Stanza the relative is omitted, which occafions fome little embaraffment in the conftruction: though he might easily have given it, Like as a lion mongst an heard of deer, Difperfing them to catch.--

Ibid.

That none his daunger daring to abide,

Fled from his wrath, and did themselves convay Into their caves.] his daunger---themselves-their caves: one would be apt to think that his wrath caught the printer's eye, and occafioned, his daunger: for the conftruction properly requires,

That none THEIR daunger daring to abide,

Fled from his wrath, and did themselves convay
Into THEIR caves---

Tho' changing from the fingular to the plural
number may be vindicated from the best writers,
yet in this paffage now before us, this change
feems rather too much forced: however we
leave it to the reader's confideration.
cerning this change of numbers, Critical obfer-
tions on Shakespeare, page 358.

CANTO

CANTO XII.

LIKE as a hip that through the ocean wyde,]
Directs her courfe unto one certain coft
Is met of many'a counter-winde and tyde,
With which her winged fpeed Is let and croft---]
Here feems the ufual mistake, Is met for IMET
or YMET. This fimile Milton feems to have in
fome measure imitated, ix. 513.

As when a fhip by skilful fleerfman wrought
Nigh river's mouth or foreland, where the wind
Veers oft, as oft fo fteers and fhifts her fail:
So vary'd be

The expreffion just following still winneth
ufed by Milton ii. 1016.

And through the fhock

Of fighting elements on all fides round Environd wins his way.

III.

way

is

Unto the caftle of Belgard---] I am apt to imagine that Spenfer, befide his moral allegory, has here an hiftorical allufion: and it seems to me that the caftle of Belgard hints at Belvoir caftle; for garder, regarder is the fame as voir: and the Lord of the cafle, viz. the good Sir Bellamoure, by no far-fetched equivocal allufion, leads us to the real name of the Lord of the caftle: for the name Bellamoure might contain in its compofition mœurs, manners, as well as amour, love. Nor does the poet ftop here; but carries you ftill farther into the hiftory of this noble family, who married into the royal houfe of York. See St. 4. This lady feems to have been intended for the King of Scotland.

moure.

This daughter thought in wedlocke to have bound Unto the prince of Picteland bordering nere. But fhe privately gave her love to Sir BellaThere feems other allufions, which if the reader looks for, perhaps he will find out; if he flights this information, he will fee no allufion or allegory, though the poet says his poem is a continued allegory.

VI.

For dread leaft if her Syre Should know thereof, to flay her would have fought.] All the books read, HE would have fought. This is a fault of the printer; and yet perhaps this fault might be the true reading.

[blocks in formation]

At length a fhepheard---] This is taken, as mentioned above, from the old ftory of Doraftus and Faunia, from which Shakespeare borrowed his Winter-tale; or from the Paftoral of Longus, 'Tis to be observed, that when infants were expofed, they generally expofed with them feveral trinkets and tokens, by which they might be known hereafter; and these trinkets were as a kind of gratification to those who took up the expofed infant: the Greeks call them yowpioμata; fo Heliodorus, L. iv. and Terence Eun. Act iv.

Abi tu ciftellam, Pythias, domo effer cum MONU

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Meliffa is likewife the name of a prophetess in that dragged to light Cerberus. Ariofto, Canto iii.

[blocks in formation]

Homer men

tions this ftory, II. 9 368. I will cite the Greek, becaufe Spenfer tranflates from it.

Ἐξ Ερέβας ἄξοντα κύνα συγερό Αίδαο.

Brought forth with him the dreadful dog of hell. Compare Virgil,vi. 395. and Ov. Met. vii. 412. Ibid.

And to the other damned ghofts WHICH dwell For aye in darknefs WHICH daylight doth fhonne.] A small alteration, (upon fuppofition that the printer here has erred his usual error) makes this passage easy,

which dwell

For aye in darkness and daylight do fhonne. If we keep the old reading, which agrees with darknesse: which darkness doth fhun daylight: and he might mean utter darknesse: darkness palpable, which no light can penetrate. See note on B. ii. C. 5. St. 22. This interpretation confirms the correction there offered. XXXIX.

Albe that long time after Calidore,
The good Sir Pelleas him tooke in hand,
And after him Sir Lamoracke of yore,

And all his brethren born in Britain land.] All his brethren---He fays this in allufion to the knights of the round table of king Arthur's court. court. Sir Pelleas and Sir Lamoracke are two knights that are frequently mentioned in the hiftory of Prince Arthur. But Sir Palomides is the knight mentioned in part ii. Chap. 53. who follows the Quefting Beaft. This mean 'while there came Sir Palomides the good knight, following the Questing Beast, that had in fhape, an head like a ferpent's head, and a body like a liberd, buttocks like a lion, ' and footed like a hart; and in his body there was such a noise, as it had been the noise of 'thirty couple of hounds questing; and such a noife that beaft made whereever he went. And this beaft Sir Palomides followed, for it C was called the Queft. And right fo, as he 'followed this beaft, came Sir Triftram and Sir Lamorake: and to make fhort tale, Sir Palomides fmote down Sir Triftram and 'Sir Lamoracke, both with one spear, and fo departed after the queft GLATISAUNT, that

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

was called the Quefting Beast. What is here meant by GLATISAUNT? This filly romance is a collection of many French and Italian romances, put together with no art, by one Sir Thomas Maleor knight, and finished in the ninth year of the Reign of King Edward the IVth entitled La Mort d'Arthur. In the

French

The meeting of Arthegal and Calidore fhows the connexion of this, with the former book, so likewife does the introducing of Timias in the fifth Canto; but more particularly prince Arthur, the hero of the poem; who is to be perfected in all virtues, that he might be worthy of the glory to which he afpires. If we turn our thoughts towards thofe myfteries that lie inveloped in types and allegories, we cannot help applying the following verfes of our poet in the introduction to the fecond Book, to many of the episodes herein related,

French romance, from which he had this ftory.
The Quefting Beaft was called Glapiffant, i. e.
yelping, quefting, or barking; from glapir,
to yelp, bark, or QUEST as a fpaniel. But fifth
a fpaniel. But
Spenfer takes its name from the Latin Blaterare,
or the Italian Blatterare, to make a noife: and
calls it the Blattant or Blatant beaft. Compare
Voffius's Etymol. in Blaterones; and see note on
B. v. C. 12. St. 37. and on B. vi. C. 1. St. 7.
Skinner, Blatant, Auctori Dict. Angl. apud
quem folum occurrit, exp. latrans, ululans.
'Nefcio an à Lat. balatus, q. d. balans vel ba-
latans.' This dictionary writer had it from
Spenfer.

BARKING and biting all that him do bate.
that him do bate, i. e. that have any thing to do
with him that do contend or debate with him.

XLI.

More than my former writs---] What were thefe former writs, that brought him into a mighty peere's difpleafure? Doubtlefs his Paftorals, in which he fo feverely reflects on bifhop Elmor in particular; fcarcely hiding his fatire under the transparent covering of an anagram; and this mighty peere means the lord treasurer Burleigh. There is nothing in mother Hubbard's tale that could give any juft offence; for the fatire is there general. But his encomiums on archbishop Grindal, and his feveral reflections on bifhop Elmor, could not but give very juft reafons for the lord treasurer to be offended.

Ibid.

And feeke to please, that now is counted wife men's threafure.'] He feems to have Horace in view, Principibus placuiffe viris non ultima laus eft.

Let us close our notes on this Sixth Book, with a short review of the Legend of Courtesy. The reader needs not be put in mind, that the Fairy Queen annually held a folemn feast, which continued with great magnificence for twelve feveral days. In one of those days, (fuppofing the fixth) there came in prefence a hermit, who complained of the cruel ravagings of a monftrous beaft, called the Blatant Beaft; and at the fame time defired fome knight might be appointed, that alone might undertake the enterprize, not of deftroying, but fubduing this monster of scandal. The petition was granted; and the adventure affigned to Sir Calidore; who binding himself by a vow to perform it without aid or companion, fets forward on his queft, and after many a courteous enterprize first atchieved, he at length overtakes and entirely mafters and tames the Blatant Beast. VOL. II.

And thou, O faireft princess under fky,
In this fair mirrour mayft behold thy face,
And thine own realms in lond of Fairy.
Methinks by no far-fetcht allufions, we might
difcover pictured out to us that truly courteous
knight Sir Philip Sidney, in the character of
Sir Calidore; whofe name Kadapos leads us to
confider the many graceful and goodly endow-
ments that heaven peculiarly gave him.
This is that brave courtier mentioned by our
poet in another poem,

Yet the brave courtier, in whose beautious thought
Regard of honour harbours-

He will not creep, nor crouch with fained face,
But walks upright with comely fedfaft pace,
And unto all doth yield due COURTESIE.

Moth. Hub. Tale.

With this hint given, who can help thinking of Sidney's Arcadia, when he finds Sir Calidore mifpending his time among the Shepherds? And when this knight of courtesy meets in his paftoral retirement with Colin Clout, and by his abrupt appearance drives away the rural Nymphs and Graces, which makes the shepherd,

- for fell defpight

Of that difpleafure break his bag-pipe quite.
B. vi. C. 10. St. 8.

Do not all these circumftances, agreeable to the tenor of this poem, allude to our poet's leaving the country, and the rural Muse, at Sir Philip Sidney's request? I make no doubt myself, but the Country Lafs defcribed in C. 10. St. 25, 26, 27, is the fame as described in hist Sonnets, Ixi. &c. her name was Elizabeth, as he tells us in Sonnet lxxiv. and he was married to her after his unfuccessful love of the fair Rofalind, who seems imaged in that Wondrous Fair (as her name imports) who is fo juftly punished for love's difdain in Canto vii. I have mentioned in the notes that Belgard cafle, in Canto xii. feems from its very name to point out Belvoir caftle: If this is granted, Sir Bella4 P

moure

moure must be the noble lord of the caftle, who married into the royal house of York: and this feems hinted at in Canto 12. St. 4. Another of this noble family likewife married the daughter of Sir Philip Sidney: but how far the Story told of Paftorella, who found her parents in Belvoir castle, may allude to this alliance, I neither affirm nor deny. In these kind of historical allufions Spenfer ufually perplexes the fubject; he leads you on, and then defignedly misleads you: for he is writing a Fairy poem, not giving you the detail of an hiftorian. It seems to me that our poet makes ufe of the fame perplexing manner in hinting at the calumnious tale, then in every good woman's mouth, told of a certain lady at court, no less than a maid of honour to queen Elizabeth, and a daughter of Sir Nicholas Throgmorton, who had been too free of her favours before marriage to Sir Walter Raleigh: This lady he married afterwards, and fhe made him the moft quiet, the most ferene, and beft of wives. But the reader will not fail to apply this ftory, when he finds Serena and Timias (in whom all along, and almost in every circumftance is imaged Sir Walter Raleigh) both carried to the hermit's cell, to be cured of their fore maladies that they had contracted by the

bite of Calumny and Scandal. This ftory too he will apply, when he finds Timias under the difcipline of Difdain and Scorn, in Canto vii. and viii. The Salvage man characterized in Canto 4. St. 2. and in Canto 5. St. 2 and 41. was intended to be fhewn in a new light in fome other part of this poem, now left unfinifhed; and this falvage perhaps represents by way of type the heir of Lord Savage mentioned by Spenfer in his view of Ireland, now (he fays) a poor gentleman of very mean condition, yet dwelling in the Ardes. And the episode of the infant fav'd from a bear, and delivered to the wife of Sir Bruin to be brought up as their fon, might allude to the noble Irish family of the Mac-Mahoons, defcended from the Fitz-Urfulas. Thefe kind of types and symbols, and hiftorical allufions, the English reader will not fail to apply to many parts of this poem, when he confiders what Spenfer himself tells us in his introduction to B. ii. St. 4. namely, that there are certain SIGNS by which Fairy lond may be found. Hence the poem itself, by this pleafing mafk, partakes of the nature of fable, mystery and allegory, not only in its moral representations of virtues and vices, and in what relates to nature. and natural philofophy, but likewife in its history.

NOTES

« السابقةمتابعة »