Edmund Spenser, Epithalamion

Tamsin Theresa Badcoe (University of Bristol)
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Edmund Spenser’s marriage hymn Epithalamion was first printed in a single octavo in 1595, together with the poet’s sonnet sequence Amoretti. They were entered in the Stationers’ Register on 19thNovember 1594 and were first published by William Ponsonby. Later folio editions printed together with Colin Clouts Come Home Againe and Spenser’s other shorter poems are dated 1611 and 1617. The initial appearance of Amoretti and Epithalamion in the same printed volume suggests that the poems were to be read in sequence; as such, the trials of love narrated in the sonnets can be seen to find their final conclusions not in the scattered disappointments of Amoretti, but in the lyrical …

1770 words

Citation: Badcoe, Tamsin Theresa. "Epithalamion". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 June 2013 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5321, accessed 29 March 2024.]

5321 Epithalamion 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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