Edmund Spenser, View of the Present State of Ireland

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Edmund Spenser’s A View of the Present State of Ireland has successfully stirred up debate and controversy since its completion at the end of the sixteenth century. Spenser was “deeply involved in Ireland, as a politician, writer, colonist and civil servant” (Hadfield and Maley xvi). As such, the ideas that are conveyed through the two speakers in A View carry the weight of Spenser’s experience in Ireland. As Elizabeth Fowler remarks, “[in] A Vewe the topics of constitutional, customary, and ecclesiastical law and policy are brought out from behind the “dark conceit” of Spenser’s allegory, and faced in an elegant, moving, sometimes chilling example of Renaissance …

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Citation: Roy, David. "View of the Present State of Ireland". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 August 2014 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8621, accessed 29 March 2024.]

8621 View of the Present State of Ireland 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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