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II. Spenser's Language and the Pastoral Tradition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2026

Roscoe E. Parker
Roscoe E. Parker*
Affiliation:
The University of California
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Extract

Since the appearance of E. K.‘s dedicatory epistle in the first edition of Spenser's The Shepheardes Calendar, many theories have been advanced in explanation of the diction which Spenser used. Most of these have dealt with the influence of renaissance theories of diction on Spenser's language; many have added little to the material contained in E. K.‘s dedicatory epistle; and few have dealt with the details of the language itself. It is not my purpose in this paper to add another study to the list of those dealing with Spenser's relationship to contemporary theories of diction. It is my purpose rather to point out the extent to which Spenser used archaisms and to show that he consciously used a specialized diction for his pastoral poetry.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Language , Volume 1 , Issue 3-Part1 , September 1925, pp. 80 - 87
Copyright
Copyright © Linguistic Society of America 1925

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References

1 Herford, C. H., The Shepheards Calendar, London, 1914, Introduction, p. xlix.

2 The Modern Language Review, 17. 15–16.

3 Studies in Philology, 20. 189.

4 Greg, W. W., Pastoral Poetry and Pastoral Drama 78–80.

5 Cf. Greg, op. cit. 80–82.

6 Cf. Herford's edition of The Shepheards Calendar, op. cit. 7.

7 The following books have been most helpful in this study: Abbott, E. A., A Shakespearian Grammar, London, 1873; A New English Dictionary, Onions, C. T., A Shakespeare Glossary, Oxford, 1911; Schmidt, Alexander. Shakespeare Lexicon, Berlin and London, 1874.

8 I am well aware of the fact that I have included in the above lists some words which occur in the writings of Spenser's contemporaries and that I have excluded others which occur only rarely in such writings. I have tried, however, to include all words which would appear archaic to an educated contemporary and to exclude such as would not.