Customer Reviews
A Masterpiece - By: Michael Jacobs, 29 May 2005 
The literature of Spenser, unlike that of Shakespeare or other contemporaries, is almost always printed with the exact spelling found at at time. I guess this could throw a lot of people off course, but it reallly is just one of the many amazing elements of this book. As well as the fantastic & fabulous content, the reader becomes aware & synchronised with the linguistic element of such poetic beauty as well.
As an English student, I'm probably slightly biased about the accessibility of the book, but I'd only read a handful of plays from the late 1500s & early 1600s before launching into it. Although being vaguely familar with the syntax of the period, it was unlike anything I'd looked at previously.
But whether you intend to read the whole book from front to cover, or just dip into a few pages to experience the sheer poetic genius & brilliance, you'll experience great pleasure in doing so. It's also great to see this as a paperback version - although it's relatively large, it is portable (if that makes sense).
Words cannot express... - By: Lovborg, 09 Jun 2003 
...the unutterable tedium that this poem filled me with.
Passages are certainly great, its scope is - indeed - enormous & it is a "one off". But unless you are studying it as a student of English Literature (and if that's what you are, then you HAVE to read it) or you have nothing but time on your hands & have read pretty much everything else, I can't say that I can begin to recommend this. And comparisons with Shakespeare & Dante are surely misplaced: alll I can say is be thankful that he didn't finish the accursed thing.
Amazing. Worth the effort. - By: , 11 Apr 2003 The Faerie Queene is, to my mind, the finest single work of literature in English. It's a huge, encyclopaedia poem that draws in & represents the whole psychological landcape of a highly-educated early modern individual with an extraordinarily fertile imagination. Its alllegory tries to incorporate everything - from major cultural structures like the seven deadly sins & the myth of British descent from the Trojans to contemporary political intrigues & theories on the workings of the human mind & body. The poem goes from the heights of religious exultation to brutal representations of colonial power & imperial violence.
No review here is going to do it justice; I've read it several times & written about it a fair bit, but still can't imagine reallly feeling on top of it. Not everyone will like its dreamlike atmosphere & its frequently slow pace. Even the biggest fan will probably admit that long stretches of it are pretty tedious, particularly in the later stages. But the neglect it's falllen into is unforgiveable. Far too many undergraduates never get made to study the thing, & probably many who don't study literature at university won't ever try it. They should. There's nothing else like it & on its own ground nothing else can come close. In terms of density & richness of meaning, & of sheer proliferation of stories, it's an amazing work of genius that puts Spenser up there with Dante, Shakespeare & the rest of the world's very best writers. It's long & you need to put in a fair bit of effort, but it's worth it.
One of the greatest fantasy novels ever - seriously! - By: , 13 Jul 2000 Literature was never this easy! If you enjoyed Lord of the Rings or similar, this is the book for you. The Olde Englishe takes a little getting used to, but it's easier to read than Shakespeare, & the poetry only adds to the vividness of description. All of the standard fantasy elements: giants, dragons, knights, temptations, virtues etc. are present, but in unconventional forms in wonderfully original stories. It reallly is great fun, & a real treat for the regular fantasy reader. I wish we'd done it at school.
A beautiful, sensitive Midevil epic poem. - By: , 17 Nov 1996 The Faerie Queene is a classic of the English language & a
must read for anyone who has ever felt a touch of solitude.
Lurking beneath a seemingly Manichean story of knights,
maidens & monsters is a narrative of immense sensitivity.
Spenser was a brooding, fragile poet full of pain & sorrow
before it became a cliche. The Middle English verse is a kick
to read.
