S7E24 – AH – “Jack’s Bookshelf: Edmund Spenser”, After Hours with Fr. Stephen Gregg

David invites Fr. Stephen Gregg on to talk about Edmund Spenser, a sixteenth-century poet famous for his work “The Faerie Queene”.

S7E24: “Jack’s Bookshelf: Edmund Spenser”, After Hours with Fr. Stephen Gregg (Download)

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Show Notes

Introduction

Quote of the Week

For whatsoever from one place doth fall,
Is with the tide unto an other brought:
For there is nothing lost, that may be found, if sought.

Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene

Biographical Information

Fr. Stephen Gregg was born in Texas and entered the Cistercian Order at Our Lady of Dallas in 2006 and made his solemn profession on July 3, 2011. On September 8, 2012 he was ordained to the priesthood.

He has taught English, Fine Arts, Latin and Theology at the Cistercian boys’ school, and he is now Affiliate Assistant Professor of English at the University of Dallas, where he completed his doctorate in 2022.

Toast

Discussion

01. “Intro to Edmund Spenser”

Q. Who was Edmund Spenser? What was his background?

02. “A crucial Sixteenth Century author”

Q. What makes Spenser such an important author?

  • David first heard a line from Spenser in the movie adaptation of Sense and Sensibility:

03. “Encountering the Poet”

Q. When did you encounter Spenser?

Beyond all doubt it is best to have made one’s first acquaintance with Spenser in a very large and preferably illustrated edition of the Faerie Queene, on a wet day, between the ages of twelve and sixteen.

C.S. Lewis, Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature

04. “Spenser’s Appeal”

Q. What was it about Spenser that first got you hooked?

05. “Influencing Spenser”

Q. What were Spenser’s influences? What or who shaped his mind and writing?

06. “Spenser’s Corpus”

Q. Can you give us a brief overview of Spenser’s corpus? What were his major works? Is the Faerie Queene what everyone knows about, or did he write other things as well?

07. “The Faerie Queene”

Q. You’ve spoken quite a bit about The Faerie Queene. What is the story about?

The poem is a great palace, but the door into it is so low that you must stoop to go in. No prig can be a Spensarian. It is, of course, much more than a fairytale, but unless we can enjoy it as a fairytale first of all, we should not really care for it.

C.S. Lewis, Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature

This kind of poetry, if receptively read, has psychotherapeutic powers.

C.S. Lewis, Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature

08. “Influencing Lewis”

Q. Is there anything else you’d want to talk about Spenser’s influence on Lewis?

…symbols are the natural speech of the soul…

C.S. Lewis, Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature

09. “Where to Begin”

Q. If someone has never read Edmund Spenser before, how do they begin?

10. “Opening Stanza”

Lo I the man, whose Muse whilome did maske,
As time her taught, in lowly Shepheards weeds,
Am now enforst a far unfitter taske,
For trumpets sterne to chaunge mine Oaten reeds,
And sing of Knights and Ladies gentle deeds;
Whose prayses having slept in silence long,
Me, all too meane, the sacred Muse areeds
To blazon broade emongst her learned throng:
Fierce warres and faithfull loves shall moralize my song.

Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene (Book 1, Stanza 1)

Wrap-Up

More Information

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Posted in After Hours Episode, David, Podcast Episode, Season 7 and tagged .

After working as a Software Engineer in England for several years, David moved to the United States in 2008, where he settled in San Diego. Then, in 2020 he married his wife, Marie, and moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin. Together they have a son, Alexander, who is adamant that Narnia should be read publication order.