The Spenser Encyclopedia

The poetry of Edmund Spenser is among the most wide-ranging and allusive ever written. The Spenser Encyclopedia offers a detailed literary guide to the life, works, and influence of one of England's greatest poets, and is the first collection to summarize the scholarship in this area since the publication of the Spenser Variorum fifty years ago. Comprehensive in scope and international in coverage, the Encyclopedia contains over 700 alphabetical entries by 422 contributors from 20 countries. Entries fall into three categories: synoptic essays on individual poems and on the major biographical, historical and social issues; articles providing a full collection of information on a particular topic and its relation to the tradition; and articles providing information relevant to the current state of Spenser studies. Throughout the Encyclopedia , Spenser's place in the English literary tradition is fully explored, and in particular his relationship to the minor Elizabethan poets is stressed. The volume also examines Spenser's reputation in other countries, such as France and Japan, and the effects of his influence on writers world-wide. An index provides access to material in the volume and all works cited more than once are included in a detailed bibliography. Extensive cross-referencing, a brief historical preface, and a guide to using the Encyclopedia are included.