• Original research article
  • July 1, 2017
  • Open access

“PROTHALAMION” AND THE STARRY SKY OF E. SPENSER

Abstract

Contrary to the tradition of examining “Prothalamion” (1596) as the second Epithalamion in the works of E. Spenser, the article focuses on the eulogy to Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, included in it. The comparison of Essex and suitors, related to him, with objects of the starry sky establishes a connection between “Prothalamion” and “The Ruines of Time” (1591), where celestial apotheosis of F. Sydney is celebrated. The hypothesis, explaining the choice of astronomical metaphors in “Prothalamion”, is proposed.

References

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Author information

Irina Igorevna Burova

St. Petersburg University

Zizhu Zang

St. Petersburg University

About this article

Publication history

  • Published: July 1, 2017.

Keywords

  • Эдмунд Спенсер
  • елизаветинская поэзия
  • ренессансный панегирик
  • граф Эссекс
  • «Проталама»
  • Edmund Spenser
  • Elizabethan poetry
  • Renaissance eulogy
  • Earl of Essex
  • “Prothalamion”

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© 2017 The Author(s)
© 2017 Gramota Publishing, LLC

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)