Spenser’s Experiment with the Emblematic Mode in The Shepheardes Calender

Abstract

Based on the definition of the emblematic mode of thought by Albrecht Schöne, a recent German emblem scholar, this study explores the emblematic mode in Spenser's Shepheardes Calender (1579). According to Schöne, the emblem is characterized by the "dual function of description and representation or explanation and interpretation." When we approach the pastoral eclogues from this perspective, we can conclude that Spenser is more fairly versed in the emblematic mode of thinking that has been suggested by critics. Spenser's keen sense of the emblematic mode is clearly demonstrated in three eclogues: February, May, and July. These pastoral eclogues do not merely juxtapose the graphics and the texts; they refer to another meaning that is represented by the pictures. In his argument to The Calender, Spenser calls all of the three poems moral in that they contain satirical bitterness. February is a moral satire about the relationship between humility and pride, which are represented by the two shepherds, Thenot and Cuddies, on one hand and by the fable of the oak and the briar on the other hand. The emblems, or rather mottoes, of the shepherds drive home the harmony between the young and old. Spenser's experiment with the emblematic mode is further seen in the May eclogue. The cut to May presents the group of people both in and around the carriage in the front center. The two figures in the carriage bear striking similarities to Apollo and Venus / Flora, the mythological figures who appear in the allegory of spring in Renaissance paintings. By equating the figures in the carriage with the classical figures, Spenser denounces the undesirably dissipated life of Papists, whereas he praises the austerity of the Puritans. The July eclogue is another religious satire against Roman papism as opposed to Protestantism, which is signified by the place of the two characters, who are Thomalin and Morrell. Spenser was aware of the usefulness of the emblem in The Shepheardes Calender, and his experiment with this renaissance art continues in other works, for instance The Faerie Queene. Even though his knowledge of the emblem is not as complex and profound as is seen later writers such as Geffrey Whitney, Francis Quarles, and John Bunyan, Spenser is credited with the introduction and production of emblems in Renaissance England.