Spring 1582

Spring 1582

Spring

Lodowick Bryskett records, in A Discourse of Ciuill Life, that Spenser was present at a gathering of friends at Bryskett’s cottage outside Dublin. Spenser allegedly asked those present—including Sir Robert Dillon, Warham St. Leger, Thomas Norris, and Christopher Carleill—to excuse him from Bryskett’s request that he treat them to a discourse on moral philosophy on the grounds that he has already undertaken such a task in FQ. (Maley, 27) Hadfield argues that "Spenser's clear, precise, polite, and familiar manner of speech [in rejecting the invitation] bears a close resemblance to his surviving non-poetic works...perhaps we are genuinely hearing his voice here." (181-82)