LET DOWNE THAT
HAUGHTIE
STRING, etc.
Spenser - Faerie Queene - 1
Church and Nares take _uneath_ to mean "beneath"
or "underneath"; Kitchin conjectures "almost. "
31. THAT DREADFUL DRAGON, symbolical of Satan. Spenser here imitates the
combat between St. George and the Dragon in the _Seven Champions of
Christendom_, i.
32. This description of the dragon watching the tower from the sunny
hillside is justly admired for its picturesqueness, power, and
suggestiveness. The language is extremely simple, but the effect is
awe-inspiring. It has been compared with Turner's great painting of the
Dragon of the Hesperides.
42. O THOU SACRED MUSE, Clio, the Muse of History, whom Spenser calls the
daughter of Phoebus (Apollo) and Mnemosyne (Memory).
56. TILL I OF WARRES, etc. Spenser is here supposed to refer to his plan to
continue the _Faerie Queene_ and treat of the wars of the English with
Philip II ("Paynim King") and the Spanish ("Sarazin").
61.
LET DOWNE THAT HAUGHTIE STRING, etc. , cease that high-pitched strain
and sing a second (or tenor) to my (lower) tune.
120. AS TWO BROAD BEACONS. Kitchin thinks this passage is a reminiscence of
the beacon-fires of July 29, 1588, which signaled the arrival of the Armada
off the Cornish coast.
158. HER FLITTING PARTS, her shifting parts; referring to the instability
of the air.
161. LOW STOUPING, swooping low (to the ground); a term in falconry.
167. HAGARD HAUKE, a wild, untamed falcon.
168. ABOVE HIS HABLE MIGHT, beyond the strength of which he is capable.
172. HE SO DISSEIZED, etc. , i.
or "underneath"; Kitchin conjectures "almost. "
31. THAT DREADFUL DRAGON, symbolical of Satan. Spenser here imitates the
combat between St. George and the Dragon in the _Seven Champions of
Christendom_, i.
32. This description of the dragon watching the tower from the sunny
hillside is justly admired for its picturesqueness, power, and
suggestiveness. The language is extremely simple, but the effect is
awe-inspiring. It has been compared with Turner's great painting of the
Dragon of the Hesperides.
42. O THOU SACRED MUSE, Clio, the Muse of History, whom Spenser calls the
daughter of Phoebus (Apollo) and Mnemosyne (Memory).
56. TILL I OF WARRES, etc. Spenser is here supposed to refer to his plan to
continue the _Faerie Queene_ and treat of the wars of the English with
Philip II ("Paynim King") and the Spanish ("Sarazin").
61.
LET DOWNE THAT HAUGHTIE STRING, etc. , cease that high-pitched strain
and sing a second (or tenor) to my (lower) tune.
120. AS TWO BROAD BEACONS. Kitchin thinks this passage is a reminiscence of
the beacon-fires of July 29, 1588, which signaled the arrival of the Armada
off the Cornish coast.
158. HER FLITTING PARTS, her shifting parts; referring to the instability
of the air.
161. LOW STOUPING, swooping low (to the ground); a term in falconry.
167. HAGARD HAUKE, a wild, untamed falcon.
168. ABOVE HIS HABLE MIGHT, beyond the strength of which he is capable.
172. HE SO DISSEIZED, etc. , i.
