This is the first comprehensive edition of Spenser's shorter poems since the Variorum Minor Poems published in the 1940s. In the interval our understanding of Renaissance culture of Spenser's work has changed greatly. The new Shorter Poems has a double purpose: to provide a modern edition responding to the changes in our knowledge of Spenser over the past four decades and to create a text that can be used in graduate and undergraduate courses.
In this edition, substantial introductions to each of the poems discuss their generic and historical backgrounds, responding to the concerns raised by recent scholarship. The newly edited texts of the poems generally retain original spelling and punctuation. Extensive notes gloss archaic and obscure words and include up-to-date information on historical, mythological, and iconographic material. The book includes a chronology of Spenser's life and a list of critical works for further reading.
William Oram is associate professor of English at Smith College. Einar Bjorvand is lecturer at the Institute of English Studies, University of Oslo. Ronald Bond is professor of English at the University of Calgary. Thomas Cain is professor of English at MacMaster University. Alexander Dunlop is assistant professor of English at Auburn University. Richard Schell is associate professor of English at Laurentian University.