Colin Clouts Come Home Againe
Encyclopedia
Colin Clouts Come Home Againe (also known as Colin Clouts Come Home Again) is a pastoral poem by the English
poet Edmund Spenser
and published in 1595. It has been the focus of little critical attention in comparison with the poet's other works such as The Faerie Queene
, yet it has been called the "greatest pastoral eclogue
in the English language". In a tradition going back to Petrarch
, the pastoral eclogue contains a dialogue between shepherds with a narrative or song as an inset, and which also can conceal allegories of a political or ecclesiastical nature.
Colin Clouts Come Home Againe is an allegorical pastoral
based on the subject of Spenser's visit to London in 1591 and is written as a lightly veiled account of the trip. He wrote it after his return home to Ireland later that year. He dedicated the poem to Sir Walter Ralegh in partial payment for the "infinite debt" Spenser felt he owed him. (Sir Walter Ralegh had visited him prior to his London trip, convincing him to go.) Spenser also sent Ralegh several versions of the poem between 1591 and 1595 when the poem was published. In the poem, Colin Clouts gives a description of the London visit; the poem is Spenser's most autobiographical and identifies a number of anonymous poets, the real life identities of whom have been the grist of speculation over time.
Although Colin Clouts Come Home Againe is a pure pastoral poem, the poet, through the use of "inset within inset narrations, is able to mock the limitations of the pastoral mode through poking fun at the use of ordinary words. While he intersperses "grim realities" into the pastoral text, he does so in a georgic (didactic
) tone, achieving a rustic effect that is more realistic than the strictly pastoral mode; and then the poem rises to "an exalted vision of cosmic love" in a way that gives the poem a cultivated complexity that was unique to English literature at that time and which became a model for many later poets.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
poet Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognised as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, and one of the greatest poets in the English...
and published in 1595. It has been the focus of little critical attention in comparison with the poet's other works such as The Faerie Queene
The Faerie Queene
The Faerie Queene is an incomplete English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. The first half was published in 1590, and a second installment was published in 1596. The Faerie Queene is notable for its form: it was the first work written in Spenserian stanza and is one of the longest poems in the English...
, yet it has been called the "greatest pastoral eclogue
Eclogue
An eclogue is a poem in a classical style on a pastoral subject. Poems in the genre are sometimes also called bucolics.The form of the word in contemporary English is taken from French eclogue, from Old French, from Latin ecloga...
in the English language". In a tradition going back to Petrarch
Petrarch
Francesco Petrarca , known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar, poet and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch is often called the "Father of Humanism"...
, the pastoral eclogue contains a dialogue between shepherds with a narrative or song as an inset, and which also can conceal allegories of a political or ecclesiastical nature.
Colin Clouts Come Home Againe is an allegorical pastoral
Pastoral
The adjective pastoral refers to the lifestyle of pastoralists, such as shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasturage. It also refers to a genre in literature, art or music that depicts such shepherd life in an...
based on the subject of Spenser's visit to London in 1591 and is written as a lightly veiled account of the trip. He wrote it after his return home to Ireland later that year. He dedicated the poem to Sir Walter Ralegh in partial payment for the "infinite debt" Spenser felt he owed him. (Sir Walter Ralegh had visited him prior to his London trip, convincing him to go.) Spenser also sent Ralegh several versions of the poem between 1591 and 1595 when the poem was published. In the poem, Colin Clouts gives a description of the London visit; the poem is Spenser's most autobiographical and identifies a number of anonymous poets, the real life identities of whom have been the grist of speculation over time.
Although Colin Clouts Come Home Againe is a pure pastoral poem, the poet, through the use of "inset within inset narrations, is able to mock the limitations of the pastoral mode through poking fun at the use of ordinary words. While he intersperses "grim realities" into the pastoral text, he does so in a georgic (didactic
Didacticism
Didacticism is an artistic philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature and other types of art. The term has its origin in the Ancient Greek word διδακτικός , "related to education/teaching." Originally, signifying learning in a fascinating and intriguing...
) tone, achieving a rustic effect that is more realistic than the strictly pastoral mode; and then the poem rises to "an exalted vision of cosmic love" in a way that gives the poem a cultivated complexity that was unique to English literature at that time and which became a model for many later poets.