Prothalamion
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1596
- Era
- Renaissance
- Form
- Lyric poetry
- Language
- English
- Length
- Short · 10 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Shorter PoemsPenguin Classics, 1999Richard McCabe's edition of everything but The Faerie Queene, with full glosses.
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A betrothal poem of ten stanzas, written for the double engagement of the Earl of Worcester's daughters in 1596. The poet walks by the Thames and sees two swans, white as the brides, gliding down to Essex House while nymphs strew flowers, and follows them to the wedding. Between the pageant Spenser laments his own disappointed hopes at court and praises the Earl of Essex. The refrain asking the Thames to run softly was borrowed by T. S. Eliot in The Waste Land.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Prothalamion are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.