Melville's Use of Spenser
Moses, Carole
Melville used Spenser throughout his life, from the second «Fragment From a Writing Desk» to Clarel. His fascination with the Renaissance poet is revealed by his annotations of Spenser, which show an interest in what he seems to see as a dualistic vision, a vision that corresponds to his comments on Hawthorne and Spenser in «Hawthorne and His Mosses.» Occasionally, Melville will hold up Spenser's ideal world as one which is illusory, but often...