Edmund Spenser: The Faerie Queene The Bower of Bliss and The Garden of Adonis by Ian Mackean English Literature Home Page Course Summary English Literature Resources English Literature Essays ... Contact Us So passeth, in the passing of a day, Of mortall life the leafe, the bud, the flowre, Ne more doth flourish after first decay, That earst was sought to decke both bed and bowre, Of many a Ladie, and many a Paramowre: Gather therefore the Rose, whilest yet is prime, For soone comes age, that will her pride deflowre: Gather the Rose of love, whilest yet is time, Whilest loving thou mayest loved be with equall crime. [The Faerie Queene 11.X11.75] Edmund Spenser 1552 - 1599 The Bower of Bliss and the Garden of Adonis might look similar from a distance; their geographical form is certainly similar, and the tour on which Spenser takes us seems to follow the same kind of route. But their ostensible similarity, and their juxtaposition in two adjacent books of The Faerie Queene only serve to highlight their differences. The two gardens represent very different qualities of human life, and Spenser indicates the differences visually in his description of the gardens, verbally in the words he uses in these descriptions, and dramatically in the kinds of activity that take place in the gardens. | |
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