Spensers Mother Hubbards Tale - Essay Example

Spenser’s ‘Mother Hubbard’s Tale’ Contents, 1.Introduction – page 1 2.Thesis – page 3 3.Method – page 3 4.Lord Burghley – page 3 5.The Political Context – page 6 6.What Did Spenser Actually Say That Was Considered To Be Inflammatory? – page 7 7.The Aftermath – page 10 8.Conclusion – page 11 9.Works Cited – page 12 1.Introduction In 1591, when the fable of ‘Posopopoia: Or, Mother Hubbard’s Tale’, in decasybllic heroic couplets, was published as part of ‘Complaints Containing Sundry Small Poems of the World's Vanity’, Spenser was already a famous poet as his famed ‘Faerie Queene’ had been widely acclaimed the previous year and his ‘Shepheardes Calender’ was so popular that it had gone to four printings. The piece, Spenser’s only known work in heroic couplets, is a satire on both church and state, very critical of the corruption that the poet perceived all around him in Tudor England. The poet uses medieval imagery, allegory and styles, just as he had already done in ‘the Faerie Queene’ the previous year, in order to get his points across in a way that was covert and indirect, yet which would at the same be understood by those for whom it was intended. It is commonly understood that the Fox character represents courtier Burghley, and the Ape has been likened to the French ambassador of the time, Simier. Even the name implies simian tendencies and, according to Lancashire (2009) the queen referred to that gentleman as her monkey. He would have been often at court because of the protracted marriage negotiations with the French Catholic royal family. The writer of the web page ‘Who was William Cecil?’ states however that the Fox and the Ape were the Cecils, father and son. Robert, born in 1563, was Burghley’s only surviving son. Burghley could be described as having all his eggs in one basket and seems to have very concerned to provide his son with a secure future. If people believed what they read in this poem the future of the Cecil’s was at risk and so the order was given to suppress the work. The nearest comparison as a poem would be to Spenser’s hero Chaucer and his Canterbury Tales, which of course commented upon the social situation’s of Chaucer’s day and which included animal character such as the cock Chanticleer and his wife in the Nun Priest’s Tale. Lord Burghley was at that time high up at court and had been for some years. In 1571 he had been created a lord, one of very few such elevations Elizabeth made during her long reign, so its gives some measure of the great esteem in which the queen held her chief advisor. According to Baugh, (1948) the poem may have been written 10 years before publication and was later revised in order to deal with the change in circumstances. In 1580, as described by his biographer for the Poetry Society, ( 2010) he was a relatively poor man and those, such as his friend Sidney were not welcome at court. ‘It may be that the young poet's representation of delicate affairs of state had left him with few defenders and fewer prospects for advancement at court.’ says the anonymous biographer. Then in 1580 he began to climb upwards socially, beginning with his appointment as secretary to the new Lord Deputy of Ireland. His ‘Faerie Queene’ was of course a runaway success. Some years previously Spenser had used the device of a pastoral poem, ‘The Shepherdes Calender’, to promote the viewpoint of his employer the queen’s suitor Leicester and he was well aware of how the written word could be used to put forward ideas. Poetry, or literature, has had from antiquity a unique role to play in mediating to the magistrates the thoughts of the governed, and that it exists, or ought to, in a privileged position of compromise. (Patterson, 1984, page 13) This was something Spenser was also aware of. Poetry was a useful way of putting ideas forward. Patterson speaks about the way in which, playwrights, clergymen, poets and others were able to communicate without confronting officials directly. Lancashire (2009) points out how ‘Mother Hubbard’s Tale’ was accompanied by a declaration from the author that it was ‘long sithens composed in the raw conceipt of youth.’ Why had he waited so long? Perhaps the wrongs he portrayed had got worse in his opinion, or it may be that he felt more secure as an established writer after his success with ‘the Faerie Queen’ in the previous year, and so less likely to be at a disadvantage. He was to prove to have been over optimistic. He would never again attend court and was virtually exiled. 2.Thesis Spenser quite deliberately set out to point out what he saw as official wrongs to be righted. William Cecil, Lord Burghley, reacted to this strongly for political as well as personal reasons. 3.Method This will consist of careful consideration of various texts, including those from the time concerned. These and the actual text of the poem would then be analyzed and conclusions drawn. 4.Lord Burghley Lord Burghley would have been recognized by readers as the Fox in this tale, the fox who commits many wrongs. For this reason Burghley, seeking to secure his own prosperity and that of his son, acted quickly to suppress the poem. Lord Burghley, although he worshipped as a Catholic during the reign of Queen Mary, became secretary of state in 1550 and in 1558, when Elizabeth succeeded her sister as queen. He had been among the first to visit the new queen after her sister’s death and was also the first of her privy councilors to swear his allegiance. It isn’t surprising then that Elizabeth I almost immediately appointed him as chief secretary of state. He remained in high office until his death in 1598, becoming Lord High Treasurer in 1572. He initiated an army of spies to ensure homeland security, but was also involved in protecting the nation from Spain and in the preparations for the arrival of the Armada in 1588. He was closely involved with all the ins and outs of plots centered upon Mary, Queen of Scots. The queen’s secretary had affixed the royal seal on the death warrant, as described on the web page ‘Who was William Cecil?’(undated), and had ended up a prisoner in the tower for his efforts, even though it seems likely he was coerced into this by Burghley and Leicester, and even they believed they were doing what was best for the queen and for England. Burghley, temporarily at least, fell from favor with the queen, so he was well aware that as close to the queen as he was, and as important as he was, his fate still depended upon the sovereign’s good opinion. He was therefore a person who would be looking for every nuance and claim that might be considered to be anti clerical or government as well of course which might be to his personal disadvantage or that of the nation. Thomas Scott (1624) remarked in ‘Vox Regis’ that ‘sometimes Kings are content in Playes and Maskes to be admonished of divers things’ – Burghley was neither king or willing to be made a fool of, the work was suppressed and Spenser more or less exiled in Ireland, with no more prospects of royal patronage, only returning to England on a permanent basis when near his death. Burghley was a promoter of the French Roman Catholic Duke of Anjou and Alencon as a suitable spouse for the queen. When Spenser published the ‘Shepheardes Calender’ in 1579 he promoted the opposite viewpoint , that of Leicester who was not only against the French marriage, but hoped for a long time to marry the queen himself. This work was still in publication (it went to four editions) when ‘Complaints’, in which Mother Hubbard’s Tale was included, was published. Spenser was therefore already known to be opposed to Burghley. Burghley had ‘no liking for poetry of any kind’ according to Jokenin (1996). The same author quotes Spenser as having said that, despite great popularity, he had his detractors, ‘of having suffered from the venomous tooth of the Blatant Beast’ i.e. a monster described in ‘The Faerie Queene’ the previous year, 1590. It had a thousand tongues, none of which had anything but abuse to proclaim. Burghley was not as fond of Spenser’s work as the queen was. This may have had something to do in with the way Lord Grey, Lord –Deputy of Ireland and Spenser’s employer, had been portrayed. Spenser matches him to the character of Arthegal, a personification of justice. Spenser was an admirer of Grey and his planned policies as is made clear throughout his ‘View of the State of Ireland’, (1633) but Grey was prevented from carrying out his plans. The queen wanted to pay him a pension, but Burghley managed to moderate this generosity, perhaps to only one payment instead of a regular payment or pension, according to the undated Edmund Spenser Home Page. Elsewhere (Tees, undated) Burghley, who was by this time inclined to deafness, according to ( undated) ‘Who was William Cecil?. The writer of that page quotes him as having said ‘"What, all this for a song!". This was when it was proposed that Spenser be given a payment of 100 pounds for his poem ‘the Faerie Queene’. The writer of the Edmund Spenser Home Page states that ‘Judging from a commentary on the scandal recently discovered in a contemporary letter, Spenser seems to have returned to Ireland in the early months of 1591 as a direct result of the offense he had caused to Burghley’. No reference is given to this however. 5.The Political Context The political context was the troubled 16th century, a time of upheaval, even though there was no official Civil War as there had been in the previous century. The Reformation had brought many problems for the church – Catholic and otherwise. There were also a number of rebellions, large and small. During Elizabeth’s reign there had been the ‘Rising of the North’ in 1569 -a plot to reinstate Roman Catholicism as outlined in the Queen Elizabeth Timeline (undated). The period was also one where secret codes and letters had caused many problems as in the famous ‘casket letters’ of Mary Queen of Scots who had caused so many problems and threats to the stability of the country, especially as she was a Catholic and the horrors of Mary Tudor’s days were still in vivid living memory. Although the poem is not in code it did say things in a very indirect way while at the same time painting a strong image of corruption and injustice at a court where Burghley was a very important figure. Holished, a major chronicler of Elizabeth’s reign has described how Kett’s Rebellion arose after rebels met at a play in 1549 where he states’ they were stirred up to ‘enter further into their wicked enterprise’ (quoted by Alexander 1997). The rebellion was against rural poverty brought about to a large extent by land enclosures, and occurred at a time when the country was in economic crisis and had Edward, a sickly boy of only 12 on the throne, and Mary, a half Spanish Catholic, as his probable successor. 18,000 hungry rebels had surrounded Norwich and the problem had required 1000’s of soldiers to deal with it. Burghley was therefore only too aware of trouble that could result from the written word, just as Spenser was also aware of the power in his writing. There would be more to come for Burghley as there was lots of speculation that Shakespeare’s Polonius, a corrupt character in Hamlet, was meant to be taken for Burghley according to Alexander, (1997), but he may well have died before it was produced or that important piece of writing might have suffered a similar fate. 6.What Did Spenser Actually Say That Was Considered To Be Inflammatory? Spenser did not say one thing, but many that were considered at the time to be insulting, and perhaps likely to inflame the population to rebellion. Spenser was very familiar with early Greek writings, as is clear from his many classical allusions in ‘The Shepheardes Calender’ (1579). It was from ancient pastoral poetry, and also possibly from more recent works in a similar style such as that of Plutarch and Sannazaro, that he had learned the value of using mythology and allegory to put forward the ideas he wanted to promote. Baugh (1948, page 488) describes the poem ‘Mother Hubbard’s Tale’ as being in 4 parts. As told by Mother Hubbard in the first three sections the stock characters of the fox and an ape live among the world of men. In the final segment of the poem they return to the animal world. Spenser attacks in quick succession systems of agriculture, the clergy, social life and the government. Early in the poem the writer apologizes for the language used – he blames this on the fact that the narrator is just an old woman. Chaucer had in a similar way excused the somewhat bawdy language of his characters two hundred years or so earlier. The slack way in which landowners allowed unskilled people to do the hard work is satirized as when the ape taken on as a shepherd despite his obvious unsuitability and the fox acts as his dog with the results one might expect – they eat the sheep - lines 191 onwards. The corrupt way in which clergy at that time obtained benefices is described (lines 482 onwards). The suggestion given is that they attempt nepotism or at least crawling to some nobleman. When the Ape and Fox state that they would like to become Clerics they are instructed to pretend a godly zeal and ‘seem saintlike’ i.e. put on a false godliness. Line 385 describes a genuine priest, yet on who cannot read, let alone have knowledge of Greek or Latin. All he does is give homilies and ‘attend his playes an easy life’ (lines 394,5), that is ‘take it easy’. The pair wants to wear silks rather than wool (line 460,461). They give the excuse that they need to wear fine clothes in order to appear before God. They are not however prepared to practice chastity. (line 477). Liberty for all in this as in other things is promoted - still a dangerous concept in those times. Although feudalism was a thing of the past the majority depended upon some form of dependency on a patron, whether the Lord of the Manor, a bishop or even the Queen herself. If every individual began to do things as they personally wanted with no regard for the rights of others then the result would be akin to a revolution in society, even if treason was not intended. In lines 891-914 the wasted life of a courtier is described:- To have thy prince's grace, yet want her peers'; To have thy asking, yet wait many years; To fret thy soul with crosses and with cares, To eat thy heart through comfortless despairs: To fawn, to crouch, to wait, to ride, to run, To spend, to give, to want, to be undone Baugh points out how in the final section (lines 938 – 1384) the courtier Burghley is portrayed as a fox who is greedy, imperious and guilty of nepotism. He is even described oppressive (line 1305) and false (1285). In this section at least the attack is a very personal and vitriolic one. The poem also speaks of ‘the lion’ in a strongly negative way. This lion is obviously masculine, but nevertheless must be meant to represent the crowned head of England. In lines 952 -4 the lion is described in disarray, naked and asleep, having removed his royal robes and both crown and sceptre. This is a most oblique way of referring to the queen whom Spenser seems to be saying was out of touch with what was going on. The Lion sleeping sly in secret shade, His crown and sceptre lying him beside And having doffed for heat his dreadful hide. The implication was that the queen was taking her ease, ignoring her responsibilities and leaving herself, and the throne of England, open to attack and usurption. Later, lines 1050 the ape is persuaded to take the crown, but this is ‘upon condition, that ye ruled bee in all affaires, and counselled by mee.’ (Lines 1051,1052) These are supposed we must remember, of Burghley to his sovereign. This would almost imply treason at a time when rule was still absolute, and a sovereign believed to be divinely appointed. To this false king ‘monstrous beasts resorted (Line 1122). This seems to be a way of describing the various coats of arms of those who sought favors. The fox is described as stuffing the mouths of his cubs with benefices – a clear pointer at nepotism. (Line1154). 7.The Aftermath Publication was immediately followed by censorship. The book was immediately suppressed and soon afterwards Spenser was sent into exile in Ireland. According to Thomas and Miller (1990, page 177) Burghley was not the only person Spenser offended in the poem. Carroll (1994) speaks about a recently discovered letter which states that it was because of the fable of the Fox and Ape, which was seen at the time as pointing at Burghley. The Fox is traditionally a malicious character according to Carroll. He cites Nashe as using the figure of a fox when he wants a hypocritical character in his tale. Carroll described ( pages 107-113) how often the fox is meant to represent the Anglican church when it had Catholic tendencies, but how in the 1590’s the fox would clearly have been seen as a figure of Burghley and would have been understood as such. One reason is that Burghley was a great match maker. Carroll describes how Hurstfield calls him ‘A matchmaker for all England’. He certainly arranged a marriage between a Cecil lady and the young earl of Oxford. Burghley had a number of wards whom he married off to his own advantage. In the poem the badger is without friends and family and is urged to marry by the wily fox. According to Wilson,(1993, page 137) , as cited by Alexander, (1997) badger refers to Grey’s Inn, the law school which Burghley had attended. The fox is encouraged, if he wants to get on at court ‘ to learne to laugh to lie, to face, to forge, to scoffe to companie , to crouch to please , to be a beetle stock of they great master’s will.’ (Lines 505-508) Burghley was of course the ultimate courtier. In lines 670 onwards the Ape manages to fool people that he is a real great gentleman when he was nothing of the kind. The letter writer describes how scarce and expensive the book became. Carroll goes on to say that any work in fable form quickly became very popular – perhaps the equivalent of celebrity magazines with their various revelations – true or not - in the 21st century. The book was immediately suppressed and the poet given a political appointment in Ireland, where presumably it was felt he would do less damage. He would only return to England some 6 years later in 1598, the year in which Burghley died and only a year before his own death. The court may have dismissed him, but the dead poet was honored and buried in Westminster Abbey, next to his hero and fellow poet Geoffrey Chaucer. 8. Conclusion Burghley had survived all the ups and downs of Tudor life. Born in 1520 he had lived through 5 reigns, if one counts that of Lady Jane Grey. For much of that time he must have been walking a political and religious tightrope, constantly making compromises and adjustments and looking over his shoulder , trying to please his sovereign, whoever that might be, but also keeping a sharp eye out for the main chance for himself and his family. Cecil was by this time an elderly man of more than 70. Perhaps all he wanted was a little peace and quiet. He already had a poor opinion of Spenser as he had of poetry in general. How much his dislike of this particular poem was based upon personal dislike, and how much he believed it to be likely to foment trouble is impossible to say with any exactitude. The piece would perhaps be considered as libelous - he was after all a trained lawyer. Was it really likely to bring about rebellion though? Or would it merely produce sniggering when Burghley went by? On the other hand he might well realize that the queen would be highly likely to read the poem and, intelligent woman that she undoubtedly was, would also be aware of its many nuances and insults, hidden or explicit. After all in both ‘The Faerie Queene’ and ‘The Shepheardes Calender’ and Spenser had eulogized her and elevated her into a goddess. If she read this piece with understanding she might well be shocked, especially if she believes the implied accusations made therein, a section of which clearly implying her own faults, real or otherwise. Moreover it describes proud and perhaps somewhat self –important Burghley as a ‘beetlestock’. Line 507) This referred to a kind of hammer. A hammer cannot achieve anything by itself – it is merely a tool to be used by another. No wonder the proud Burghley was insulted. 9.Works Cited Alexander, M., Polonius as Lord Burghley, 1997. 23rd February 2011, http://www.sourcetext.com/sourcebook/essays/polonius/corambis.html#anchor156277 Baugh, A. (editor), A Literary History of England, New York, Appleton-Century Croft, 1948 Carroll, D., Greene’s Groatsworth of Wit, Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies, Binghampton: 1994.cited by Mark Alexander, Polonius as Lord Burghley, 1997. 23rd February 2011, http://www.sourcetext.com/sourcebook/essays/polonius/corambis.html#anchor156277 Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, circa, 1369 to1372. Edmund Spenser, Biography, Poetry Foundation, 2010, 27th February 2011 http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/edmund-spenser Edmund Spenser Home Page, 24th February 2011, 25th February 2011, http://www.english.cam.ac.uk/spenser/biography.htm. Jokenin, A., Edmund Spenser, 1996, 24th February 2011, http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/spensbio.htm Lancashire, I., Edward Spenser, (1552-1599) Prosopopoia: or Mother Hubbard’s Tale, Representative Poetry Online, 2009 24th February 2011, http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/1993.html Patterson, A. Censorship and Interpretation: The Conditions of Reading and Writing in Early Modern English, Madison, University of Wisconsin, 1984. Queen Elizabeth Timeline, 24th February 2011 http://www.history-timelines.org.uk/people-timelines/06-queen-elizabeth-i-timeline.htm Petrarch, Humanist Texts, 14th Century, 24th February 2011, http://www.humanistictexts.org/petrarch.htm Sannazaro, Jacopo, Encyclopedia.com, 2011, 19th February 2011 http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3409200415/sannazaro-jacopo-14581530-italian.html Scott, T., Vox Regis, Utrecht, A van Herwijck, 1624, cited by Patterson Spenser, E., Mother Hubbard’s Tale, Sinclair, U. (editor), The Cry for Justice: An Anthology of the Literature of Social Protest, 1915, 24th February 2011, http://www.bartleby.com/71/1537.html Spenser, E., The Faerie Queene, London 1590. Spenser, E., View of the State of Ireland, 1633, The Nun Priest’s Tale, Chaucer, circa 1398, 27th February 2011 http://www.enotes.com/canterbury-tales-text/the-nuns-priests-tale Thomas, E. and Miller, E., Writers and Philosophers: A Sourcebook of Philosophical Influences on Literature, New York, Greenwood Press, 1990 Who was William Cecil? Britain Unlimited, (undated) 24th February 2011, http://www.britainunlimited.com/Biogs/Cecil.htm Wilson, I, Shakespeare: The Evidence, New York, St. Martin's Press,1993. Read More