Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser (1552/1553 – 1599) 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 is considered one of the greatest poets in the English language.
The Queen Elizabeth I told her treasurer, William Cecil, to pay Spenser one hundred pounds for his poetry. The treasurer, however, objected that the sum was too much. She said, "Then give him what is reason". Without receiving his payment in due time, Spenser gave the Queen this quatrain on one of her progresses:
I was promis'd on a time,
To have a reason for my rhyme:
From that time unto this season,
I receiv'd nor rhyme nor reason.
She immediately ordered the treasurer pay Spenser the original £100.
Oil painting - 16th century
Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser (1552/1553 – 1599) 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 is considered one of the greatest poets in the English language.
The Queen Elizabeth I told her treasurer, William Cecil, to pay Spenser one hundred pounds for his poetry. The treasurer, however, objected that the sum was too much. She said, "Then give him what is reason". Without receiving his payment in due time, Spenser gave the Queen this quatrain on one of her progresses:
I was promis'd on a time,
To have a reason for my rhyme:
From that time unto this season,
I receiv'd nor rhyme nor reason.
She immediately ordered the treasurer pay Spenser the original £100.
Oil painting - 16th century