The Specter of Dido: Spenser and Virgilian Epic

This pathbreaking book dismantles the stereotype of Spenser as one who blurs earlier epic traditions. John Watkins`s examinations of Spenser`s major poetry reveal a poet keenly attuned to dissonances among his classical, medieval, and early modern sources. By bringing Virgil into a dialogue with Chaucer, Ariosto, and Tasso, Spenser transformed the most patriarchal of genres into a vehicle for praising the Virgin Queen.