II. Spenser's Language and the Pastoral Tradition

Since the appearance of E. K.‘s dedicatory epistle in the first edition of Spenser's The Shepheardes Calendar, many theories have been advanced in explanation of the diction which Spenser used. Most of these have dealt with the influence of renaissance theories of diction on Spenser's language; many have added little to the material contained in E. K.‘s dedicatory epistle; and few have dealt with the details of the language itself. It is not my purpose in this paper to add another study to the list of those dealing with Spenser's relationship to contemporary theories of diction. It is my purpose rather to point out the extent to which Spenser used archaisms and to show that he consciously used a specialized diction for his pastoral poetry.