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Glite Dictionary
🧑‍🎤 A Spenser-style poet 9️⃣ A nine-line stanza 📜 Like Spenser's works
Spenserian

Spenserian

9.9
A poet who copies Edmund Spenser's style and language in poetry
  • noun
  • /spɛnˈsɪəriən/
  • Literature
translation icon : spenseriano
  • Many critics consider him a true Spenserian because of his use of archaic language.

Examples

  • She was called a Spenserian for her elaborate verse and classical references.

  • The literary journal published an essay by a modern Spenserian exploring epic poetry.

  • The Spenserian style is characterized by its rich imagery.

  • Many Spenserians admire the beauty of his language.

  • The literary journal featured a piece by a contemporary Spenserian who captures the spirit of Spenser's poetry.

  • Many poets today identify as Spenserians due to their dedication to imitating Edmund Spenser's stylistic techniques.

  • She gained recognition as a Spenserian because her poems reflected the themes and language reminiscent of Spenser.

Compounds

Spenserian sonnet
  • Literature
9.9

A 14-line poem in lines of ten beats with three four-line parts and a final rhymed pair

Spenserian stanza
  • Literature
9.9

A nine-line group in a poem with eight short lines, one longer final line, and rhyme abab bcbc c

Surface Forms

Spenserian singular
Spenserians plural

Morphology

Spenserian = Spenser (semi-transparent) = Spenser + ian

The form clearly means 'relating to Spenser', but the specialized noun sense 'a writer who imitates Spenser' is not fully predictable from the suffix alone.

Etymology

Spenserian comes from the poet Edmund Spenser and names a writer who tries to copy his language and way of writing. So a 'Spenserian' is someone who writes 'like Spenser'.