This course will be devoted to a close reading of the most important texts of Spenser and Milton, The Faerie Queene and Paradise Lost. For students interested in the early modern period, it is meant to be a substantial consideration of these encyclopedic writers; equally, it is meant to provide relevant literary background for students who concentrate in other areas and who might never have read much of either poem. In the past these two intentions have meshed surprisingly well and have provoked discussion. Primary attention will be given to the poems themselves, to a thoughtful reading of them that is at once historical and as variously problematized as time allows. The length of these poems is a challenge, but whenever possible, I'll assign readings for discussion that will press current and continuing critical issues. The format will be a mixture of presentation and discussion. Plan on short reports and two or three exploratory papers (ca. 5 pp.); a conference-length paper (9-10 pp.) is an alternative possibility. Texts are The Faerie Queene, ed. Thomas P. Roche, and The Riverside Milton, ed. Roy Flanagan. (I will also order copies of the Norton edition of Spenser's Books I and III, ed. Hugh Maclean and Anne Lake Prescott, for students who prefer the convenience of annotations on the page for the first and third books.)