Mother Hubberd's Tale
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Mother Hubberd's Tale'' is a poem by English poet Edmund Spenser, written in 1578–1579. The more commonly read version of the poem is a revision of the original, created sometime in 1590, and published in 1591 as a part of Spenser's collection '' Complaints''. "Mother Hubberd's Tale" was sold separately from the rest of the collection it was published with, though the reason why is debated among scholars. The poem follows the story of a sick, bedridden poet, who has visitors who try to entertain him with stories. The only one the poet finds worthy enough to retell is the tale told by Old Mother Hubberd about an ape and a fox. The poem is an
allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...
poem, with overarching themes in search of political reform. The poem was said to have antagonized
Lord Burghley William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1 ...
, the primary secretary of
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
, and estranged Spenser from the English court, despite his success in that arena with his previous (and most famous) work, ''
The Faerie Queene ''The Faerie Queene'' is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books IIII were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IVVI. ''The Faerie Queene'' is notable for its form: at over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 sta ...
''.


Inspiration and publication

There is a point of contention between scholars as to where Spenser drew his inspiration from. There is evidence that Spenser could have gotten his inspiration from Geoffrey Chaucer's main work, '' The Canterbury Tales'', as there are several similarities in the templates of the two poems. This connection extends to the subject matter of the tale, which is similar to the beast fable of the "Nun Priest's Tale", but the proliferate nature of beast fables makes this unlikely. The other likely possibility is that Spenser drew inspiration from
Anton Francesco Doni Anton may refer to: People *Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Anton (surname) Places *Anton Municipality, Bulgaria **Anton, Sofia Province, a village *Antón District, Panama **Antón, a town and capital of th ...
's work, ''La Moral Filosophia'', which is a collection of stories akin to ''
Aesop's Fables Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to ...
''. There are several pieces of evidence that suggest that Spenser could have drawn inspiration from ''La Moral Filosophia'', among them the fact that Spenser had used the book in others of his works, notably the ''Shepherd's Calendar'' and in the '' Visions of the World's Vanity'', and that there are several traits from Doni's work that have found their way into the fox, ape and the mule of "Mother Hubberd's Tale". Spenser chose to sell "Mother Hubberd's Tale" separately from the other works in the collection it was from, and scholars have debated the reason for this choice. Some scholars think it is because Spenser was trying to optimize his profits on his works by selling the poems individually rather than as a group. Another theory is that Spenser was worried about the quality of the Tale, and wanted to be able to pull it out if it did not receive a good reaction without removing the entirety of the Complaints at once.


Biblical references

Certain characters within "Mother Hubberd's Tale" attempt to use biblical passages to suit their own needs. The priest uses biblical material in lines 465-466 to try to put emphasis on what he views is the need for those of his calling to wear fine clothing. The phrase he uses, 'Should with vile cloaths approach Gods maieatie,/ whom no uncleannes may approachen nie’ does not directly correlate to the passage he seems to wish to reference. That passage is from the second letter to the Corinthians, in chapter six, verse seventeen: 'Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.' These sorts of biblical references made throughout the poem for a sort of allegory in and of themselves, alluding to larger issues in Spenser's works, such as political reform.


Allegorical elements

The baseline allegorical elements in "Mother Hubberd's Tale" can be found in the representation of the animals in the Tale. The animals are representative of public figures of the time period. The fox is widely believed to represent Lord Burghley, though the ape's meaning is comparatively debated. The ape is believed to represent one of three people, and the interpretation varies depending on who is attempting to read into the allegory. The ape has been associated with Jean de Simier, James VI of Scotland, or
Sir Robert Cecil Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, (1 June 156324 May 1612), was an English statesman noted for his direction of the government during the Union of the Crowns, as Tudor England gave way to Stuart rule (1603). Lord Salisbury served as the ...
. There is evidence connecting the ape to Simier, who reportedly charmed Queen Elizabeth and was said to be nicknamed Elizabeth’s ‘monkey’. Simier was connected to a Catholic French duke, who desired to become Elizabeth’s consort. The proposal would have likely been disapproved of by Spenser. In lines 615-636, there is a series of allusions to the fact that Elizabeth I gave gold chains to several individuals who participated in the Portugal Expedition of 1589. Most notable of those individuals was Sir Walter Raleigh, who was gifted with a golden chain, along with several of his crewmates, as a reward for their success on the expedition.Mounts, Charles E. "The Ralegh-Essex Rivalry and Mother Hubberds Tale." Modern Language Notes 65.8 (1950): 509-13. Print.


Sources


External links


Text of Prosopopoia: or Mother Hubbard's Tale
{{Edmund Spenser Poetry by Edmund Spenser