ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -From May 1569 Spenser was a student in Pembroke Hall (now Pembroke College) of the University of Cambridge, where, along with perhaps a quarter of the students, he was classed as a sizar-a student who, out of financial necessity, performed various menial or semi-menial duties.

Detailed explanation-2: -He went on to study literature and religion at Cambridge University’s Pembroke Hall, receiving a BA in 1573 and an MA in 1576. Spenser published his first volume of poetry, The Shepheardes Calender (Hugh Singleton), in 1579, dedicating it to the poet Sir Philip Sidney.

Detailed explanation-3: -1579: The Shepheardes Calender, published under the pseudonym “Immerito” (entered into the Stationers’ Register in December)

Detailed explanation-4: -His first wife, Machabyas Childe, is something of an enigma. She married Edmund Spenser on 27 October 1579 in St. Margaret’s Church, Westminster-a grand venue, which later witnessed the weddings of Samuel Pepys, Sir Winston Churchill, and Harold Macmillan.

Detailed explanation-5: -He was recognized as a great poet within his own lifetime, though he carried out a simultaneous diplomatic and political career for several decades. In 1580, Spenser became the secretary of Arthur Lord Grey, lord deputy of Ireland, and he spent the next several years living and working in Ireland with his family.