Spenserian

American  

[spen-seer-ee-uhn] / spɛnˈsɪər i ən /

adjective

1. of or characteristic of Spenser or his work.

---

noun

1. an imitator of Spenser.

2. Spenserian stanza.

3. verse in Spenserian stanzas.

Spenserian British  

/ spɛnˈsɪərɪən /

adjective

1. relating to, in the style of, or characteristic of Edmund Spenser, the English poet (?1552–99), or his poetry

---

noun

1. a student or imitator of Edmund Spenser

Etymology

Origin of Spenserian

First recorded in 1810–20; Spenser + -ian

Example Sentences

She has been painted as the defiant Gloriana of Spenserian epic, uniting the land in religion and peace, and the mercurial crone lusting after her younger courtiers.

From Economist • Apr. 28, 2016

He didn’t espouse modernism or the avant garde, favoring instead American vernacular styles, Spenserian scripts and a sort of hybrid modernism.

From Salon • Jun. 25, 2012

As with a Spenserian sonnet, there's a uniformity to the open letters to Lucas.

From Time Magazine Archive

Lowell: Commemoration Ode, 317*; on Gray's Progress of Poesy, 307; on Spenserian stanza, 103.

From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Alden, Raymond MacDonald

Referring to the Spenserian stanza which is composed of nine lines, eight of which are iambic pentameters, and the ninth a hexameter or Alexandrine.

From Six Centuries of English Poetry Tennyson to Chaucer by Baldwin, James