One day I wrote her name upon the strand, But came the waves and washèd it away: Again I wrote it with a second hand, But came the tide and made my pains his prey. Vain man (said she) that dost in vain assay A mortal thing so to immortalise; For I myself shall like to this decay, And eke my name be wipèd out likewise. Not so (quod I); let baser things devise To die in dust, but you shall live by fame; My verse your virtues rare shall eternise, And in the heavens write your glorious name: Where, when as Death shall all the world subdue, Our love shall live, and later life renew.

Although it has been highly regarded as a polemical piece of prose and valued as a historical source on 16th century Ireland the View is seen today as genocidal in intent. Influences and influenced
Though Spenser was well read in classical literature scholars have noted that his poetry does not rehash tradition but rather is distinctly his. His castle at Kilcolman was burned and Ben Jonson (who may have had private information) asserted that one of his infant children died in the blaze.

Edmund Spenser (c. He is recognised as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy and is considered one of the greatest poets in the English language. 1552 – 13 January 1599) was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I.