Monasticism and idleness in Spenser\u27s late poetry

Spenser\u27s late poetry- especially Colin Clouts Come Home Againe and book 6 of The Faerie Queene- represents the associated concepts of monasticism and idleness in surprisingly positive ways. This article argues that these positive representations criticize a dominant Tudor discourse of industry; help to redefine the meaning of spiritual and intellectual labor, including that of poetry itself; and emphasize the importance of empathy as a literary and human value. © 2014 Rice University