an added dimension. It participates in, and simultane-
ously evokes, a dynamic temporal symbolism. This
helps to frame the poem’s representation of marriage
and offspring as security against the mutability of time.
FURTHER READING
Dasenbrock, Reed Way. “The Petrarchan Context of Spens-
er’s Amoretti.” PMLA 100, no. 1 (1985): 38–50.
Hieatt, A. Kent. Short Time’s Endless Monument. New York:
Columbia University Press, 1960.
Laroque, François. Shakespeare’s Festive World. Translated
by Janet Lloyd. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1991.
Maia Adamina
EPYLLION (MINOR EPIC) The Elizabethan
minor EPIC was generally divided into two groupings:
the epyllion, or minor epic “proper,” which has topics
related to classical mythology; and the historical COM-
PLAINT. Both are related to CHRONICLEs. Epyllions take
OVID’s Metamorphoses for their inspiration and often
relate narratives about sexual consummation. Historical
complaints tend to focus on a female protagonist who
confronts seduction and/or rape and death. Generally,
however, epyllions feature elevated characters (e.g.,
divine or noble), mythological connections, and a sense
of the supernatural, coupled with exalted versifi cation.
The epyllion enjoyed a brief spate of popularity dur-
ing the close of the Elizabethan era. CHRISTOPHER MAR-
LOWE’s HERO AND LEANDER and WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’s
VENUS AND ADONIS both fall into this genre.
FURTHER READING
Hulse, Clark. Metapmorphic Verse: The Elizabethan Minor
Epic. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1981.
Miller, Paul W. “The Elizabethan Minor Epic.” Studies in
Philology 55 (1958): 31–38.
“ERTHE TOC OF THE ERTHE WITH
WOH” (“EARTH UPON EARTH”) ANONY-
MOUS (14th century) “Erthe toc of the Erthe with
woh” is a family of MIDDLE ENGLISH LYRICs, the earliest
version of which is believed to be a single-STANZA lyric
of four meters. It is in essence a rhyming gloss on the
words spoken by God to Adam in Genesis 3.19:
“Remember Man that thou art dust and to dust thou
shalt return.” This scripture also formed part of the
medieval liturgy for Ash Wednesday, the day on which
Christians were exhorted to remember their mortality.
Each of the subsequent adaptations of “Erthe toc of the
Erthe with woh” retains a distinctly ironic fl avor
intended to stir the reader to penitence upon the real-
ization of his vile origins and the brevity of this life.
“Erthe” is one of the most enduring literary examples
of the memento mori (reminder of death). Forms of
the poem frequently appear in medieval commonplace
books or in the surplus leaves at the beginning or end
of manuscripts, as well as on tombstones as a popular
epitaph.
The early lyric repeats the words erthe and erthene a
dozen times, exploiting its multiple received meanings.
Humans, Adam’s progeny, originate in the “erthe.”
Through marrying and accumulating worldly goods,
they draw more “erthe” to themselves, and by produc-
ing children, they bring forth further “erthe.” Finally,
in death they are laid in the grave—an “erthene
through”—and, following the Scripture, “erthe” has
been returned to its original matter. Overall, the poem
offers a brief, satirical view of human life, well suited to
eliciting penitence.
See also CONTEMPT FOR THE WORLD.
FURTHER READING
Duncan, Thomas G., ed. A Companion to the Middle English
Lyric. Woodbridge, Suffolk, U.K.: D.S. Brewer, 2005.
———. Medieval English Lyrics: 1200–1400. Harmond-
sworth, Middlesex, U.K.: Penguin, 1995.
Murray, Hilda M., ed. The Middle English Poem, Erthe upon
Erthe. Printed from Twenty-Four Manuscripts. Early English
Text Society/Old Series 141. London: Oxford University
Press, 1911.
Robin GilbankESTATES SATIRE See SATIRE, THREE ESTATES.
“EVEN NOW THAT CARE” MARY SIDNEY
HERBERT, COUNTESS OF PEMBROKE (1599) “Even
now that Care” by MARY SIDNEY HERBERT, countess of
Pembroke, appears in a sole version, in a presentation
copy of the SIDNEAN PSALMS. Written in IAMBIC PENTAME-
TER using an abab, bcbc pattern, this poem, dedicating
the Sidnean psalms to Queen ELIZABETH I, describes the168 EPYLLION