Edmund Spenser travelled to Ireland with the queen's instruction to stop Desmond Rebellion. He stayed there in North Cork. His greatest work Faerie Queen was written there. The character Gloriana represents the queen of England. The countryside in which he was living was perfectly described in the work but the Irish people were described as treacherous and deceitful with the characters such as Malengin.
The mutabilitie cantos are published after his death with the final section of the poem. The story goes like this. Mutabilitie makes a challenge to Jove, king of Gods. She says to him that Joves father Saturn was a usurper. He cheated her father Titan. Mutabilitie mocks him by saying that he has the power because of the military might. However, Joves position was later confirmed.
Trevor Joyce was also from the same place Spenser lived during his stay in Ireland. He was fascinated by Spenser and translated many of his sonnets earlier. In this book the deliberately reworked the Mutabilitie Cantos. In the introduction, Joyce depicts how nature's court is situated in Arlo Hills which is actually the Galty Range. For proving the setting of the cantos he shows the resemblance between the sounds of Aherlow and Arlo. It is suggested by Joyce that Spenser was frightened by wolves and criminals. He explained how the military power of the queen is necessary to keep peace in his Irish plantation.
To recast his imperialistic stance, Joyce felt the need of recasting his verses. As Spenser interfered in their heritage, he can deliberately intervene in his work. Protestant Colonies affected Irish culture and heritage in every aspect. Joyce used very simple language as high rhetoric of Spenser diverted the masculine aggression of Mutabilitie. Joyce suggested that Ireland must have rejected the laws of England and customs to become free from the grab of imperialism a lot earlier. His language is more accessible and grittier than that of Spenser. The work is mostly written from his own point of view. It is truly a radical postcolonial poem of Ireland.
