The Shepheard's Calender: Twelve Aeglogues Proportionable to the Twelve Monethes

"The Shepheard's Calender: Twelve Aeglogues Proportionable to the Twelve Monethes" by Edmund Spenser is a series of twelve pastoral poems, each tied to a month of the year, that explores love, nature, and simple country living during the late 1500s. The story introduces us to shepherds and other country people, like Colin Clout, who express both happiness and sadness through song and poetic thought. When the story begins, we find Colin Clout, a shepherd, deeply saddened by his love for Rosalind. He compares his sadness to the coldness of winter, and in despair, he breaks his pipe, which shows his loss of joy and creativity. This beginning sets the stage for a deeper look into pastoral life through traditional English poetry.