From Spenser's "Fairy Queen" 1811

Editor: So, this is J.M.W. Turner's etching, "From Spenser's 'Fairy Queen'". The landscape is so desolate and brooding. What story do you think Turner is trying to tell with it? Curator: Turner was deeply engaged with Romantic ideals, particularly the relationship between humanity and nature, and the political turbulence of his time. How does this scene reflect the colonial landscape in Spenser's poem? Editor: I hadn't thought about it like that! It seems less about the beauty of nature, and more about its power and what it represents. Curator: Exactly! Consider how landscapes were often used to justify or mask colonial expansion. Turner, through Spenser, hints at something more sinister beneath the surface. Editor: That's a really interesting take. I'll never look at landscapes the same way again!