A View of the Present State of Irelande

The text is written in the form of a dialogue between two Englishmen, Eudox and Irenius; the former has never been to Ireland, while the latter has recently returned from the island while it was in the midst of the Tudor conquest.

Through the text, Spenser argued for employing scorched earth tactics to subdue Irish resistance to the conquest and criticised Ireland's culture, religion, language and legal system.

When Lord Grey was recalled to England, Spenser stayed on in Ireland, having acquired other official posts and lands in the Munster Plantation.

The Nine Years' War, an Irish rebellion against English rule led by Hugh O'Neill, confirmed in Spenser's eye that England's current approach in Ireland was not working.

[5] British writer C. S. Lewis wrote in 1936 that Spenser "was the instrument of a detestable policy in Ireland... the wickedness he had shared in begins to corrupt his imagination.