Final answer:
Both Shakespeare and Spenser offer nuanced takes on love, though Shakespeare often intertwines love with tragedy and a poetic elevation, whereas Spenser presents love in a moralistic and platonic manner. Shakespeare's work shows a more complex and grounded view, due to his varied exploration of love's nature.
Step-by-step explanation:
Addressing the question of who has a more idealized vision of love and who is more grounded, Shakespeare or Spencer, requires an understanding of both authors' works. William Shakespeare often intertwines love with tragedy and has a tendency to elevate it to poetic heights, as seen in works like 'Sonnet 18' which compares a lover to a summer's day. On the other hand, Edmund Spenser's 'The Faerie Queene' presents love in a more dedicatedly platonic manner, suggesting a more grounded approach to love, though it retains an idealistic notion through its chivalric setting. Both authors explore love through various angles, adding depth beyond the simplistic unhappy courtship model commonly perceived in Renaissance poetry.
Shakespeare's works, inclusive of the love stories, are not only about unrequited love but delve into the complexities of human relationships and the nature of love itself. Texts like 'Twelfth Night' show a love that is grand and theatrical, fitting with the literary ideals of his time. Contrastingly, Spenser, who is less known for dramatic presentations, crafts his portrayal of love with the model of brave deeds done for fair ladies, rooted in the tradition of courtly love which is more moralistic and less consummated.
Considering these nuances, we can conclude that each poet has their own unique take on love, but when comparing the two, Spenser might be seen as having a slightly more idealized vision, with his emphasis on love on a higher moral plane, while Shakespeare's contribution to literature demonstrates a more varied exploration of love, from idealized to tragic, thus presenting a more complex and grounded view on the subject.