Spencer’s Faerie Queene

Edmund Spencer born in or near 1552, attended Merchant Taylor’s School, was a scholarship boy at Cambridge, where he translated sonnets by Petrarch and Du Bellay. In 1579 he wrote Shepherds Calender.From 1580 he was a colonist in Ireland, writing The Faerie Queene, Spencer dedicated his heroic romance to the Queen. The armed lady the Britomart in The Faerie Queene is a figure of Elizabeth uniting Britan and Mars.It is now the chief literary monument of her cult.

The _Faerie Queene_ was the product of certain definite conditions which existed in England toward the close of the sixteenth century. The first of these national conditions was the movement known as the _revival of chivalry_; the second was the _spirit of nationality_ fostered by the English Reformation; and the third was that phase of the English Renaissance commonly called the _revival of learning_. The closing decade of Queen Elizabeth's reign was marked by a strong reaction toward romanticism. The feudal system with its many imperfections had become a memory, and had been idealized by the people. The nation felt pride in its new aristocracy, sprung largely from the middle class, and based rather on worth than ancestry. The bitterness of the Wars of the Roses was forgotten, and was succeeded by an era of reconciliation and good feeling. England was united in a heroic queen whom all sects, ranks, and parties idolized. The whole country exulting in its new sense of freedom and power became a fairyland of youth, springtime, and romantic achievement.

Wise and gallant courtiers, like Sidney, Leicester, and Raleigh, gathered about the queen, and formed a new chivalry devoted to deeds of adventure and exploits of mind in her honor. This poem is one of the fruits of that intellectual awakening which first fertilized Italian thought in the twelfth century, and, slowly spreading over Europe, made its way into England in the fifteenth century. The mighty impulse of this New Learning culminated during the reign of the Virgin Queen in a profound quickening of the national consciousness, and in arousing an intense curiosity to know and to imitate the rich treasures of the classics and romance. Its first phase was the _classical revival_. The tyrannous authority of ecclesiasticism had long since been broken; a general reaction from Christian asceticism had set in; and by the side of the ceremonies of the church had been introduced a semi-pagan religion of art--the worship of moral and sensuous beauty. Illiteracy was no longer the style at court. Elizabeth herself set the example in the study of Greek. Books and manuscripts were eagerly sought after, Scholars became conversant with Homer, Plato, Aristotle, and the great tragic poets Sophocles, Euripides, and Æschylus; and translations for the many of Vergil, Ovid, Plautus, Terence, and Seneca poured forth from the printing-presses of London. The English mind was strongly tempered by the idealistic philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, and the influence of Latin tragedy and comedy was strongly felt by the early English drama. Along with this classical culture came a higher appreciation of

the _beauty of mediævalism_. The romantic tendency of the age fostered the study of the great epics of chivalry, Ariosto's _Orlando Furioso_ and Tasso's _Jerusalem Delivered_, and of the cycles of French romance. From the Italian poets especially Spenser borrowed freely. Ariosto's fresh naturalness and magic machinery influenced him most strongly, but he was indebted to the semi-classical Tasso for whole scenes. On the whole, therefore, Spenser's literary affinities were more with the Gothic than the classical.

Spenser was also the spokesman of his time on religious questions. The violent controversies of the Reformation period were over. Having turned from the beliefs of ages with passionate rejection, the English people had achieved religious freedom, and were strongly rooted in Protestantism, which took on a distinctly national aspect. That Calvinism was at that time the popular and aristocratic form of Protestantism is evident from references in the _Faerie Queene_.

Spenser lived in the afterglow of the great age of chivalry. The passing glories of knighthood in its flower impressed his imagination like a gorgeous dream, and he was thus inspired to catch and crystallize into permanent art its romantic spirit and heroic deeds. Into the framework of his romance of chivalry he inserted a veiled picture of the struggles and sufferings of his own people in Ireland. The _Faerie Queene_ might almost be called the epic of the English conquest of Ireland. The poet himself and many of his friends were in that unhappy island as representatives of the queen's government, trying to pacify the natives, and establish law and order out of discontent and anarchy. Spenser's poem was written for the most part amidst all these scenes of misery and disorder, and the courage, justice, and energy shown by his countrymen were aptly portrayed under the allegory of a mighty spiritual warfare of the knights of old against the power of evil.

Spenser's essay on _A View of the Present State of Ireland_ shows that, far from shutting himself up in a fool's paradise of fancy, he was fully awake to the social and political condition of that turbulent island, and that it

furnished him with concrete examples of those vices and virtues, bold encounters and hair-breadth escapes, strange wanderings and deeds of violence, with which he has crowded the allegory of the _Faerie Queene_.STUDY OF THE _FAERIE QUEENE_

1. A ROMANTIC EPIC.--The _Faerie Queene_ is the most perfect type which we have in English of the purely _romantic poem_. Four elements enter into its composition: "it is pastoral by association, chivalrous by temper, ethical by tendency, and allegorical by treatment" (Renton). Its subject was taken from the old cycle of Arthurian legends, which were brightened with the errorless magic of Ariosto and Tasso. The scene of the adventures is laid

in the enchanted forests and castles of the far away and unreal fairyland of medieval chivalry, and the incidents themselves are either highly improbable or frankly impossible. The language is frequently archaic and designedly unfamiliar. Much of the machinery and properties used in carrying on the story, such as speaking myrtles, magic mirrors, swords, rings, impenetrable armor, and healing fountains, is supernatural. All the characters--the knights, ladies, dwarfs, magicians, dragons, nymphs, satyrs, and giants--are the conventional figures of pastoral romance.

The framework of the plot of the _Faerie Queene_ is vast and loosely put together. There are six main stories, or legends, and each contains several digressions and involved episodes. The plan of the entire work, which the author only half completed, is outlined in his letter to Sir Walter Raleigh. This letter serves as an admirable introduction to the poem, and should be read attentively by the student. Gloriana, the Queen of Fairyland, holds at her court a solemn feudal festival, lasting twelve days, during which she sends forth twelve of her greatest knights on as many separate adventures. The knights are commissioned to champion the cause of persons in distress and redress their wrongs. The ideal knight, Prince Arthur, is the central male figure of the poem. He is enamoured of Gloriana, having seen her in a wondrous vision, and is represented as journeying in quest of her. He appears in all of the legends at opportune moments to succor the knights when they are hard beset or in the power o ftheir enemies. The six extant books contain respectively the legends of (I)the Knight of the Redcrosse, or Holiness, (II) Sir Guyon, the Knight of Temperance, (III) Britomart, the female Knight of Chastity, (IV) Sir Campbell and Sir Triamond, the Knights of Friendship, (V) Sir Artegall, the Knight of Justice, and (VI) Sir Caledore, the Knight of Courtesy. Book I is an allegory of man's relation to God, Book II, of man's relation to himself, Books III, IV, V, and VI, of man's relation to his fellow-man.Prince Arthur, the personification of Magnificence, by which Spenser means Magnanimity (Aristotle's [Greek: megalopsychía]), is the ideal of a perfect character, in which all the private virtues are united. It is a poem of culture, inculcating the moral ideals of Aristotle and the teachings of Christianity.

INTERPRETATION OF THE ALLEGORY.--In the sixteenth century it was the opinion of Puritan England that every literary masterpiece should not onlygive entertainment, but should also teach some moral or spiritual lesson.

"No one," says Mr. Patee, "after reading Spenser's letter to Raleigh, can wander far into Spenser's poem without the conviction that the author's central purpose was didactic, almost as much as was Bunyan's in _Pilgrim's Progress._" Milton doubtless had this feature of the _Faerie Queene_ in mind when he wrote in _Il Penseroso_:-- "And if aught else great bards beside

In sage and solemn tunes have sung Of turneys, and of trophies hung, Of forests and enchantments drear, _Where more is meant than meets the ear_."

That the allegory of the poem is closely connected with its aim and ethical tendency is evident from the statement of the author that "the generall end therefore of all the booke is to fashion a gentleman or noble person invertuous and gentle discipline. Which for that I conceived should be most plausible and pleasing, being coloured with an historical fiction, the which the most part of men delight to read, rather for varietie of matter then for profite of the ensample." The _Faerie Queene_ is, therefore, according to the avowed purpose of its author, a poem of culture. Though it is one of the most highly artistic works in the language, it is at the same time one of the most didactic. "It professes," says Mr. Church, "to be aveiled exposition of moral philosophy."The allegory is threefold,--moral, religious, and personal.

(a) _Moral Allegory._--The characters all represent various virtues and vices, whose intrigues and warfare against each other symbolize the struggle of the human soul after perfection. The Redcross Knight, for example, personifies the single private virtue of holiness, while Prince Arthur stands for that perfect manhood which combines all the moral qualities; Una represents abstract truth, while Gloriana symbolizes the union of all the virtues in perfect womanhood.

(b) _Religious or Spiritual Allegory._--Under this interpretation the Redcross Knight is a personification of Protestant England, or the church militant, while Una represents the true religion of the Reformed Church. On the other hand, Archimago symbolizes the deceptions of the Jesuits and Duessa the false Church of Rome masquerading as true religion.

(c) _Personal and Political Allegory._--Here we find a concrete presentation of many of Spenser's chief contemporaries. One of Spenser's prime objects in composing his epic was to please certain powerful persons at court, and above all to win praise and patronage from the vain and flattery loving queen, whom he celebrates as Gloriana. Prince Arthur is a character that similarly pays homage to Lord Leicester. In the Redcross Knight he compliments, no doubt, some gentleman like Sir Philip Sidney or Sir Walter Raleigh, as if he were a second St. George, the patron saint of England, while in Una we may see idealized some fair lady of the court. In Archimago he satirizes the odious King Philip II of Spain, and in false Duessa the fascinating intriguer, Mary Queen of Scots, who was undeserving so hard a blow.

With the consolidation of Elizabeth’s power a genuine court sympathetic to poetry and arts in general emerged. This encouraged the emergence of poetry aimed at and often set in an idealized version of the courtly world. Spencer’s The Faerie Queene is effectively an extended hymn of praise to the queen and Philip Sydney’s Arcadia.

In Faerie Queen Spencer tried to combine rusticity with formality. The Faerie Queen is an allegorical commentary on the religious, political and social scene of his times as well as a more general poetic exploration of the nature of the virtue, as Spencer was always concerned with the problems of his day. For Spencer, ethics, religion and politics coalesce, since in its deal “conceit”. England was the united Protestant, virtous nation. Thus Red Crosse is not duplicitous Duessa (the Catholic Church) but prefers honest Una (the English Church). Unity has been imposed on England unity had been imposed on England but not on the British Isles: the conquest of Ireland did not go smoothly. Sir Walter Ralegh was involved in some bloody episodes, and Spencer was burnt out of his home. As the Faeire Queenewent on, the gap between ideal and real was such that the proclaimed perfection of an ideal England can be read ironically. In his remaining years, Spencer wrote a few stanzas on Time and Mutability, the last of which is a prayer to “rest eternally”.

Major Themes

Instruction in Virtue

Spenser intended The Faerie Queene to be read primarily by young men desiring to learn better what virtues to cultivate in their lives. As such, the epic makes clear who the heroes and villains are, whom they represent, and what good behavior looks like. The most basic reading of The Faerie Queene is an education in proper living for 16th Century England.Interdependence of the Virtues

The Faerie Queene makes it clear that no single virtue is greater than the rest. While some are superior to others, they require one another to strengthen the integrity of the whole person. For example, Redcrosse’s Holiness requires rescuing by Britomart’s Chastity, while Britomart’s Chastity seeks Justice to complete it in the social realm.Chivalric Society and Social Classes

Spenser chose to set his epic in a romanticized medieval fantasy world full of knights, monsters, and damsels in distress. He uses this environment to give power to his allegorical statements, but at the same time, he includes an undercurrent of criticism for feudal Britain (and the class system his own age had inherited from it). Along with virtuous knights, Spenser includes noble savages (the Savage Man), honorable squires (Tristram), and even battle-hardened women (Britomart and Radigund). The knights, who are supposed to be the ideal of virtue, are often the most wrong-headed characters in the epic.Christian Humanism

While ostensibly constructing an epic devoted to theological virtues of the Christian faith, Spenser cannot resist including his beloved classical mythology and legends in the work.

Alongside the Redcrosse knight stands the half-satyr Satyrane; Calidone, the knight of Courtesy, spends time with rustic shepherds and a magical storyteller; and the virtuous Queen of England herself is depicted as Gloriana, Queen of the Faerie. To Spenser, there was no contradiction between classical aesthetic values and Protestant Christianity.Protestantism versus Catholicism

Although The Faerie Queene can be read as a simple allegory of virtue, there are too many overt criticisms of the Catholic Church to keep the work theologically neutral. The monster Errour vomits Catholic tracts upon Redcrosse in Book 1, and Grantorto stands in for Catholicism as a whole in Book 6. Throughout the epic, Godliness is equated with Protestant theology, while falsehood and the destruction of lives are attributed to Catholic sources.Chastity

Spenser makes much of female Chastity in The Faerie Queene, and not just in the book devoted to that virtue (Book 3). Britomart is the ideal of chastity, yet she does not seek to remain a maiden; her quest is to find the man she has fallen in love with and marry him. Belphoebe, the virgin huntress, eventually develops a relationship with Arthur’s squire Timias. Arthur himself looks forward to the day when he will woo and win the Faerie Queene herself. Each of these strong female figures points to the real-life Queen Elizabeth, whose continued celibacy caused great concern among many of her subjects (who feared she would leave no heir to continue her glorious reign). In some ways, the entire epic is not just dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I, but it also aims to change her mind and push her into accepting a suitor.The Pervasive Effects of Slander

Through the Blatant Beast in Books 5 and 6, Spenser expounds the effects slander can have upon its victims. The Blatant Beast bites its prey, leaving them poisoned and dying. Only self-control, good living, and forthrightness of speech can cure them of their ills. Spenser uses the poisoning of Serena to show how a woman’s virtue can suffer even when she has done no wrong; he uses the poisoning of Timias following Belphoebe’s misperception of his intentions toward Amoretta to show a similar evil worked upon an upright man. Spenser had real-world counterparts in mind for these episodes: well-known political figures had been the victims of slander and could not escape its detrimental effects even after the allegations were disproved. The Blatant Beast is the one creature left alive by the questing knight: apparently, Slander is subject to repression (the Beast’s jaws can be bound for a while) but not complete elimination (the Beast still lives).Canto 1 Analysis:

The Plot:_ At the bidding of Gloriana, the Redcross Knight undertakes to deliver Una's parents from a dragon who holds them captive. He sets out upon his quest attended by a dwarf and guided by Una, mounted on an ass and leading a lamb. They are driven by a storm into a forest,

where they discover the cave of Error, who is slain by the Knight. They are then beguiled into the house of Archimago, an old enchanter. By his magic he leads the Knight in a dream to believe that Una is false to him, and thus separates them.

II. _The Allegory:_ 1. Holiness, the love of God, united with Truth, the knowledge of God, is to deliver man from the thraldom of the Devil.Together they are able to overthrow Error; but Hypocrisy deceitfully alienates Holiness from Truth by making the latter appear unworthy of love.2. There is a hint of the intrigues of the false Roman church and the treacherous Spanish king, Philip II, to undermine the religious and political freedom of the English people. The English nation, following the Reformed church, overthrows the Catholic faith, but is deceived by the machinations of Spanish diplomacy.

Redcrosse represents Holiness, while Una represents Truth. Specifically, Una represents the truth of Protestantism against that of Roman Catholicism, which Errour represents. When Errour spews forth her lies upon Redcrosse Knight, Catholic tracts and papal injunctions are among the papers that make up her vomit. Redcrosse can only achieve victory over Errour by holding to the true faith, Protestant Christianity. In this way, holiness triumphs over falsehood.

Commentary

Redcrosse is the hero of Book I, and in the beginning of Canto i, he is called the knight of Holinesse. He will go through great trials and fight fierce monsters throughout the Book, and this in itself is entertaining, as a story of a heroic "knight errant." However, the more important purpose of the Faerie Queene is its allegory, the meaning behind its characters and events. The story's setting, a fanciful "faerie land," only emphasizes how its allegory is meant for a land very close to home: Spenser's England. The title character, the Faerie Queene herself, is meant to represent Queen Elizabeth. Redcrosse represents the individual Christian, on the search for Holiness, who is armed with faith in Christ, the shield with the bloody cross. He is traveling with Una, whose name means "truth." For a Christian to be holy, he must have true faith, and so the plot of Book I mostly concerns the attempts of evildoers to separate Redcrosse from Una. Most of these villains are meant by Spenser to represent one thing in common: the Roman Catholic Church. The poet felt that, in the English Reformation, the people had defeated "false religion" (Catholicism) and embraced "true religion" (Protestantism/Anglicanism). Thus, Redcrosse must defeat villains who mimic the falsehood of the Roman Church.

The first of these is Error. When Redcrosse chokes the beast, Spenser writes, "Her vomit full of bookes and papers was (I.i.20)." These papers represent Roman Catholic propaganda that was put out in Spenser's time, against Queen Elizabeth and Anglicanism. The Christian (Redcrosse) may be able to defeat these obvious and disgusting errors, but before he is united to the truth he

is still lost and can be easily deceived. This deceit is arranged by Archimago, whose name means "arch-image"--the Protestants accused the Catholics of idolatry because of their extensive use of images. The sorcerer is able, through deception and lust, to separate Redcrosse from Una--that is, to separate Holiness from Truth. Once separated, Holiness is susceptible to the opposite of truth, or falsehood. Redcrosse may able to defeat the strength of Sansfoy (literally "without faith" or "faithlessness") through his own native virtue, but he falls prey to the wiles of Falsehood herself--Duessa. Duessa also represents the Roman Church, both because she is "false faith," and because of her rich, purple and gold clothing, which, for Spenser, displays the greedy wealth and arrogant pomp of Rome. Much of the poet's imagery comes from a passage in the Book of Revelation, which describes the "whore of Babylon"--many Protestant readers took this Biblical passage to indicate the Catholic Church.

The Faerie Queene, however, also has many sources outside of the Bible. Spenser considers himself an epic poet in the classical tradition and so he borrows heavily from the great epics of antiquity: Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and Virgil's Aeneid. This is most evident at the opening of Book I, in which Spenser calls on one of the Muses to guide his poetry--Homer and Virgil established this form as the "proper" opening to an epic poem. The scene with the "human tree," in which a broken branch drips blood, likewise recalls a similar episode in theAeneid. However, while these ancient poets mainly wrote to tell a story, we have already seen that Spenser has another purpose in mind. In the letter that introduces the Faerie Queene, he says that he followed Homer and Virgil and the Italian poets Ariosto and Tasso because they all have "ensampled a good governour and a vertuous man." Spenser intends to expand on this example by defining the characteristics of a good, virtuous, Christian man.

Critical Appreciation

The First Booke of The Faerie Queene from Edmund Spenser’s 1590 epic, The Faerie Queene concerns the exploits of a young knight, Redcrosse. Redcrosse travels on orders from Gloriana, Queene of the Faeries (lines 19 – 21), in the company of Una, a fair and virtuous young woman of noble birth (lines 28 – 39). Much like the character of Christian, from John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Redcrosse meets various fantastic characters and fights many foes while on a momentous quest, which adventures, taken together, represent the trials and pitfalls of the Christian life. The knight’s fair lady, Una, is the embodiment of Truth, beautiful and unadulterated by deception or hypocrisy. Canto 1 of Book 1 relates the knight’s struggle to defend and hold onto Truth, despite the horrible monster Error, and the temptation and deception of Archimago, a sorcerer concealed in the guise of a peaceful hermit.

Spenser’s depiction of Redcrosse seems to draw on imagery from the crusades, the knights of Arthurian legend, and perhaps the passage, found in Ephesians 6:12-17, which describes the armor of God. Redcrosse appears to us as, “A Gentle Knight…/Ycladd in mightie armes and silver shielde,/Wherein old dints of deepe wounds did remaine,/The cruell markes of many a bloudy fielde;/ Yet armes till that time did he never wield:” (1-4). From the assertion that Redcrosse’s shield and armor are dented, but that he has never wielded arms, it may be inferred that he is exemplifying Christ’s command to “…resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matt. 5.39 KJV). Evoking the image of a knight crusader, Spenser goes on to tell us that “…on his brest a bloudie Crosse he bore, /The deare remembrance of his dying Lord, /…Upon his shield the like was also scored,” (10-11, 14). Concerning Redcrosse’s personality, Spenser tells us that he is faithful and true, but not very cheery, and is not afraid of anything (16–18). Una, Spenser’s representation of Truth, is the very picture of a demure and chaste young lady, who appears to be in mourning (28-38). Spenser makes a point of telling us that “by her in a line a milke white lambe she lad.” (36), to which he then compares her; “So pure an innocent, as that same lambe,/She was in life and every virtuous lore,” (37-38). The lamb seems an obvious reference to Jesus, whom the gospel of John calls the “Lamb of God” (Jhn 1.29,36 NIV). At this point in the tale, we have a nearly ideal Christian knight, battle-seasoned and well-armed, who is on a mission for his queen, and in the company of Truth herself.

Fleeing a storm, the pair of travelers, together with Una’s servant, take shelter in a pleasant wood, where they promptly get lost (50-90). Eventually, they choose the path that seems most worn, which leads them to still more trouble (93-99). Una, sensing the danger, warns Redcrosse not to go into the mysterious cave they have encountered, realizing they have found themselves in “…the wandring wood, this Errours den,/A monster vile, whom God and man does hate:/Therefore I read beware…” (114-116). Eager for battle, the young knight does not heed Una’s warning, choosing instead to confront the monster, Error.

In the context of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and supported by the “bookes and papers” (177) the creature later vomits, the Error in question is likely Catholic doctrine. Depicted as a lamia –mythological creature that is half woman, half serpent-, Error has a venomous stinger on her tail, and a thousand spawn of various shapes and sizes (124-133). Error feeds her numerous young on poison (132), and hates the light (142), just as those steeped in sin or incorrect beliefs hate the revelation of God’s truth. Wrapping Redcrosse in her seemingly endless coils, the monster nearly succeeds in killing him (158-161). Una urges the knight to throttle Error, before she suffocates him. Heeding her, he does so; forcing the lamia to let go (164-171). The monster then switches tactics, swarming Redcrosse with her young, and with stinging gnats (194-207). Redcrosse,

fearing the shame of losing, firmly resolves to win the battle and marshals superhuman strength to defeat the monster and cut off her head (208-215). Error’s spawn then gorge on her blood, which causes them to burst and die (217-230), a likely warning to anyone seeking unjust gain from the demise of Catholic tradition. That foe vanquished, the knight and lady continue on, following the path out of the wood.

Having successfully defeated the Error of false doctrine which threatened to choke him, it is time for Spenser’s intrepid hero to confront the more subtle foes of hypocrisy, seduction and deception. In time, Redcrosse and Una meet a penitent hermit. Here, Spenser paints for us a picture of a holy man, completely devout and humble:

“An aged Sire, in long blacke weedes yclad,/His feete all bare, his beard all hoarie gray,/And by his belt his book he hanging had;/Sober he seemed, and very sagely sad,/And to the ground his eyes were lowly bent,/Simple in shew, and voyde of malice bad,/And all the way he prayed, as he went,/And often knockt his brest, as one that did repent.”(253-261).

The hermit further reinforces this image when he calls himself a “Silly old man, that lives in hidden cell,/Bidding his beades all day for his trespas,” (267-268). The hermit’s lifestyle and his use of the phrase “Bidding his beades” (268), a reference to saying prayers using a rosary, indicate that he is catholic. The knight and his lady do not seem to mind this, accepting the old man’s invitation to stay the night in his hermitage (294-297). The ascetic’s conversation soon confirms the reader’s suspicion of his religion, for “he told of Saintes and Popes, and evermore/He strowd an Ave Mary after and before.” (314-315). Eventually, it is revealed to the reader that the seemingly harmless hermit is, in fact, the sorcerer, Archimago. Calling up sprites and acquiring a false dream from Morpheus, Greek god of dreams, Archimago sets about troubling Redcrosse (325-396). Fashioning one of the sprites in the likeness of Una, the evil magician tries to snare the faithful knight with a counterfeit Truth (397-441). The knight is steadfast and resists the temptation of the beguiling sprite. However, he is disturbed and his faith in Una is shaken, as Spenser explains; “Long after lay he musing at her mood,/Much grieved to thinke that gentle Dame so light,/ For whose defence he was to shed his blood.” (486-489). Thus, the groundwork is laid for the enemy to part Redcrosse from Truth in Canto 2.

Spencer’s Legacy:

Fairyland is a word first found in Spenser. The legacy of Spencer is his style, which enchants us into the world of Arisoto: knights, enchantresses, hermits, dragons, floating islands, castles of brass. His aim was not to lull us to sleep but to allow us to dream. His dream is the outward sign of inward religious truths. To chivalric romance he adds medieval allegory; the glamour gilds the pill of truth. The ethical truths beneath Spencer’s ‘continued allegory or dark conceit’ are ‘doubtfully construed’. In the Middle Ages, allegory grew elaborate, exposing agreed truths in a

universe of analogy.Spenser’s twelve private moral virtues have not been found in Aristotle. Allegory, like irony was useful to humanists: a deeper meaning which proved displeasing to authority could be denied. The unified metaphysic of the medieval order was gone, and there were several new ones. The allegorical keys to Spencer are therefore ‘doubtful’ but his moral sense, however, is usually clear and often simple.

Conclusion

The Faerie Queene is its ages’s greatest poetic monument, and one can get lost in its musical, pictoral and intellectual delights. Historically, it is Spencer’s major work, and takes precedence over lesser but delightful works.

Spencer was loved by Milton and the Romantics, but in the 18th century his influence faded. Poets followed the simplest clarity of Johnson, who remarked of Spencer “In affecting the ancients, he writ no language.” This echoes Sidney’s objection to the “old rustic” style of The Shepheards Calender”, and anticipates Dr. Johnson’s strictures upon Milton’s style.In humanist theory, decorum was “the grand masterpiece to observe”, yet they objected Spencer’s adoption of a style suited to ‘medieval’ romance, preferring a modern elegance to Gothic extravagance. A recent editor called the poem ‘The Fairy Queen and did away with spencer’s old spellings where he could; but antiquity was part of Spencer’s aim.