One question I had after doing the reading for class last Wednesday was, why did Spenser choose to construct a pastoral and chivalrous allegory, written in a diction imitating middle English, in a time of an advancing rhetorical culture? I think Spenser intentionally sets his epic in an era before kiss-up courtiers to reminisce simpler times, and express his opinion through allegory to avoid the danger of violating the strict sanctions on freedom of speech.
The Elizabethan era marked a time of an amorous court and considerable political maneuvering; I believe much of Chaucer’s pastoral writing influenced Spenser’s perception of the past, creating a “grass is greener on the other side” effect. Spenser’s reminiscence may also be responsible for many of the personifications in his stories, such as knights representing Holiness, Temperance, and Chastity, most of which the courts were lacking in his time. Chaucer’s was also a time before Catholicism and Protestantism competed for worshipers in England, and the lack of Catholicism would have appealed to Spenser, who spent a lot of time debasing the Roman Catholic Church.
Queen Elizabeth was an extremely tough ruler, who effectively repressed literary works that were considered scandalous. An allegory was an essential form of writing for Spenser to convey his opinions about his time, because though certain aspects of his stories represented a dangerous concept (such as his veiled criticisms of the queen), they were not blatant enough to be punishable.