Tag: Faerie Queene

While reading the Faerie Queene, by Edmund Spenser, I was intrigued by      the symbolism throughout the first book. When describing the “lovely Ladie” (Una) with which our Red Cross Knight is riding with, Spenser repeats how her horse is “more white then snow” (1.1.4). Spenser then takes this symbolism one step further and proclaims that Una was “much whiter” than her horse (1.1.4). The color white is a common symbol of purity and innocence– therefore it is to be believed that our fair lady is the purest and most innocent lady in all the land. Spenser almost transcends her into being an almost angelic character, which correlates with her being an allegory for the Protestant Church, which Spenser thought to be the “one true church”.
I was also intrigued at the characterization of the monster “Errour”. Errour is described as a half serpent, half woman– disgusting and foul. I was quite fascinated by this illustration, due to the fact that it is mentioned several times how she is a mother to many other “monsters” or “impes”, and how it would be different if the monster was a man. By making our villain a woman, it implicates the already set prenotions that women are not only evil, but are to be feared, a thing below men (who will always prevail). I am now also aware of the biblical reference this makes: Eve and the serpent in the garden of eden. This can refer to the downfall of man even more so, due to the fact that it was a woman who made the first error on Earth, by giving into the temptations proposed by the serpent. Even more striking to me was that the Red Cross Knight’s description was very holy and contained numerous references to the Bible, and therefore it is to be inferred that Spenser is pitting the holiness of the church against the wicked ways of women during the battle between the Knight and Errour.
While The Faerie Queene does emulate characteristics found in The Canterbury Tales (Spenser’s favorite author being Chaucer), such as the syntax and style in which the book is organized, there are distinct differences. The Faerie Queene is less direct when personifying its allegory and symbolism, while The Canterbury Tales uses each pilgrim to represent their status or class in life (ironic and serious). Furthermore, The Faerie Queene is a more fantastical tale, using classic magical qualities in order to tell its stories, rather than stating its meaning in a more blunt story. I thought it interesting that Chaucer and Spenser would use their characters to portray people found in everyday life, which in turn I believe makes this  story that much more compelling.

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.

In class on Wednesday, we learned all about allegory and that the entirety of The Faerie Queene is filled with different allegories. One of the big allegories of the tale is the character The Redcrosse Knight, the Knight of Holiness. The main allegory associated with the Redcrosse Knight is that he is representative of the whole of Christianity and its substituent elements.  He also represents the individual Catholic on the true journey for the Search for Holiness, while being armed in the armor of the faith of Christ.  His traveling companion, Una, is also important. She is representative of the truth, which is what her name means as well and can be seen as an embodiment of the Truth which must be discovered by Redcrosse in order to be a completely true Christian. This can be seen as important when you view the whole of England at this time, the Reformation was taking great hold of the country which had torn down the power of the Catholic Church in the country.  Throughout each of the first two books of “The Faerie Queene,” there are many different enemies who must be defeated by Redcrosse in order to keep them from separating Una from Redcrosse. Some of these bad people include Error, who represents the lies put out by the Roman Catholic Church against The Queen and the Anglican Church, Archimago, who is an allegory for the falsehood that was Catholicism, and Sansfoy/Duessa, who is a representation of the lack of faith according to the Catholic Church.  As a whole, the character of The Redcrosse Knight is a representation of a Catholic during and directly after the Reformation and how they must go on their own journey in order to stay true to the faith they have.  Faith is a dynamic thing, it is not constant; on the contrary, faith is ever-changing and will adapt to your current surroundings and situation.