ENG 221 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: The Faerie Queene, Edmund Spenser, Geoffrey Chaucer
Introduction to Edmund Spenser
and The Faerie Queene
These notes cover the information found in the Introduction to Spenser, the
introduction to The Faerie Queene, and Canto 1 of The Faerie Queene, pages 822-46 in
Volume 1B of the Longman Anthology of British Literature, 3rd ed.
About the Author
Spenser, completely devoted to Queen Elizabeth I, had big plans
for The Faerie Queene. He originally intended to write this massive
tome (it is really
long, but remains
unfinished)
praising Queen
Elizabeth and how
her reign on Earth is not only sanctified
by God, but also that Protestantism is
The One True Faith (even though it is
Christianity, the same as Catholicism,
but without the Pope, the saints, and
priests and nuns).
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He does this by using his own personal version of Middle English (which is not
really Middle English—if you compare it to the actual Middle English in volume 1A,
whih e just fiished ith, you’ll see that it is uh easier to read—it is much more
like Modern English than actual Middle English). Why would he make up his own
ersio of Middle Eglish, you say? “iple: To ash i, sort of, o the ahé of the
Eglish of Chauer, ho, durig “peser’s lifetie, as the greatest Eglish riter to
have lived (this is before Shakespeare’s tie). He’s also apitalizig, hat ith all the
emphasis on how chivalrous the Red Crosse Knight is, on the Arthurian Tradition.
So he is trying to write the Definitive English Epic—one that carries with it the
eauty of Chauer’s Middle English and the romance of the Arthurian Tradition, all to
praise and glorify the current Queen, Elizabeth I, whose succession to the throne of
England was neither easy nor assured (see the notes on the Intro to the Early Modern
Period).
The Faerie Queene
No, sorry: This poem is not about tiny little women wearing revealing clothing
and wings. This entire (lengthy) poem is an allegory, where everything represents
something else. The Redcrosse Knight represents
Protestant Christianity itself (but not Catholicism); the
Lady Una represents chastity, innocence, humility, and
modesty; the dragon represents Error, or the corruption
of religio y Catholiis’s falsehoods; the False Ua
represents temptation, pride, and sensuality; Archimago
represents the false idols of Catholicism and pagan
magic. We have gone from tension between pagan and
Christian (in Beowulf) to tension between Catholic and
Protestant. This tension is particularly important at this
point in English history because of the Reformation,
which was a hotly debated controversy that cost many
thousands of people their lives, and took a very long time
to conclude itself. Spenser himself does not see its
resolution in his lifetime.
The Redcrosse Knight perfectly fulfills the mission of Arthur's Round Table
Knights because he is, like Sir Galahad, spiritually and physically pure, resisting the
temptation of the False Una and living by his faith alone; being willing to fight to the
death for what he believes in; and for maintaining the purity of his cause, destroying
threats to that cause, and fighting for what he believes is right.
The real Una and the false Una are easy to distinguish between because the real
Una never wavers from her chaste pedestal, while the false Una is sensuous, tempting,
and unladylike. It is amazing, though, how the false Una has far more images
associated with her (on the Internet, anyway), than the True Una. True Una is nun-like
(which is highly ironic, an irony that I believe to be unintended), as you can see in image
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Document Summary
Introduction to edmund spenser and the faerie queene. These notes cover the information found in the introduction to spenser, the introduction to the faerie queene, and canto 1 of the faerie queene, pages 822-46 in. Volume 1b of the longman anthology of british literature, 3rd ed. Spenser, completely devoted to queen elizabeth i, had big plans for the faerie queene. He originally intended to write this massive tome (it is really long, but remains unfinished) praising queen. Elizabeth and how her reign on earth is not only sanctified by god, but also that protestantism is. The one true faith (even though it is. Christianity, the same as catholicism, but without the pope, the saints, and priests and nuns). I(cid:373)ple: to (cid:862)(cid:272)ash i(cid:374),(cid:863) sort of, o(cid:374) the (cid:272)a(cid:272)h of the. E(cid:374)glish of chau(cid:272)er, (cid:449)ho, duri(cid:374)g pe(cid:374)ser"s lifeti(cid:373)e, (cid:449)as the greatest e(cid:374)glish (cid:449)riter to have lived (this is before shakespeare"s ti(cid:373)e).
