Spensers The Faerie Queene | Page 7

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 in vertuous 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 a veiled 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.
KEY TO THE ALLEGORY IN BOOK I
Characters_ _Moral_ _Religious and Personal and
Spirtual_ Political_
Redcross Knight Holiness Reformed England St George
Una Truth True Religion
Prince Arthur Magnificence, or Protestantism, or Lord Leicester
Private Virtue the Church Militant
Gloriana Glory Spirtual Beauty Queen Elizabeth

Archimago Hypocrisy The Jesuits Phillip II of Spain
Duessa Falsehood False
Religion Mary Queen of Scots,

Church of Rome
Orgoglio Carnal Pride Antichrist Pope Sixtus V
The Lion Reason, Reformation by
Force Henry VIII,
Natural Honor
Civil Government

The Dragon Sin The Devil,
Satan Rome and Spain
Sir Satyrane Natural Courage Law and Order Sir John Perrott
in Ireland
The Monster Avarice Greed of Romanism Romish Priesthood
Corceca Blind Devotion, Catholic Penance Irish Nuns
Superstition
Abessa Flagrant Sin Immorality Irish Nuns
Kirkrapine Church Robbery Religious State Irish Clergy
of Ireland and Laity
Sansfoy Infidelity
Sansjoy Joylessness Pagan Religion The Sultan and
the Saracens
Sansloy Lawlessness
The Dwarf Prudence,

Common Sense
Sir Trevisan Fear
The Squire Purity The Anglican Clergy
The Horn Truth The English Bible
Lucifera Pride, Vanity Woman of Babylon Church of Rome
4. THE SPENSERIAN STANZA.--The Faerie Queene is written in the
Spenserian Stanza, a form which the poet himself invented as a suitable
vehicle for a long narrative poem. Suggestions for its construction were
taken from three Italian metres--the Ottava Rima, the Terza Rima, the
Sonnet--and the Ballade stanza.