Faire Una to the Redcrosse knight,
betrouthed is with joy:
Though false Duessa it to barre
her false sleights doe imploy.
I
BEHOLD I see the haven nigh at hand,
To which I meane my wearie course to bend;
Vere the maine shete,° and beare up with the land,
The which afore is fairely to be kend,
And seemeth safe from storms that may offend; 5
There this faire virgin wearie of her way
Must landed be, now at her journeyes end:
There eke my feeble barke a while may stay
Till merry wind and weather call her thence away.
II
Scarsely had Phoebus in the glooming East 10
Yet harnessed his firie-footed teeme,
Ne reard above the earth his flaming creast;
When the last deadly smoke aloft did steeme
That signe of last outbreathed life did seeme
Unto the watchman on the castle wall, 15
Who thereby dead that balefull Beast did deeme,
And to his Lord and Ladie lowd gan call,
To tell how he had seene the Dragons fatall fall.
III
Uprose with hastie joy, and feeble speed
That aged Sire, the Lord of all that land, 20
And looked forth, to weet if true indeede
Those tydings were, as he did understand,
Which whenas true by tryall he out found,
He bad to open wyde his brazen gate,
Which long time had bene shut, and out of hond° 25
Proclaymed joy and peace through all his state;
For dead now was their foe which them forrayed late.
IV
Then gan triumphant Trompets sound on hie,
That sent to heaven the ecchoed report
Of their new joy, and happie victorie 30
Gainst him, that had them long opprest with tort,
And fast imprisoned in sieged fort.
Then all the people, as in solemne feast,
To him assembled with one full consort,
Rejoycing at the fall of that great beast, 35
From whose eternall bondage now they were releast.
V
Forth came that auncient Lord and aged Queene,
Arayd in antique robes downe to the ground,
And sad habiliments right well beseene;
A noble crew about them waited round 40
Of sage and sober Peres, all gravely gownd;
Whom farre before did march a goodly band
Of tall young men,° all hable armes to sownd,
But now they laurell braunches bore in hand;
Glad signe of victorie and peace in all their land. 45
VI
Unto that doughtie Conquerour they came,
And him before themselves prostrating low,
Their Lord and Patrone loud did him proclame,
And at his feet their laurell boughes did throw.
Soone after them all dauncing on a row 50
The comely virgins came, with girlands dight,
As fresh as flowres in medow greene do grow,
When morning deaw upon their leaves doth light:
And in their hands sweet Timbrels all upheld on hight.
VII
And them before, the fry of children young 55
Their wanton sports and childish mirth did play,
And to the Maydens° sounding tymbrels sung,
In well attuned notes, a joyous lay,
And made delightfull musicke all the way,
Untill they came, where that faire virgin stood; 60
As faire Diana in fresh sommers day,
Beholds her Nymphes enraung'd in shadie wood,
Some wrestle, some do run, some bathe in christall flood:
VIII
So she beheld those maydens meriment
With chearefull vew; who when to her they came, 65
Themselves to ground with gracious humblesse bent,
And her ador'd by honorable name,
Lifting to heaven her everlasting fame:
Then on her head they set a girland greene,
And crowned her twixt earnest and twixt game; 70
Who in her self-resemblance well beseene,°
Did seeme such, as she was, a goodly maiden Queene.
IX
And after, all the raskall many° ran,
Heaped together in rude rablement,
To see the face of that victorious man: 75
Whom all admired, as from heaven sent,
And gazd upon with gaping wonderment.
But when they came where that dead Dragon lay,
Stretcht on the ground in monstrous large extent,
The sight with idle feare did them dismay, 80
Ne durst approch him nigh, to touch, or once assay.
X
Some feard, and fled; some feard and well it faynd;
One that would wiser seeme then all the rest,
Warnd him not touch, for yet perhaps remaynd
Some lingring life within his hollow brest, 85
Or in his wombe might lurke some hidden nest
Of many Dragonets, his fruitfull seed;
Another said, that in his eyes did rest
Yet sparckling fire, and bad thereof take heed;
Another said, he saw him move his eyes indeed. 90
XI
One mother, when as her foolehardie chyld
Did come too neare, and with his talants play,
Halfe dead through feare, her little babe revyld,
And to her gossips gan in counsell say;
How can I tell, but that his talants may 95
Yet scratch my sonne, or rend his tender hand?
So diversly themselves in vaine they fray;
Whiles some more bold, to measure him nigh stand,
To prove how many acres he did spread of land.
XII
Thus flocked all the folke him round about, 100
The whiles that hoarie king, with all his traine,
Being arrived where that champion stout
After his foes defeasance did remaine,
Him goodly greetes, and faire does entertaine
With princely gifts of yvorie and gold, 105
And thousand thankes him yeelds for all his paine.
Then when his daughter deare he does behold,
Her dearely doth imbrace, and kisseth manifold.
XIII
And after to his Pallace he them brings,
With shaumes, and trompets, and with Clarions sweet; 110
And all the way the joyous people sings,
And with their garments strowes the paved street:
Whence mounting up, they find purveyance meet
Of all that royall Princes court became,
And all the floore was underneath their feet 115
Bespred with costly scarlot of great name,°
On which they lowly sit, and fitting purpose frame.°
XIV
What needs me tell their feast and goodly guize,°
In which was nothing riotous nor vaine?
What needs of dainty dishes to devize, 120
Of comely services, or courtly trayne?
My narrow leaves cannot in them containe
The large discourse of royall Princes state.
Yet was their manner then but bare and plaine:
For th' antique world excesse and pride did hate; 125
Such proud luxurious pompe is swollen up but late.
XV
Then when with meates and drinkes of every kinde
Their fervent appetites they quenched had,
That auncient Lord gan fit occasion finde,
Of straunge adventures, and of perils sad, 130
Which in his travell him befallen had,
For to demaund of his renowmed guest:
Who then with utt'rance grave, and count'nance sad,
From point to point, as is before exprest,
Discourst his voyage long, according his request. 135
XVI
Great pleasures mixt with pittiful regard,
That godly King and Queene did passionate,
Whiles they his pittifull adventures heard,
That oft they did lament his lucklesse state,
And often blame the too importune fate, 140
That heaped on him so many wrathfull wreakes:
For never gentle knight, as he of late,
So tossed was in fortunes cruell freakes;
And all the while salt teares bedeawd the hearers cheaks.
XVII
Then sayd the royall Pere in sober wise; 145
Deare Sonne, great beene the evils which ye bore
From first to last in your late enterprise,
That I note whether prayse, or pitty more:
For never living man, I weene, so sore
In sea of deadly daungers was distrest; 150
But since now safe ye seised have the shore,
And well arrived are, (high God be blest)
Let us devize of ease and everlasting rest.
XVIII
Ah, dearest Lord, said then that doughty knight,
Of ease or rest I may not yet devize, 155
For by the faith, which I to armes have plight,
I bounden am streight after this emprize,
As that your daughter can ye well advize,
Backe to returne to that great Faerie Queene,
And her to serve six yeares in warlike wize, 160
Gainst that proud Paynim king° that workes her teene
Therefore I ought crave pardon, till I there have beene.
XIX
Unhappie falles that hard necessitie,
(Quoth he) the troubler of my happie peace,
And vowed foe of my felicitie; 165
Ne I against the same can justly preace:
But since that band ye cannot now release,
Nor doen undo°; (for vowes may not be vaine,)
Soone as the terme of those six yeares shall cease,
Ye then shall hither backe returne againe, 170
The marriage to accomplish vowd betwixt you twain.
XX
Which for my part I covet to performe,
In sort as° through the world I did proclame,
That whoso kild that monster most deforme,
And him in hardy battaile overcame, 175
Should have mine onely daughter to his Dame,
And of my kingdome heyre apparaunt bee:
Therefore since now to thee perteines the same,
By dew desert of noble chevalree,
Both daughter and eke kingdome, lo, I yield to thee. 180
XXI
Then forth he called that his daughter faire,
The fairest Un' his onely daughter deare,
His onely daughter, and his onely heyre;
Who forth proceeding with sad sober cheare,
As bright as doth the morning starre appeare 185
Out of the East, with flaming lockes bedight,
To tell that dawning day is drawing neare,
And to the world does bring long wished light:
So faire and fresh that Lady shewd her selfe in sight.
XXII
So faire and fresh, as freshest flowre in May; 190
For she had layd her mournefull stole aside,
And widow-like sad wimple throwne away,
Wherewith her heavenly beautie she did hide,
Whiles on her wearie journey she did ride;
And on her now a garment she did weare, 195
All lilly white, withoutten spot, or pride,
That seemd like silke and silver woven neare,
But neither silke nor silver therein did appeare.
XXIII
The blazing brightnesse of her beauties beame,
And glorious light of her sunshyny face, 200
To tell, were as to strive against the streame;
My ragged rimes are all too rude and bace,
Her heavenly lineaments for to enchace.
Ne wonder; for her owne deare loved knight,
All were she° dayly with himselfe in place, 205
Did wonder much at her celestiall sight:
Oft had he seene her faire, but never so faire dight.
XXIV
So fairely dight, when she in presence came,
She to her Sire made humble reverence,
And bowed low, that her right well became, 210
And added grace unto her excellence:
Who with great wisedome and grave eloquence
Thus gan to say. But eare he thus had said,
With flying speede, and seeming great pretence
Came running in, much like a man dismaid, 215
A Messenger with letters, which his message said.
XXV
All in the open hall amazed stood
At suddeinnesse of that unwarie sight,
And wondred at his breathlesse hastie mood.
But he for nought would stay his passage right, 220
Till fast before the king he did alight;
Where falling flat, great humblesse he did make,
And kist the ground, whereon his foot was pight;
Then to his hands that writ he did betake,
Which he disclosing, red thus, as the paper spake. 225
XXVI
To thee, most mighty king of Eden faire,
Her greeting sends in these sad lines addrest,
The wofull daughter, and forsaken heire
Of that great Emperour of all the West;
And bids thee be advized for the best, 230
Ere thou thy daughter linck in holy band
Of wedlocke to that new unknowen guest:
For he already plighted his right hand
Unto another love, and to another land.
XXVII
To me sad mayd, or rather widow sad, 235
He was affiaunced long time before,
And sacred pledges he both gave, and had,
False erraunt knight, infamous, and forswore:
Witnesse the burning Altars, which he swore,
And guiltie heavens of his bold perjury, 240
Which though he hath polluted oft of yore,
Yet I to them for judgement just do fly,
And them conjure t'avenge this shamefull injury.
XXVIII
Therefore since mine he is, or free or bond,
Or false or trew, or living or else dead, 245
Withhold, O soveraine Prince, your hasty hond
From knitting league with him, I you aread;
Ne weene my right with strength adowne to tread,
Through weaknesse of my widowhed, or woe;
For truth is strong her rightfull cause to plead, 250
And shall find friends, if need requireth soe.
So bids thee well to fare, Thy neither friend, nor foe, _Fidessa_.
XXIX
When he these bitter byting wordes had red,
The tydings straunge did him abashed make,
That still he sate long time astonished, 255
As in great muse, ne word to creature spake.
At last his solemne silence thus he brake,
With doubtfull eyes fast fixed on his guest;
Redoubted knight, that for mine onely sake
Thy life and honour late adventurest, 260
Let nought be hid from me, that ought to be exprest.
XXX
What meane these bloody vowes, and idle threats,
Throwne out from womanish impatient mind?
What heavens? what altars? what enraged heates
Here heaped up with termes of love unkind, 265
My conscience cleare with guilty bands would bind?
High God be witnesse, that I guiltlesse ame.
But if your selfe, Sir knight, ye faultie find,
Or wrapped be in loves of former Dame,
With crime do not it cover, but disclose the same. 270
XXXI
To whom the Redcrosse knight this answere sent
My Lord, my King, be nought hereat dismayd,
Till well ye wote by grave intendiment,
What woman, and wherefere doth me upbrayd
With breach of love, and loyalty betrayd. 275
It was in my mishaps, as hitherward
I lately traveild, that unwares I strayd
Out of my way, through perils straunge and hard;
That day should faile me, ere I had them all declard.
XXXII
There did I find, or rather I was found 280
Of this false woman, that Fidessa hight,
Fidessa hight the falsest Dame on ground,
Most false Duessa, royall richly dight,
That easy was to invegle weaker sight:
Who by her wicked arts, and wylie skill, 285
Too false and strong for earthly skill or might,
Unwares me wrought unto her wicked will,
And to my foe betrayd, when least I feared ill.
XXXIII
Then stepped forth the goodly royall Mayd,
And on the ground her selfe prostrating low, 290
With sober countenaunce thus to him sayd;
O pardon me, my soveraigne Lord, to show
The secret treasons, which of late I know
To have bene wroght by that false sorceresse.
She onely she it is, that earst did throw 295
This gentle knight into so great distresse,
That death him did awaite in dayly wretchednesse.
XXXIV
And now it seemes, that she suborned hath
This craftie messenger with letters vaine,
To worke new woe and unprovided scath, 300
By breaking of the band betwixt us twaine;
Wherein she used hath the practicke paine
Of this false footman, clokt with simplenesse,
Whom if ye please for to discover plaine,
Ye shall him Archimago find, I ghesse, 305
The falsest man alive; who tries shall find no lesse.
XXXV
The king was greatly moved at her speach,
And, all with suddein indignation fraight,
Bad on that Messenger rude hands to reach.
Eftsoones the Gard, which on his state did wait, 310
Attacht that faitor false, and bound him strait:
Who seeming sorely chauffed at his band,
As chained Beare, whom cruell dogs do bait,°
With idle force did faine them to withstand,
And often semblaunce made to scape out of their hand. 315
XXXVI
But they him layd full low in dungeon deepe,
And bound him hand and foote with yron chains
And with continual watch did warely keepe:
Who then would thinke, that by his subtile trains
He could escape fowle death or deadly paines? 320
Thus when that princes wrath was pacifide,
He gan renew the late forbidden bains,
And to the knight his daughter dear he tyde,
With sacred rites and vowes for ever to abyde.
XXXVII
His owne two hands the holy knots did knit, 325
That none but death for ever can devide;
His owne two hands, for such a turne most fit,
The housling fire° did kindle and provide,
And holy water thereon sprinckled wide;
At which the bushy Teade a groome did light, 330
And sacred lamp in secret chamber hide,
Where it should not be quenched day nor night,
For feare of evill fates, but burnen ever bright.
XXXVIII
Then gan they sprinckle all the posts with wine,
And made great feast to solemnize that day; 335
They all perfumde with frankencense divine,
And precious odours fetcht from far away,
That all the house did sweat with great aray:
And all the while sweete Musicke did apply
Her curious skill, the warbling notes to play, 340
To drive away the dull Melancholy;
The whiles one sung a song of love and jollity.
XXXIX
During the which there was an heavenly noise
Heard sound through all the Pallace pleasantly,
Like as it had bene many an Angels voice 345
Singing before th' eternall Majesty,
In their trinall triplicities° on hye;
Yet wist no creature whence that heavenly sweet
Proceeded, yet eachone felt secretly
Himselfe thereby reft of his sences meet, 350
And ravished with rare impression in his sprite.
XL
Great joy was made that day of young and old,
And solemne feast proclaimd throughout the land,
That their exceeding merth may not be told:
Suffice it heare by signes to understand 355
The usuall joyes at knitting of loves band.
Thrise happy man the knight himselfe did hold,
Possessed of his Ladies hart and hand,
And ever, when his eye did her behold,
His heart did seeme to melt in pleasures manifold. 360
XLI
Her joyous presence, and sweet company
In full content he there did long enjoy;
Ne wicked envie, ne vile gealosy,
His deare delights were able to annoy:
Yet swimming in that sea of blissfull joy, 365
He nought forgot how he whilome had sworne,
In case he could that monstrous beast destroy,
Unto his Faerie Queene backe to returne;
The which he shortly did, and Una left to mourne.
XLII
Now strike your sailes ye jolly Mariners, 370
For we be come unto a quiet rode,
Where we must land some of our passengers,
And light this wearie vessell of her lode.
Here she a while may make her safe abode,
Till she repaired have her tackles spent,° 375
And wants supplide. And then againe abroad
On the long voyage whereto she is bent:
Well may she speede and fairely finish her intent.
* * * * *
NOTES
LINE 1. LO I THE MAN.... An imitation of the opening lines of Vergil's
_Aeneid_:--
"Ille ego, qui quondam gracili modulatus avena
Carmen,...
Gratum opus agricolis, at nunc horrentia Martis."
Referring to his _Shepheards Calender_ (1579) Spenser thus gracefully
indicates his change from pastoral to epic poetry.
5-9. KNIGHTS AND LADIES. The poet here imitates the opening of Ariosto's
_Orlando Furioso_.
10. O HOLY VIRGIN CHIEFE OF NINE, refers to Clio, the muse of history.
Spenser should have invoked Calliope, the muse of poetry.
14. OF FAERIE KNIGHTS, the the champions of Gloriana, the queen of
Faerieland. FAIREST TANAQUILL, a British princess, daughter of Oberon, king
of Faerieland. In the allegory she is Queen Elizabeth.
15. THAT MOST NOBLE BRITON PRINCE is Prince Arthur, the perfect knight, who
is in love with Gloriana. In the allegory the Earl of Leicester is probably
meant, though by one tradition Sir Philip Sidney is identified with Prince
Arthur.
19. IMPE OF HIGHEST JOVE, Cupid, the god of love, and son of Jupiter and
Venus. He is represented as armed with an ebony bow (l. 23).
25. TRIUMPHANT MART, Mars, the god of war. The spelling is that of the
Italians and Chaucer.
28. O GODDESSE HEAVENLY BRIGHT, Queen Elizabeth (aged 56), who was fond of
such extravagant flattery, and expected it of all her courtiers.
31. PHOEBUS LAMPE, Apollo, the sun-god.
34. GLORIOUS TYPE OF THINE, the Lady Una, who stands for Truth in the
allegory.
35. THE ARGUMENT OF MINE AFFLICTED STILE, the subject of my humble pen.
"_Afflicted_" has the original Latin sense of "cast down."
36. O DEAREST DRED, O beloved object of reverence; a common salutation of
royalty.
CANTO I
I. _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.
LINE 1. A GENTLE KNIGHT, the Redcross Knight, representing the church
militant, and Reformed England. He is the young, untried champion of the
old cause whose struggles before the Reformation are referred to in ll. 3,
4. His shield bore "a cross gules upon a field argent," a red cross on a
silver ground. See _The Birth of St. George_ in Percy's _Reliques_, iii, 3,
and Malory's _Morte d'Arthur_, iii, 65.
15. FOR SOVERAINE HOPE, as a sign of the supreme hope.
20. GREATEST GLORIANA, Queen Elizabeth. In other books of _The Faerie
Queene_ she is called Belphoebe, the patroness of chastity, and Britomart,
the military genius of Britain.
27. A DRAGON, "the great dragon, that old serpent, called the devil,"
_Revelation_, xii, 9, also Rome and Spain. Cf. legend of St. George and the
dragon, and Fletcher's _Purple Island_, vii _seq._
28. A LOVELY LADIE, Una, the personification of truth and true religion.
Her lamb symbolizes innocence.
46. A DWARFE, representing prudence, or common sense; according to Morley,
the flesh.
56. A SHADIE GROVE, the wood of Error. "By it Spenser shadows forth the
danger surrounding the mind that escapes from the bondage of Roman
authority and thinks for itself."--Kitchin. The description of the wood is
an imitation of Ariosto's _Orlando Furioso_, i, 37, Chaucer's _Assembly of
Foules_, 176, and Tasso's _Jerusalem Delivered_, iii, 75. Morley sees in
this grove an allegory of man's life, the trees symbolizing trade,
pleasure, youth, etc.
69. THE SAYLING PINE. Ships were built of pine.
70. THE LOPLAR NEVER DRY, because it grows best in moist soil.
71. THE BUILDER OAKE. In the Middle Ages most manor houses and churches
were built of oak.
72. THE CYPRESSE FUNERALL, an emblem of death among the ancients, and
sacred to Pluto. Sidney says that they were wont to dress graves with
cypress branches in old times.
73. THE LAURELL. Victors at the Pythian games and triumphing Roman generals
were crowned with laurel. It was also sacred to Apollo, the god of poetry,
hence "meed of poets sage."
74. THE FIRRE THAT WEEPETH STILL. The fir exudes resinous substance.
75. THE WILLOW. "Willows: a sad tree, whereof such who have lost their love
make their mourning garlands."--Fuller's _Worthies_, i, 153. Cf. Heywood's
_Song of the Green Willow_, and Desdemona's song in _Othello_, IV, iii, 39.
76. THE EUGH. Ascham in his _Toxophilus_ tells us that the best bows were
made of yew.
78. THE MIRRHE, the Arabian myrtle, which exudes a bitter but fragrant gum.
The allusion is to the wounding of Myrrha by her father and her
metamorphosis into this tree.
79. THE WARLIKE BEECH, because lances and other arms were made of it. THE
ASH FOR NOTHING ILL. "The uses of the ash is one of the most universal: it
serves the souldier, the carpenter, the wheelwright, cartwright, cooper,
turner, and thatcher."--Evelyn's _Sylva_. The great tree Igdrasil in the
northern mythology was an ash.
81. THE CARVER HOLME, or evergreen oak, was good for carving.
106. SHAME WERE TO REVOKE, etc., it would be cowardly not to go forward for
fear of some suspected unseen danger.
114. THE WANDRING WOOD, i.e. which causes men to go astray.
123. MONSTER. The description of the monster Error, or Falsehood, is based
on Hesiod's Echidna, _Theog_. 301, and the locusts in _Revelation_, ix,
7-10. She is half human, half serpent, because error is partly true and
partly false. Dante's Fraud and Milton's Sin are similar monsters.
126. FULL OF VILE DISDAINE, full of vileness that bred disgust in the
beholder.
130. OF HER THERE BRED, etc., of her were born a thousand young ones. Her
offspring are lies and rumors of many shapes.
141. ARMED TO POINT, completely armed. Cf. Fr. _à point_, to a nicety.
145. THE VALIANT ELFE, because he was the reputed son of an Elfin or
Faerie, though really sprung from "an ancient race of Saxon kings." Three
kinds of elves are mentioned in the _Edda_: the black dwarfs, and brownies,
who both dwelt under ground, and the fair elves, who dwelt in Fairyland or
Alfheim. "The difference between Spenser's elves and these Teutonic elves
shows how he perverts Fairy mythology in the same way as he does Classical
myths."--Percival.
168. HIS GALL DID GRATE FOR GRIEFE, his anger was aroused on account of
pain. In the old anatomy anger had its seat in the gallbladder. See
Burton's _Anatomy of Melancholy_, I, i, 2.
177. HER VOMIT FULL OF BOOKES, etc. From 1570, when Pope Sixtus V issued
his bull of deposition against Queen Elizabeth, to 1590, great numbers of
scurrilous pamphlets attacking the Queen and the Reformed church had been
disseminated by Jesuit refugees.
181. NILUS. Pliny believed that the mud of the Nile had the power of
breeding living creatures like mice. _Hist. Nat._ ix, 84. So Shakespeare,
_Antony and Cleopatra_, II, vii, 29.
199. GENTLE SHEPHEARD. In this pastoral simile, Spenser imitates Homer's
_Iliad_, ii, 469, and xvii, 641, and Ariosto's _Orlando Furioso_, xiv, 109.
208. THUS ILL BESTEDD. There is a similar combat in the old romance _Guy of
Warwick_, ix, between the hero and a man-eating dragon.
217. HER SCATTRED BROOD. The poet here follows a belief as old as Pliny
that the young of serpents fed on their mother's blood. In this entire
passage the details are too revolting for modern taste.
232. THE WHICH THEM NURST. The antecedent of _which_ is _her_. In the
sixteenth century _the_ was frequently placed before _which_, which was
also the equivalent of _who_. Cf. the Lord's Prayer.
234. HE SHOULD CONTEND, he should have had to contend.
237. BORNE UNDER HAPPY STARRE. Belief in astrology was once common, and
Spenser being a Pythagorean would hold the doctrine of the influence of the
stars on human destiny.
239. THAT ARMORIE, the armor of the Christian warrior. _Ephesians_, vi, 13.
243. THAT LIKE SUCCEED IT MAY, that like successful adventures may succeed
it. The word order is inverted for the sake of the rhyme.
250. TO FREND, as his friend.
254. AN AGED SIRE, the false enchanter, Archimago, or Hypocrisy, who is
supposed to represent Pope Sixtus V or King Philip II of Spain. In general
he stands for false religion or the Church of Rome. The character and
adventure are taken from _Orlando Furioso_, ii, 12, in which there is a
hypocritical hermit. The Knight at first takes Archimago to be a palmer,
and inquires for the foreign news.
295. TAKE UP YOUR IN, take lodging.
301. A LITTLE WYDE, a little way off.
315. AN AVE-MARY, Hail Mary, a prayer to the Virgin. Cf. _Luke_, i, 28.
317. THE SAD HUMOUR, the heavy moisture, or "slombring deaw."
318. MORPHEUS, the son of Somnus and god of sleep and dreams, who sprinkled
the dew of sleep on the brow of mortals from his horn or wings or from a
bough dipped in Lethe.
323. HIS MAGICK BOOKES AND ARTES. Monks engaged in scientific
investigation, such as Friar Roger Bacon, were popularly supposed to use
cabalistic books, and to make compacts with the Devil by means of
necromancy, or the black art, as in st. xxxvii. Before the close of the
century Marlowe's _Doctor Faustus_ and Greene's _Friar Bacon and Friar
Bungay_, both based on the popular belief in magic, were presented on the
London stage.
328. BLACKE PLUTOES GRIESLY DAME, Proserpine, the avenger of men, and
inflicter of curses on the dead. She is identified with Shakespeare's
Hecate, the goddess of sorcery, and with Milton's Cotytto, goddess of lust.
To this latter sin the knight is tempted.
332. GREAT GORGON, Demogorgon, whose name might not be uttered, a magician
who had power over the spirits of the lower world. The poet is here
imitating the Latin poets Lucan and Statius.
333. COCYTUS, the river of wailing, and STYX, the river of hate, both in
Hades. There were two others, _Acheron_, the river of sorrow, and
_Phlegethon_, the river of fire.
335. LEGIONS OF SPRIGHTS. In this stanza and the preceding Spenser follows
Tasso's _Jerusalem Delivered_, xiii, 6-11, where the magician Ismeno,
guarding the Enchanted Wood, conjures "legions of devils" with the "mighty
name" (l. 332).
339. CHOSE. Imitation of Ariosto's _Orlando Furioso_, ii, 15, in which a
false spirit is called up by a hypocritical hermit. The description of the
House of Sleep in st. xxxix _seq_. is modelled on the same poet, _Orlando
Furioso_, ii, 15 _seq_. The influence of Homer's _Odyssey_, xi, 16 is seen
in st. xxxix, ll. 348 _seq_.
348. TETHYS, the ocean. In classical mythology she is the daughter of
Uranus (heaven) and Gaea (earth), and the wife of Oceanus.
349. CYNTHIA, the moon. The allusion is to the story of Diana and Endymion.
See Lyly's play _Endymion_.
352. WHOSE DOUBLE GATES. Homer, _Odyssey_, xix, 562, and Vergil, _Aeneid_,
vi, 893, give the House of Dreams a horn and an ivory gate. Spenser
substitutes silver for horn, mirrors being overlaid with silver in his
time. From the ivory gate issued false dreams; from the other, true ones.
361. SLUMBER SOFT. This stanza shows Spenser's wonderful technique. His
exquisite effects are produced, it will be noticed, partly by the choice of
musical words and partly by the rhythmical cadence of the verse phrases. It
is an example of perfect "keeping," or adaptation of sound to sense. Cf.
Chaucer's description of the waterfalls in the Cave of Sleep in his _Boke
of the Duchesse_, 162.
376. WHOSE DRYER BRAINE, whose brain too dry. In the old physiology, a dry
brain was the cause of slow and weak perception, and a moist brain of
quickness.
378. ALL, entirely, altogether.
381. HECATE, queen of phantoms and demons in Hades, and mistress of witches
on earth. See xxxvii.
387. THE SLEEPERS SENT, the sleeper's sense.
405. MOST LIKE TO SEEME, etc.. most likely fit to seem for (represent) Una.
_Like_ is an adv. A very awkward inversion.
411. BORNE WITHOUT HER DEW, i.e. created by him in an unnatural manner.
425. FAYRE VENUS, the daughter of Jupiter, or Zeus, and the sea-nymph
Dione. She is the same as Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty.
430. THE GRACES, Euphrosyne, Aglaia, and Thalia, daughters of Zeus and
Aphrodite.
431. HYMEN IÖ HYMEN, refrain of an old Roman nuptial song. Hymen, the son
of Apollo and the Muse Urania, was the god of marriage.
432. FRESHEST FLORA, the goddess of flowers. She typified spring.
447. TO PROVE HIS SENSE, etc. To test his perception and prove her feigned
truth.
449. THO CAN SHE WEEPE, then did she weep. _Can_ here is the Northern
dialect form for the middle English _gan_, past tense of _ginnen_, to
begin, which was used as an auxiliary.
454. THE BLIND GOD, Cupid, Eros, or Amor, the god of love.
478. Like other knights of romance, e.g. Sir Galahad and Sir Gareth in
Malory's _Morte d'Arthur_, iii, 65, etc., the Redcross Knight does not
yield to the temptation of the flesh, but overcomes it.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS FOR STUDY
(Canto I)
1. Tell in your own words the story of this canto. 2. Which muse does
Spenser invoke? 3. Who were the nine muses? 4. What is the difference
between _pastoral_ and _epic_ poetry? 5. Illustrate by _The Shepheards
Calender_ and the _The Faerie Queene_. 6. Point out imitations of Homer,
Vergil, Lucan, Statius, Ariosto, Tasso, and Chaucer. 7. Explain the
reference to the religious questions and politics of Queen Elizabeth's
reign. 8. Where does Spenser use classical mythology--mediæval legends? 9.
What references to the Bible do you find? 10. Try to make a mental picture
of the Knight--of Una--of Error--of Archimago. 11. Is Spenser's character
drawing objective or subjective? 12. Is the description of the wood in vii
true to nature? Could so many trees grow together in a thick wood? 13.
Study the Rembrandt-like effects of light and shade in xiv. 14. What
infernal deities are conjured up by Archimago?
15. Paraphrase in your own language ll. 88, 106-107, 116, 267-268.
16. Explain use of _of_ in l. 75. 17. What part of speech is _wandering_ l.
114? _to viewen_ l. 201? parse _which_ l. 232; _him_ and _spend_ l. 233;
_you_ and _shew_ l. 276. 18. Find examples of Euphuistic hyperbole in iv,
of alliteration in xiv. 19. Explain the use and form of _eyne_, _edified_,
_afflicted_, _weeds_, _Hebean_, _impe_, _compeld_, _areeds_, _blazon_,
_ycladd_.
CANTO II
I. _The Plot_: Deceived by Archimago's phantoms, the Redcross Knight
suspects the chastity of Una, and flies at early dawn with his dwarf. He
chances to meet the Saracen Sansfoy in company with the false Duessa. They
do battle and Sansfoy is slain. Duessa under the name of Fidessa attaches
herself to the Knight, and they ride forward. They stop to rest under some
shady trees, On breaking a bough, the Knight discovers that the trees are
two lovers, Fradubio and Fraelissa, thus imprisoned by the cruel
enchantment of Duessa.
II. _The Allegory_: 1. Hypocrisy under a pious disguise is attractive to
Holiness. Truth is also deceived by it, and shamefully slandered. Holiness
having abandoned Truth, takes up with Falsehood, who is attended by
Infidelity. Unbelief when openly assailing Holiness is overthrown, but
Falsehood under the guise of Faith remains undiscovered. The fate of the
man (Fradubio) is set forth who halts between two opinions,--False Religion
(Duessa) and Heathen Philosophy, or Natural Religion (Fraelissa).
2. The Reformed Church, no longer under the guidance of Truth, rushes
headlong into Infidelity, and unwittingly became the defender of the Romish
Faith under the name of the True Faith. There is a hint of the intrigues of
Mary Queen of Scots and the libels of the Jesuits on Queen Elizabeth
designed to bring back the English nation to Romish allegiance.
LINE 1. THE NORTHERNE WAGONER, the constellation Boötes.
2. HIS SEVENFOLD TEME, the seven stars of Ursa Major, or Charles's Wain.
THE STEDFAST STARRE, the Pole-star, which never sets.
6. CHEAREFULL CHAUNTICLERE, the name of the cock in the fabliaux and beast
epics, e.g. _Roman de Renart_ and _Reineke Fuchs_.
7. PHOEBUS FIERY CARRE, the sun.
11. THAT FAIRE-FORGED SPRIGHT, fair but miscreated spirit (I, xiv). Spenser
took suggestions for this stanza from Ariosto and Tasso.
51. FAIRE HESPERUS, the evening star.
55. THE ROSY-FINGRED MORNING. This beautiful epithet of Aurora, the goddess
of the dawn, is borrowed from Homer, Hesiod, and other ancient poets.
56. AGED TITHONES, son of Laomedon, King of Troy. Aurora conferred upon him
immortality without youth, hence the epithet "aged."
58. TITAN, the sun-god in the Roman myths.
85. PROTEUS, a sea-god who was endowed with the power of prophecy. He could
change himself into any shape in order to avoid having to prophesy. See
Homer, _Odyssey_, iv, 366 _seq_., and Vergil, _Georgics_, iv, 387.
90. HERBES. In the sixteenth century the belief in potions, magic formulas,
etc., was still strongly rooted in the popular mind. The Spanish court and
the priests were supposed to employ supernatural agencies against the
Protestants.
105. A FAITHLESS SARAZIN. Spenser uses the word Saracen in the general
sense of pagan. During the Middle Ages the Saracen power was a menace to
Europe, and the stronghold of infidelity. The names of the three Paynim
brethren, Sansfoy, Sansjoy, and Sansloy,--faithless, joyless, and
lawless,--suggest the point of view of Spenser's age.
109. A FAIRE COMPANION, the enchantress Duessa, or Falsehood, who calls
herself Fidessa. In the allegory Spenser intended her to represent the
Romish church and Mary Queen of Scots. Her character and appearance were
suggested by the woman of Babylon, in _Revelation_, viii, 4, Ariosto's
Alcina, and Tasso's Armida.
136. AS WHEN TWO RAMS. This figure is found in Vergil, Apollonius, Malory,
Tasso, Dante, and other poets and romancers.
141. THE HANGING VICTORY, the victory which hung doubtful in the balance.
144. THE BROKEN RELIQUES, the shattered lances.
148. EACH OTHERS EQUALL PUISSAUNCE ENVIES, each envies the equal prowess of
the other.
149. THROUGH THEIR IRON SIDES, etc., through their armored sides with cruel
glances, etc.
155. THE BITTER FIT, the bitterness of death.
158. ASSURED SITT, etc., sit firm (in the saddle), and hide (cover) thy
head (with thy shield).
160. WITH RIGOUR SO OUTRAGEOUS, with force so violent.
161. THAT A LARGE SHARE, etc., that a large piece it (the sword) hewed,
etc.
162. FROM BLAME HIM FAIRLY BLEST. 1, fairly preserved him from hurt; 2,
fairly acquitted him of blame. _Him_ in (1) refers to the knight, in (2) to
the Saracen. (1) is the better interpretation.
169. GRUDGING. Because reluctant to part from the flesh.
196. DAUGHTER OF AN EMPEROUR. Duessa represents the Pope, who exercised
imperial authority in Rome, though the seat of the empire had been
transferred to Constantinople in 476.
200. THE ONLY HAIRE. The dauphin of France, the first husband of Mary Queen
of Scots, afterwards King Francis II, son of Henry II. Duessa's story is
full of falsehoods.
244. SO DAINTY THEY SAY MAKETH DERTH, coyness makes desire. The knight is
allured on by Duessa's assumed shyness.
251. NE WONT THERE SOUND, nor was accustomed to sound there.
254. COOL SHADE. The Reformed Church, weakened by Falsehood, is enticed by
doubt and skepticism.
262. FAIRE SEEMLY PLEASAUNCE, pleasant courtesies.
263. WITH GOODLY PURPOSES, with polite conversation. This whole stanza
refers to Mary's candidacy for the English throne and its dangers to
Protestantism.
269. HE PLUCKT A BOUGH. In this incident Spenser imitates Ariosto, _Orlando
Furioso_, vi, 26, in which Ruggiero addresses a myrtle which bleeds and
cries out with pain. The conception of men turned into trees occurs also in
Ovid, Vergil, Tasso, and Dante.
272. O SPARE WITH GUILTY HANDS, etc. Cf Vergil's account of Polydorus in
_Aeneid_, iii, 41, in which a myrtle exclaims, _Parce pias scelerare
manus_, etc.
284. FROM LIMBO LAKE, here, the abode of the lost. With the Schoolmen,
Limbo was a border region of hell where dwelt the souls of Old Testament
saints, pious heathen, lunatics, and unbaptized infants. Cf. Milton's
Paradise of Fools, _Paradise Lost_, iii, 495.
291. FRADUBIO, as it were "Brother Doubtful," one who hesitates between
false religion and pagan religion, Duessa and Fraelissa (Morley). Fraelissa
is fair but frail, and will not do to lean upon.
342. FAIRE IN PLACE, fair in that place.
351. TO TREEN MOULD, to the form of a tree. _Treen_ is an adj. like
_wooden_.
354. THE SAME. Supply "as she appeared to be," i.e. fair and true.
357. PROPER HEW. Witches had to appear in their "proper hew" one day in
spring and undergo a purifying bath. The old romances make frequent mention
of the enchanted herb bath.
370. BY CHAUNGES OF MY CHEARE, by my changed countenance or expression.
371. DROWND IN SLEEPIE NIGHT. The phrase modifies "body," or is equivalent
to "while I was drowned in sleep."
382. IN A LIVING WELL, in a well of running water. This well signifies the
healing power of Christianity. _John_, iv, 14. In Spenser's story this well
is never found, and the wretched couple are never restored to human shape.
404. ALL PASSED FEARE, all fear having passed.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
(Canto II)
1. How does the knight feel and act while under Archimago's spell? 2. What
becomes of Una? 3. How does Archimago plan to deceive her? 4. Tell the
story of the lovers turned into trees. 5. Who was Sansfoy? 6. Describe the
appearance and character of Duessa. 7. What did she have to do with
Fradubio and Fraelissa? 8. What was the old belief about the penance of
witches? 9. How only could the lovers be restored to their human shape? Was
it done? 10. Who were St. George, Phoebus, Titan, Tithonius? 11. Explain
the reference to Chaunticlere in l. 6.
12. Find examples of _alliteration_ in xix; of _balance_ in xxxvii; and of
_Latinizing_ in xix; xxxvi; xxxviii, and xl.
13. Paraphrase in your own words ll. 111, 134-135, 162 (giving two
interpretations); 335, 386-387.
14. What _figure of speech_ is used in xiii, xvi, and xx?
15. Study the rich word-painting in the description of sunrise in vii. Find
other examples of this poet's use of "costly" epithets.
16. Scan the following passages: 148, 174, 178, 193, and 299.
17. Find example of _tmesis_ (separation of prep. from ob.) in xlv.
18. What is the difference between the two _wells_ in xliii?
19. To whom do the pronouns in ll. 174, 175 refer?
20. What is the _case_ of _heavens_ in l. 193? of _Sarazin_ in l. 217?
21. What words are omitted in ll. 188, 313, 398?
CANTO III
I. _The Plot:_ Una wandering in quest of her Knight is guarded by a Lion.
With difficulty they gain entrance to the cottage of Corceca and her
daughter Abessa, the paramour of Kirkrapine. The latter is killed by the
Lion. Fleeing the next day, Una falls in with Archimago disguised as the
Redcross Knight. They journey on and meet a second Saracen knight, Sansloy.
In the fight which ensues Archimago is unhorsed and his deception unmasked.
The Lion is slain, and Una becomes the captive of Sansloy.
II. _The Allegory:_ 1. Truth finds temporary protection in Reason, or
Natural Honor (Lion), and with its help puts a stop to the Robbing of
Churches (Kirkrapine), which is connived at by Blind Devotion (Corceca) and
Secret Sin (Abessa). Truth is then associated with Hypocrisy under the
guise of Holiness, but it is soon unmasked by Lawlessness (Sansloy), with
which Truth is forced into an unnatural alliance.
2. "The lion is said to represent Henry VIII, overthrowing the monasteries,
destroying church-robbers, disturbing the dark haunts of idleness,
ignorance and superstition."--Kitchin. The battle between Archimago and
Sansloy refers to the contests of the Catholic powers with the Moslems. The
whole canto also has a hint of the violence and lawlessness connected with
the English conquest of Ireland.
LINE 14. THOUGH TRUE AS TOUCH, though true as if tested on the touchstone
(by which true gold was distinguished from counterfeit).
18. AND HER DUE LOVES, etc., the love due to her diverted, etc.
27. YET WISHED TYDINGS, etc., yet none brought unto her the wished-for
tidings of him. An awkward transposition.
34. THE GREAT EYE OF HEAVEN, the sun. Cf. _Paradise Lost_, v. 171.
38. A RAMPING LYON. Reason or Natural Honor; also Henry VIII. According to
the ancient belief, no lion would attack a true virgin or one of royal
blood. Similar scenes are found in _Sir Bevis of Hampton_, _The Seven
Champions of Christendom_, etc. Cf. I _Henry_ IV, ii, 4. The allegory
signifies that man guided merely by reason will recognize Truth and pay it
homage.
51. WHOSE YEELDED PRIDE, etc., object of _had marked_, l. 52.
77. HE KEPT BOTH WATCH AND WARD, he kept awake and guarded her.
89. A DAMZELL SPYDE, Abessa, who symbolizes Flagrant or Secret Sin.
99. HER CAST IN DEADLY HEW, threw her into a deathly paleness.
101. UPON THE WAGER LAY, was at stake.
102. WHEREAS HER MOTHER BLYND, where her blind mother, Corceca, or Blind
Devotion.
109. UNRULY PAGE. This refers to the violence with which Henry VIII forced
Protestantism upon the people. In his _Present State of Ireland_ (p. 645),
Spenser speaks of the ignorance and blind devotion of the Irish Papists in
the benighted country places.
116. PATER NOSTERS, the Lord's Prayer; AVES, prayers to the Virgin.
136. ALDEBORAN, the Bull's Eye, a double star of the first magnitude in the
constellation Taurus.
137. CASSIOPEIAS CHAIRE, a circumpolar constellation having a fancied
resemblance to a chair.
139. ONE KNOCKED AT THE DORE, Kirkrapine, the plunderer of the Church.
Spenser represents in him the peculiar vices of the Irish clergy and laity.
166. STAY HIM TO ADVIZE, stop to reflect.
172. HIM BOOTETH NOT RESIST, it does him no good to resist. This whole
passage refers, perhaps, to Henry VIII's suppression of the monasteries and
convents in 1538-39.
185. THAT LONG WANDRING GREEKE. Ulysses, or Odysseus, the hero of Homer's
_Odyssey_, who wandered ten years and refused immortality from the goddess
Calypso in order that he might return to Penelope.
xxii. Note the rhymes _deare_, _heare_, and _teare_ (air). This 16th
century pronunciation still survives in South Carolina. See Ellis's _Early
English Pronunciation_, III, 868. This stanza reads like the description of
an Irish wake.
238. OR OUGHT HAVE DONE, or have done something to displease you.
239. THAT SHOULD AS DEATH, etc., that should settle like death, etc.
248. AND CHOSE IN FAERY COURT. See Spenser's letter to Sir W. Raleigh, p.
6.
250. HER KINDLY SKILL, her natural power.
276. FIERCE ORIONS HOUND, Sirius, the Dog-star, the brightest of the fixed
stars. The constellation Orion was named from a giant hunter who was
beloved by Aurora and slain by Diana.
279. AND NEREUS CROWNES WITH CUPS, and Nereus drinks bumpers in his honor.
Nereus was a sea-god, son of Ocean and Earth.
282. FROM GROUND, from the land.
297. SANS LOY symbolizes the pagan lawlessness in Ireland. There is also a
wider reference to the struggles between the Turks and the allied Christian
powers, which had been going on since the siege of Vienna in 1529.
309. VAINLY CROSSED SHIELD, Archimago's false cross lacked the protecting
power of St. George's charmed true cross.
321. LETHE LAKE, a lake or river of Hades, whose water brought oblivion or
forgetfulness to all who drank of it.
322. Refers to the ancient custom of sacrificing an enemy on the funeral
altar to appease the shade of the dead.
323. THE BLACKE INFERNALL FURIES, the Erinyes, or goddesses of vengeance,
who dwelt in Erebus. They were robed in black, bloody garments befitting
their gloomy character.
325. In romance it was customary for the victor to unlace the helmet of the
knight whom he had unhorsed before slaying him. Friends and relatives were
sometimes discovered by this precaution.
342. NE EVER WONT IN FIELD, etc., was never accustomed to fight in the
battle-field or in the lists of the tournament.
xliii. Contrast Sansloy's rude treatment of Una with the chivalrous respect
and courtesy always shown by a true knight to woman.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
(Canto III)
1. What moral reflections does the poet make in the introductory stanza?
Note the reference to the Queen. 2. What do you learn of the laws, customs,
and sentiments of chivalry in this canto? 3. Give an account of Una's
meeting with the Lion. 4. Explain the allegory of the incident of the Lion.
5. Describe the character, appearance, and actions of Corceca, and explain
the allegory. 6. Note the use of the stars to indicate time. 7. Under what
circumstances does Una meet Archimago? 8. Explain the allegory in ix. 9.
Note the Euphuistic balance in xxvii. 10. What figure do you find in xxxi?
Note the Homeric style. 11. Describe the fight between Archimago and
Sansloy, and explain the double allegory. 12. What is the moral
interpretation of xli-xlii?
13. Explain the Latinisms in ll. 37 and 377. 14. How are the adjectives
used in l. 57? 15. Note change of pronouns in vii from third person to
first. 16. Explain tense of _shold pas_ in l. 83. 17. Note confusion of
pronouns in xxii and xxxv. 18. Examine the _nominative absolute_
construction in st. xiv and xxxix. 19. Explain the ambiguous construction
in l. 165. 20. Parse _her_ in l. 262. 21. Note careless use of relative in
l. 288.
CANTO IV
I. _The Plot:_ In this and the following canto the adventures of the
Redcross Knight are continued from Canto II. Guided by Duessa, he enters
the House of Pride. There he sees Lucifera, the Queen of Pride, attended by
her sinful court. Her six Counselors are described in detail, with an
account of a pleasure trip taken by the Queen and her court. Sansjoy
unexpectedly arrives and challenges the Knight to mortal combat for the
shield of Sansfoy. That night Duessa holds a secret conference with the
Saracen knight.
II. _The Allegory:_ 1. The Christian Soldier, under the influence of false
ideals (Duessa), is exposed to the temptations of the Seven Deadly Sins,
chief among which is Pride. In the midst of these sinful pleasures, he is
assailed by Joylessness, on whose side is Falsehood secretly.
2. The religious and political allegory is here vague and somewhat
discontinuous. There is a hint, however, of the attempts of Mary Queen of
Scots to bring England back to Romanism. The pride and corruption of the
false church and its clergy are set forth. There is also a suggestion of
the perilous position of the English in Ireland.
20. OF EACH DEGREE AND PLACE, of every rank and order of society.
21. HAVING SCAPED HARD, having escaped with difficulty.
24. LAZARS. Leprosy was a common disease in England even as late as the
sixteenth century.
49. MALVENÙ, ill-come, as opposed to _Bienvenu_, welcome.
73. LIKE PHOEBUS FAIREST CHILDE, Phaethon, the son of Helios. He was killed
by a thunderbolt from the hand of Zeus, as a result of his reckless driving
of the chariot of the sun.
86. A DREADFULL DRAGON, Fallen Pride.
94. This genealogy of Pride is invented by the poet in accord with the
Christian doctrine concerning this sin.
107. SIX WIZARDS OLD, the remaining six of the Seven Deadly Sins, Wrath,
Envy, Lechery, Gluttony, Avarice, and Idleness. See Chaucer's _Parson's
Tale_ for a sermon on these mortal sins, Gower's _Dance of the Seven Deadly
Sins_, and Laugland's _Piers Plowman_.
145. COCHE. Spenser imitates Ovid and Homer in this description of Juno's
chariot. The peacock was sacred to the goddess, who transferred to its tail
the hundred eyes of the monster Argus. See Ovid's _Metamorphoses_, i, 625
_seq_.
157. WITH LIKE CONDITIONS, etc. The behests were of a kind similar to the
nature of the six Sins.
174. HE CHALENGED ESSOYNE, he claimed exemption.
185. LIKE A CRANE. This refers to Aristotle's story of a man who wished
that his neck were as long as a crane's, that he might the longer enjoy the
swallowing of his food. _Nic. Ethics_, iii, 13.
205. A DRY DROPSIE, a dropsy causing thirst.
236. UPON A CAMELL, etc. The reference is to a story in Herodotus'
_History_ (iii, 102 _seq_.), in which the Indians are described as carrying
off on camels gold dust hoarded by enormous ants.
252. UNTO HIM SELFE UNKNOWNE, i.e. being ignorant of his own wretchedness.
309. UNTHRIFTY SCATH, wicked damage, or mischief that thrives not.
313. THE SWELLING SPLENE. The spleen was the seat of anger.
314. SAINT FRAUNCES FIRE, St. Anthony's fire, or erysipelas. Diseases were
named from those who were supposed to be able to heal them.
335. WITH PLEASAUNCE, etc. Fed with enjoyment of the fields, the fresh air
of which they went to breathe.
437. AND HELPLESSE HAP, etc. It does no good to bemoan unavoidable chance.
440. PAY HIS DEWTIES LAST, pay his last duty to the shade of the slain man
by sacrificing his murderer.
443. ODDES OF ARMES, chances of mishap in arms due to some advantage of
one's antagonist.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
(Canto IV)
1. What are the moral reflections in stanza i? 2. What suggestion of the
condition of the English roads do you find in st. ii? 3. _But few
returned_, l. 21. What became of the rest? 4. Give a description of the
House of Pride. Note resemblance to a typical Elizabethan hall. 5. Explain
the allegory of the House, noting the association of ugliness and beauty.
6. How is expectation aroused in vi? 7. Describe the dramatic appearance
and character of Pride. Cf. description of Satan on his throne in _Paradise
Lost_, iii. 8. What do you learn in this canto of Elizabethan or chivalric
manners and customs? 9. Describe the procession at the court of Pride. 10.
What satire of the Romish priesthood in xviii-xx? 11. Note examples of
Spenser's humor in xiv and xvi. 12. Point out the classical influence
(Dionysus and Silenus) in the description of Gluttony. 13. Subject of the
interview between Duessa and Sansjoy. 14. Point out the archaisms in l. 10;
alliteration in xxxix and l; the Latinisms in xlvi and xlvii. 15. In what
case is _way_ in l. 17? 16. Explain the meaning and historical significance
of _lazar_, l. 24, and _diall_, l. 36. 17. Explain the references of the
pronouns in l. 55, and ll. 418-419. 18. Note the Euphuistic balance and
antithesis in xxix and xlv. 19. Explain the suffix in _marchen_ in l. 325.
20. Note the double negative in iv, xlix. 21. Paraphrase in your own words
ll. 239, 243, 360, 437.
CANTO V
I. _The Plot_: (a continuation of Canto IV). The Knight fights in the lists
with Sansjoy and defeats him, but is prevented by Duessa's magic from
slaying him. Duessa descends to Erebus and obtains the aid of Night, who
conveys the wounded Saracen in her chariot to Æsculapius to be healed of
his wounds. The tortures of some of the souls in Erebus are described,
particularly the cause of Æsculapius' punishment. A roll of the prisoners
whom the dwarf discovers in Pride's dungeon is given. The Knight flees with
the dwarf from her house.
II. _The Allegory_: When the Christian Soldier is attacked by Joylessness,
he has a far more desperate struggle than that with Infidelity, and comes
out wounded though victorious. Joylessness when crushed by Holiness is
restored by Pagan Philosophy. The backsliding Christian is warned in time
by Prudence of the fearful consequences of sin, and hastens to turn his
back on Pride and the other sins. The soul is led to dread Pride, not by
Truth, but by its sufferings and other inferior motives.
25. THEIR TIMELY VOYCES, their voices keeping time with their harps.
27. OLD LOVES, famous love-affairs, the subject of the Minnesängers.
29. IN WOVEN MAILE, in chain armor.
32. ARABY, probably here the Orient in general.
33. FROM FURTHEST YND, from farthest India.
39. UNTO A PALED GREENE, a green inclosure (lists for a tournament)
surrounded by a palisade.
44. HIS. An old method of forming the possessive, based on a
misapprehension of the original Anglo-Saxon suffix _-es_, which was
shortened in middle English to _-is_, and finally to _s_.
45. BOTH THOSE, etc. Both Duessa and the shield are to go to the victor.
65. A GRYFON, a fabulous animal, part lion and part eagle. _Gryfon_ is
subject of _encountereth_ with _Dragon_ as object.
89. AND SLUGGISH GERMAN, etc., and sluggish brother dost relax thy strength
to send his (Sansfoy's) foe after him, that he may overtake him. In ll.
86-88 Sansjoy addresses his brother, in ll. 89-90 himself. _German_ is any
blood relation.
100. The Knight supposed that Duessa's encouraging words were addressed to
him.
114. Spenser here, with fine dramatic effect, imitates Homer, who saves
Paris and Æneas by a similar device. _Iliad_, iii, 380, and v, 345.
159. TEARES. This mention of the man-eating crocodile's tears is based on
an old Latin proverb. Sir John Mandeville repeats the story.
172. GRIESLY NIGHT. According to mythology (Hesiod's _Theog_., 123), one of
the first things created, the daughter of Chaos, and mother of Æther (sky)
and Hemera (day); also of Deceit, Strife, Old Age, and Vengeance. See xxii
and xxvii.
202. ON GRONING BEARE, on a bier with groaning friends around.
204. O WHAT OF GODS, etc., O what is it to be born of gods, if old
Aveugle's (the father of the three Saracens) sons are so ill treated.
219. AND GOOD SUCCESSES, etc., and good results which follow their foes.
221. OR BREAKE THE CHAYNE, refers to Jove's proposition to fasten a golden
chain to the earth by which to test his strength. Homer's _Iliad_, viii,
19. Cf. Milton's _Paradise Lost_, ii, 1051.
225. BAD EXCHEAT, bad gain by exchange. _Escheat_ is an old legal term,
meaning any lands or goods which fall to the lord of a fief by forfeiture.
Cf. "rob Peter to pay Paul."
229. SHALL WITH HIS OWNE BLOUD, etc., shall pay the price of the blood that
he has spilt with his own.
263. Here Spenser imitates Homer's _Odyssey_, xvi, 163.
267. THE GHASTLY OWLE. The poet follows the Latin rather than the Greek
poets, who regard the owl as the bird of wisdom.
273. OF DEEP AVERNUS HOLE. Avernus in the poets is a cavern (in an ancient
crater), supposed to be the entrance to the infernal regions. Cf. Vergil's
_Æneid_, vi, 237. In Strabo's Geography it is a lake in Campania.
298. CERBERUS, the dog which guarded the lower regions. This stanza is an
imitation of Vergil's _Æneid_, vi, 417 _seq_. In Dante's _Inferno_ Vergil
appeases him by casting handfuls of earth into his maw.
xxxv. In this stanza we see the influence of Homer and Vergil. Ixion, the
king of Lapithæ, was chained by order of Zeus to a fiery-winged wheel for
aspiring to the love of the goddess Hera (Juno). Sisyphus had to roll a
huge stone forever up a hill for betraying the designs of the gods.
Tantalus, for divulging the secrets of Zeus, was condemned to stand
tormented by thirst in a lake. Tityus, for an assault on Artemis, was
pinioned to the ground with two vultures plucking at his vitals. Typhoeus,
a hundred-headed giant, was slain by Zeus' thunderbolt, and buried under
Ætna. The gin on which he was tortured was probably the rack of the Middle
Ages. Cf. the bed of Procrustes. Theseus, for attempting to carry off
Persephone, was fixed to a rock in Tartarus. The "fifty sisters" are the
fifty Danaides, who, for slaying their husbands, were condemned to pour
water forever into a vessel full of holes.
322. SAD AESCULAPIUS, the god of medicine, slain by Zeus for arresting
death and diseases.
354. AND FATES EXPIRED, and the threads of life which the fates (Parcæ) had
severed.
387. GREAT PAINES, AND GREATER PRAISE, etc. His praise, like his pain, is
to be eternal.
xlvii. This list of the thralls of Pride is in imitation of a similar one
in Chaucer's _Monk's Tale_, which was based on Boccaccio's _De Casibus
Illustrium Virorum_.
415. PROUD KING OF BABYLON, Nebuchadnezzar. See _Daniel_, iii and iv.
420. KING CROESUS, the last king of Lydia, who was overthrown by Cyrus in
B.C. 646. _Herodotus_, i, 26.
422. PROUD ANTIOCHUS, Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria, who captured
Jerusalem twice, and defiled God's altar. He died raving mad B.C. 164.
Josephus, _Antiquities of the Jews_, xiii, 5-9.
424. GREAT NIMROD, "the mighty hunter" (_Genesis_, x, 8), whose game,
according to Spenser, was man. Josephus tells us that through pride he
built the tower of Babel.
426. OLD NINUS, the legendary founder of Nineveh, and put to death by his
wife, Semiramis.
428. THAT MIGHTY MONARCH, Alexander the Great (B.C. 366-323), king of
Macedon. While consulting the oracle of Jupiter Ammon in the Libyan desert
he was saluted by the priests as "Ammons Sonne." He died either of poison
(Plutarch) or of excessive drink (Diodorus).
437. GREAT ROMULUS, legendary founder of Rome (B.C. 753). See Livy, i, 16.
438. PROUD TARQUIN, Tarquinius Superbus, the last king of Rome. He was
banished B.C. 510.
438. TOO LORDLY LENTULUS, surnamed Sura, member of a haughty patrician
family, who conspired with Catiline, and was strangled B.C. 62.
439. STOUT SCIPIO, Cornelius Scipio Africanus (B.C. 287?-183?), the
conqueror of Hannibal, and self-exiled from Rome. Livy speaks of his
inordinate pride, xxxviii, 50.
439. STUBBORNE HANNIBALL (B.C. 247-183), the great Carthaginian general,
who died by poison to avoid falling into the hands of the Romans.
440. AMBITIOUS SYLLA (B.C. 138-78), Cornelius Sulla, the Dictator, who died
a loathsome death.
440. STERNE MARIUS (B.C. 157-86), after being seven times consul, he was
obliged to take refuge from his rival Sulla amid the ruins of Carthage.
441. HIGH CAESAR, Caius Julius Caesar (B.C. 100-44), who was murdered by
Brutus and other conspirators.
441. GREAT POMPEY. Cn. Pompeius Magnus (B.C. 106-48). After his defeat at
Pharsalia, he fled to Egypt, where he was murdered.
441. FIERCE ANTONIUS, Marcus (B.C. 83-30), the great triumvir, who after
his defeat at Actium killed himself in Egypt.
444. THE BOLD SEMIRAMIS, the legendary queen of Assyria.
446. FAIRE STHENOBOEA, the wife of Proteus, who on account of her
unrequited love for Bellerophon, died by hemlock. Aristophanes' _Frogs_,
1049 _seq_.
448. HIGH MINDED CLEOPATRA (B.C. 69-30), the beautiful queen of Egypt, who
is said by Plutarch to have died in the manner mentioned.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
(Canto V)
1. How did Redcross spend the night before the fight with Sansjoy?
2. Study in detail the fine description of Duessa's descent to Erebus.
3. What elements of beauty are seen in the description of dawn and sunrise
in ii? and compare _Psalms_, xix, 5. 4. What arbitrary classification of
musicians does Spenser make in iii? 5. Who is the _far renowmed Queene_ in
v? 6. Describe the joust between the Knight and Sansjoy. 7. Where do you
learn of the laws governing such contests? 8. Observe the dramatic way in
which Duessa saves Sansjoy. 9. What dramatic stroke in xxvii? 10. Describe
Night and her team. 11. Give an account of her descent to Erebus with
Sansjoy. 12. What were some of the tortures of the damned? 13. What effect
is produced in xxx and how? 14. Point out some instances in which Spenser
has imitated Homer--Vergil.
15. Where does he follow the Latin rather than the Greek poets?
16. Why did Æsculapius hesitate to heal Sansjoy? 17. Whom did the dwarf see
in the dungeons of Pride? 18. Why did the Knight flee from the House of
Pride?
19. Examine the following grammatical forms: _maken_, l. 22; _woundes_, l.
400. 20. What _figure of speech_ is employed in xviii? 21. What
illustration is used in viii? 22. Find example of _balanced structure_ in
vii; _alliteration_ in viii, xv, xviii. 23. Scan l. 23. 24. Note nom. abs.
construction in xlv.
25. Paraphrase the involved constructions in xlii, xix, viii, xxxvi.
CANTO VI
I. _The Plot_: (Continuation of Canto III). Una is delivered from Sansloy
by a band of Satyrs. She remains with them as their teacher. There a knight
of the wild-wood, Sir Satyrane, discovers her, and by his assistance, Una
succeeds in making her way out of the forest to the plain. On the way they
meet Archimago, disguised as a pilgrim, and he deceives them and leads them
to Sansloy. While Sir Satyrane and Sansloy are engaged in a bloody battle,
Una flees. She is pursued by Archimago but makes her escape.
II. _The Allegory_: 1. Truth is saved from destruction by Lawless Violence
(Sansloy) by the aid of Barbarism or Savage Instinct, which terrorizes
Lawlessness but offers natural homage to Truth. Truth finds a temporary
home among Ignorant and Rude Folk (Satyrs) and in return imparts divine
truth to their unregenerate minds. Natural Heroism or Manly Courage (Sir
Satyrane) sides with Truth and defends it against Lawlessness.
2. The religious allegory signifies the extension of Protestantism through
the outlying rural districts of England and in Ireland. Upton thinks that
Sir Satyrane represents "Sir John Perrot, whose behaviour, though honest,
was too coarse and rude for a court. 'Twas well known that he was a son of
Henry VIII." Holinshed says that as Lord President of Munster, Sir John
secured such peace and security that a man might travel in Ireland with a
white stick only in his hand.
16. FROM ONE TO OTHER YND, from the East to the West Indies.
61. A TROUPE OF FAUNES AND SATYRES. The Fauns were the wood-gods of the
Romans, the Satyrs the wood-gods of the Greeks. They were half human, half
goat, and represented the luxuriant powers of nature.
63. OLD SYLVANUS, the Roman god of fields and woods, young and fond of
animal pleasures. Spenser represents him as a feeble but sensuous old man.
90. WITH CHAUNGE OF FEARE, from the wolf to the lion.
96. RUSTICK HORROR, bristling hair.
99. THEIR BACKWARD BENT KNEES, like the hinder legs of a goat.
101. THEIR BARBAROUS TRUTH, their savage honor.
103. LATE LEARND, having been recently taught. She had shown too "hasty
trust" in Archimago.
112. WITHOUT SUSPECT OF CRIME, without suspicion of blame.
117. The olive is the emblem of peace, as the ivy (l. 126) is of
sensuousness.
120. WITH THEIR HORNED FEET, with their hoofs.
128. OR BACCHUS MERRY FRUIT, etc., whether they did discover grapes.
129. OR CYBELES FRANTICKE RITES, the wild dances of the Corybantes,
priestesses of Cybele, or Rhea, the wife of Chronos and mother of the gods.
132. THAT MIRRHOUR RARE, that model of beauty. So Sidney was called "the
mirror of chivalry."
134. FAIRE DRYOPE, a princess of Æchalia, who became a forest nymph.
Pholoe, mentioned in l. 135, is probably a fictitious creation of the
author's.
146. DEAREST CYPARISSE, a youth of Cea, who accidentally killed his
favorite stag and dying of grief was changed into a cypress. He was beloved
by Apollo and Sylvanus.
148. NOT FAIRE TO THIS, i.e. compared to this.
152. N'OULD AFTER JOY, would not afterwards be cheerful.
153. SELFE-WILD ANNOY, self-willed distress.
154. FAIRE HAMADRYADES, the nymphs who dwelt in the forest trees and died
with them.
156. LIGHT-FOOT NAIADES, the fresh water nymphs, companions of the fauns
and satyrs.
161. THEIR WOODY KIND, the wood-born creatures of their own kind, e.g.
nymphs or satyrs.
163. Una was "luckelesse" in having lost her knights, but "lucky" in the
friendship of the Satyrs. Note the Euphuistic phrasing.
169. IDOLATRYES. The allegory has reference to the idolatrous practices of
the ignorant primitive Christians, such as the worship of images of the
Saints, the pageant of the wooden ass during Lent (see _Matthew_, xxi, and
Brand's _Popular Antiquities_, i, 124), and the Feast of the Ass (see
_Matthew_, ii, 14).
172. A NOBLE WARLIKE KNIGHT, Sir Satyrane, in whom are united rude untaught
chivalry and woodland savagery. He represents natural heroism and
instinctive love of truth.
173. BY JUST OCCASION, just at the right moment.
184. THYAMIS is the symbol of Animal Passion; LABRYDE of the lower
appetites; THERION, the human wild beast, who deserts his wife.
xxiv. This account of Sir Satyrane's education is based on that of Rogero
by his uncle Atlante in Ariosto's _Orlando Furioso_, vii, 5, 7.
213. MAISTER OF HIS GUISE, his instructor.
214. AT HIS HORRID VEW, his shaggy, uncouth appearance.
256. HIS FAMOUS WORTH WAS BLOWN, i.e. blazoned by Fame's trumpet.
308. A JACOBS STAFFE. According to Nares, "A pilgrim's staff; either from
the frequent pilgrimages to St. James of Comfortella (in Galicia), or
because the apostle St. James is usually represented with one."
371. See Canto III, xxxviii, where Archimago was disguised as St. George.
372. TH' ENCHAUNTER VAINE, etc., the foolish enchanter (Archimago) would
not have rued his (St. George's) crime (i.e. slaying Sansfoy).
373. BUT THEM HIS ERROUR SHALT, etc., thou shalt by thy death pay the
penalty of his crime and thus prove that he was really guilty. A very
obscure passage. Look up the original meaning of _shall_.
386. This simile is found frequently in the old romances. Cf. Malory's
_Morte d'Arthur_, ii, 104, and Chaucer's _Knight's Tale_, l. 1160.
416. According to a usage of chivalry, the lover wore a glove, sleeve,
kerchief, or other token of his lady-love on his helmet. By "lover's token"
Sansloy ironically means a blow.
425. TO HER LAST DECAY, to her utter ruin.
426. Spenser leaves the fight between Sansloy and Sir Satyrane unfinished.
Both warriors appear in later books of the _Faerie Queene_.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
(Canto VI)
1. Who rescued Una from Sansloy? 2. How does Una repay their kindness? 3.
How was she treated by them? 4. Explain the references to the various
classes of nymphs. 5. Look up the classical references in xvi and xviii. 6.
Why is Una described as "luckelesse lucky"? 7. What customs of the early
Christians are referred to in xix? 8. What does Sir Satyrane symbolize in
the allegory? 9. What was his character and education? 10. Note the
Elizabethan conception of the goddess Fortune in xxxi. 11. Did Una act
ungratefully in leaving the Satyrs as she did? 12. Who is the _weary wight_
in xxxiv? 13. What news of St. George did he give? Was it true? 14. Who is
the Paynim mentioned in xl? 15. Note Euphuistic antithesis in xlii. 16.
Explain the figures in iv, vi, x, xliv. 17. Paraphrase ll. 289, 296. 18.
Find _Latinisms_ in xxv; xxvi; xxviii; xxxi; and xxxvii. 19. Describe the
fight at the end of the Canto.
CANTO VII
I. _The Plot:_ (Continuation of Canto V). Duessa pursues the Redcross
Knight, and overtakes him sitting by an enchanted fountain, weary and
disarmed. He is beguiled into drinking from the fountain, and is quickly
deprived of strength. In this unnerved and unarmed condition he is suddenly
set upon by the giant Orgoglio. After a hopeless struggle he is struck down
by the giant's club and is thrust into a dungeon. Una is informed by the
dwarf of the Knight's misfortune and is prostrated with grief. Meeting
Prince Arthur, she is persuaded to tell her story and receives promise of
his assistance.