Spenser
represents
in him the peculiar vices of the Irish clergy and laity.
Spenser - Faerie Queene - 1
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. MALVENU, 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?
