The Faerie Queene - Allegory in Canto Iv
The Faerie Queene - Allegory in Canto IV
Spenser’s, The Faerie Queene, was written during the Renaissance, at a time of great change in Europe. Spenser’s literature established himself as a revolutionary writer with influential ideas. Like many people during this time, Spenser began questioning his surroundings. Nonetheless, a new concept of education arose which focused on ancient Greek and Roman texts and the understanding the concept of humanism, as opposed to previous mode of general education in Europe, which was the study of spirituality and religion. Spenser observed corruption within the Roman Catholic church, and with his use of literature and allegory, he was able to express these ideas and reactions to society. It is necessary to analyze Spenser’s work carefully because he uses fiction to represent different ideas and spiritual factors. Popular for the time period, Spenser writes a “courtesy book,” which means that the book’s purpose is to instruct people into becoming better individuals. He expresses this idea in his introduction where he writes, “The generall end therefore of all the booke is to fashion a gentleman or noble person in vertuous and gentle discipline” (716). In Spenser’s, “A letter to the Authors,” he tells the reader that the narrative in The Faerie Queene is full of continuous allegory and that the reader must be aware of this to understand the book’s meaning. Even though The Faerie Queene contains 3 books with numerous cantos in each, I will focus on the first book and particularly Canto 4. Edward Spenser’s literature in The Faerie Queene takes the form of an epic poem, while exemplifying the use of allegory, which gives the reader insight to some of Spenser’s ideas and reactions to the society of his time. Spenser believed that much sin occurs regularly in society, which is overlooked, and that the Catholic church was quite a suspect. Spenser uses characterization to create symbols which represent different
Spenser’s, The Faerie Queene, was written during the Renaissance, at a time of great change in Europe. Spenser’s literature established himself as a revolutionary writer with influential ideas. Like many people during this time, Spenser began questioning his surroundings. Nonetheless, a new concept of education arose which focused on ancient Greek and Roman texts and the understanding the concept of humanism, as opposed to previous mode of general education in Europe, which was the study of spirituality and religion. Spenser observed corruption within the Roman Catholic church, and with his use of literature and allegory, he was able to express these ideas and reactions to society. It is necessary to analyze Spenser’s work carefully because he uses fiction to represent different ideas and spiritual factors. Popular for the time period, Spenser writes a “courtesy book,” which means that the book’s purpose is to instruct people into becoming better individuals. He expresses this idea in his introduction where he writes, “The generall end therefore of all the booke is to fashion a gentleman or noble person in vertuous and gentle discipline” (716). In Spenser’s, “A letter to the Authors,” he tells the reader that the narrative in The Faerie Queene is full of continuous allegory and that the reader must be aware of this to understand the book’s meaning. Even though The Faerie Queene contains 3 books with numerous cantos in each, I will focus on the first book and particularly Canto 4. Edward Spenser’s literature in The Faerie Queene takes the form of an epic poem, while exemplifying the use of allegory, which gives the reader insight to some of Spenser’s ideas and reactions to the society of his time. Spenser believed that much sin occurs regularly in society, which is overlooked, and that the Catholic church was quite a suspect. Spenser uses characterization to create symbols which represent different
Cited: Alpers, Paul. The Poetry of The Faerie Queene. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1967. Maccaffrey, Isabel. Spenser’s Allegory. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1976. Spenser, Edmund. “The Faerie Queene, Book 1.” Norton Anthology of English Literature: 8th Edition, Volume B. Ed. Julia Reidhead. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006