Theme Of Allegory In The Faerie Queene

Regan Garey
Dr. Cox
ENG 236A: British Literature to 1795
10-3-15
Study Guide #5: The Faerie Queene
4. Una and Duessa function as foils. Explain how and then compare their depiction to at least two (2) other female characters that we’ve read about this semester (e.g., Judith, Grendel’s mom, queens, Guinevere, etc.) In The Faerie Queene, we see many different characters that are put into the story to represent different ideas or objects in society. Because of this allegorical element in the story, Una and Duessa serve as foils to each other. Una is seen as a pure, innocent woman who stands for truth. She is the one true faith and symbolizes the protestant church. In Book 1, Una is described as being “more white then snow” (Stanza IV, Line 29).
I will do this by telling them that an allegory is a story in which the characters are meant to symbolize something else in the world. We are able to see this in many different pieces of literature, and I’ll point out some different books or stories, such as C.S. Lewis books or Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan, where we can see an allegory at work. I feel that this would be beneficial to the students because it would show them how an allegory can work and how they can identify it. After doing this and discussing what an allegory truly is, I will move on to The Faerie Queene. By this point, I will have assigned for the class to read the first two Cantos in Book 1. I feel that these two Cantos lay out the groundwork for the allegory within the story. In the first two books, readers meet Redcrosse, Una, and Duessa. At this point in the story, Redcrosse has also went into the cave of Error (Stanza XI) and has been saved by listening to Una who tells him to “add faith “ and “be not faint” (Stanza XIX, Line 165). During lecture, I would want to discuss each character and how they were described within the story. For instance, Una was described in Book 1 as being “pure and innocent” as a lamb (Stanza V, Line 37). She is also said to be “more white then snow,” yet again reiterating her purity as a woman. Spenser uses Una to be a symbol for the “One True Church” and also uses her to help Redcrosse on his quest of faith. Redcrosse is also a symbol of holiness and is on a quest to right the wrongs that have been done to Una’s family. He has a cross on his armor, and is on his quest for holiness in his life. He fails many times, but with Una’s help, he continues on. We could discuss Una’s impact in this as well as Duessa’s influence in the