11552-1599

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Spenser’s Biography Born to a London family of modest

means around 1552. Educated in London at the

Merchant Taylors’ School. Cambridge-- B.A. (1573) and M.A.

(1576) Served as Secretary for John

Young (Bishop of Rochester) Composed The Shepheardes

Calender (printed in 1579) 1579: employed by Earl of

Leicester; met Sir Philip Sidney and Sir Edward Dyer; formed an informal intellectual society called the 'Areopagus,' discussing law, philosophy, and poetry

July 1580: went to Ireland, in the service of Arthur Lord Grey de Wilton.

1594: married Elizabeth Boyle 1598: his estate, Kilcolman Castle,

burned; returned to London 1599: died in poverty

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Influence

Spenser was highly influenced by Geoffrey Chaucer. In his work, he synthesized classical, medieval and Renaissance predecessors.

He influenced English Romantics such as William Wordsworth, John Keats, Lord Byron and Alfred Lord Tennyson.

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Important Works Shepheardes Calender (1579) The Faerie Queene Books 1–3, published in London

(1590) It was Raleigh who, reading through Spenser's draft of The

Faerie Queene, encouraged him to join him on a trip to London in 1590, where he presented Spenser to the Queen.

The poem found such favour with the monarch that Spenser was granted a pension for life amounting to 50 pounds a year.

Amoretti (1595) Astrophel: A Pastoral Elegie upon the death of the most

Noble and valorous Knight, Sir Philip Sidney (1595) Faerie Queene Books 4–6; reprinted Books 1-3 (1596) A vewe of the present state of Irelande a prose treatise

on the reformation of Ireland (Spenser's work was entered into the Stationer's Register in 1598 and circulated in manuscript but not published until 1633).

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Spenser used a distinctive verse form, called the Spenserian stanza in several works, including The Faerie Queene.

The stanza's main meter is iambic pentameter with a final line in iambic hexameter (having six feet or stresses, known as an Alexandrine, and the rhyme scheme is ababbcbcc.

Spenserian Stanza

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Title page of the first edition of The Faerie Queene (1590) by Edmund Spenser.

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incomplete Largely symbolic, the

poem follows several knights in an examination of several virtues.

Book I: Holiness The Red Cross Knight = The Knight of Holiness

Book II: Temperance Book III: Chastity Book IV: Friendship Book V: Justice Book VI: Courtesy

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General Structure of The Faerie Queene

Spenser planned for 24 books: 12 based each on a different knight who exemplified one of 12 “private virtues,” and a possible 12 more centered on King Arthur displaying twelve “public virtues.”

Spenser names Aristotle as his source for these virtues.

In addition to these six virtues, the Letter to Raleigh suggests that Arthur represents the virtue of Magnificence and that the Faerie Queene herself represents Glory (hence her name, Gloriana).

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Book I, Summary During annual Feasts at the Queen’s palace, Una

visits the queen, tells her that her parents are plagued by a Dragon, asks her help.

The Queen assigns Red Cross Knight for the task.

The quest is that of the Red Cross Knight to free Una’s parents and their land from the oppression of a great dragon.

On an allegorical level, Redcross represents the individual Christian, in search of Holiness.

Book I, Summary (cont.) When he is with Una (Truth), he overcomes

Error. When he is seperated from Una, he faces peril

from Archimago (False religion, Rome), Duessa (duplicity), Pagan Trinity (Sansloy-lawless, Sansjoy-joyless,

Sansfoy-faithless).

The setting is “Faerie Land” (refers to England). On a larger scale, it is a fight between good and

evil, between the Anglican Church and Rome.10

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Main characters in Book I Red Cross Knight Una Duessa Archimago Orgoglio Pagan Trinity (Sansloj, Sansjoy, Sansfoy). King Arthur The Dragon The Lion Lucifera Sir Satyrane

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Red Cross Knight

How is Red Cross Knight used as a character? as an allegorical character (Holiness, Church of

England; religious symbol) as St. George, the patron saint of England

(historical/national symbol) as an individual being (A Christian looking for grace

in this fallen world; individual figure) He gets into trouble because he is not

virtuous enough.His quest is to be united with Una (Truth) and

kill the Dragon.

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Illustration from an edition of Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene.

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A 15th-century icon

of St. George.

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Una

Una is Truth Anglican Church

Rides an Asse (truth is slow!) Her face is covered: Truth is not obvious, not in

plain sight. Dressed in a black robe Accompanied by a white lamb (innocence) Also accompanied by a Dwarf (common sense)

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Una, delivering the Red Cross Knight from the Cave of Despair, (Canto 9) c.1830 by Sir Charles Lock Eastlake

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Archimago Means ‘arch-image’: refers to the excessive use

of images, idols in the Catholic Church He represents

Evil, the evil of falseness, deceipt, and hypocrisy King Philip II of Spain Catholic Church

He is a sorcerer, can change his and others’ appearance. In the end, his magic fails.

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Duessa

She representsFalsehood, DeceptionMary Queen of Scots (Catholic) Catholic Church

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Duessa Una

Dressed in red Borrows light Duplicity Always complaining Attacks, finds faults Shows off Starts, causes fight

Dressed in white Has inward light Truth Never complains All-forgiving Covers her face Tries to prevent fights

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Queen Elizabeth (1533-1603)

Queen Elizabeth is Gloriana (representing Glory)

(She never appears in the poem. Her castle is the final destination in Book 12 (which was never written).

It was court fashion to address the Virgin Queen under such symbolic names as Gloriana, Oriana, Diana, Cynthia.

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You can listen to the whole text at: http://librivox.org/newcatalog/search.php?reader=&mc=&bc=&cat=&genre=&language=&type=&author=spenser&title=queen&status=all&reader_exact=&mc_exact=&bc_exact=&date=&group=&engroup=&ingroup=&group=71