The Faerie Queene
We are going to talk about The Faerie Queene. But before we tell something about The
Faerie Queene, we are curious how many people have heard of it. So, raise your hand if
you have heard of The Faerie Queene before.
Who is Edmund Spenser?
Edmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene. He is considered
one of the greatest poets in the English language.
He was born in East Smithfield, London, around the year 1552. Although his exact date of
birth is still in doubt. He died in the year 1599. His own immediate family was not wealthy.
He was entered as a poor boy in the Merchant Taylor’s grammar school, where he would
have studied mainly Latin, with some Hebrew, Greek and music.
Education
In 1569, when Spenser was about 16 years old, his English versions of poems appeared at
the beginning of an anti-Catholic prose tract. From May 1569 Spenser was a student in
Pembroke Hall of the University of Cambridge. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in
1573. Because of an epidemic, Spenser left Cambridge in 1574, but he received the Master
of Arts degree in 1576. Spenser’s period at the University of Cambridge was undoubtedly
important for the acquisition of his wide knowledge not only of the Latin and some of the
Greek classics but also pf the Italian, French and English literature of his own and earlier
times. His knowledge of the traditional forms and themes of lyrical and narrative poetry
provided foundations for him to build his own highly original compositions.
The Faerie Queene
Spenser’s masterpiece is the epic poem called The Faerie Queene. The first three books of
The Faerie Queene were published in 1590, and the second set of the three books was
published in 1596. Spenser originally indicated that he intended the poem to consist of
twelve books, so the version of the poem we have today is incomplete. Despite this, it
remains one of the longest poems in the English language. It is an allegorical work and can
be read on several levels of allegory. Spenser dedicated the work to Queen Elizabeth 1.
Several levels of allegory
An allegory is a story, poem or work of art that has a hidden meaning or message, usually a
moral. The Faerie Queene could be read at various levels. The allegory is threefold:
Moral allegory: The characters all represent various virtues and vices, whose
intrigues and warface against each other symbolize the struggle of the human soul
after perfection. The Redcross Knight, for example, personifies the single private
virtue holiness, while Prince Arthur stands for that perfect manhood which combines
all the moral qualities: Una represents abstract truth, while Gloriana symbolizes the
union of all the virtues in perfect womanhood.
Religious or Spiritual Allegory: Under this interpretation The Redcross Knight is a
personification of Protestant England, or the church militant, while Una represents
the true religion of the Reformed Church. On the other hand, Archimago symbolizes
the deceptions of the Jesuits and Duessa the false Church of Rome masquerading as
true religion.
We are going to talk about The Faerie Queene. But before we tell something about The
Faerie Queene, we are curious how many people have heard of it. So, raise your hand if
you have heard of The Faerie Queene before.
Who is Edmund Spenser?
Edmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene. He is considered
one of the greatest poets in the English language.
He was born in East Smithfield, London, around the year 1552. Although his exact date of
birth is still in doubt. He died in the year 1599. His own immediate family was not wealthy.
He was entered as a poor boy in the Merchant Taylor’s grammar school, where he would
have studied mainly Latin, with some Hebrew, Greek and music.
Education
In 1569, when Spenser was about 16 years old, his English versions of poems appeared at
the beginning of an anti-Catholic prose tract. From May 1569 Spenser was a student in
Pembroke Hall of the University of Cambridge. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in
1573. Because of an epidemic, Spenser left Cambridge in 1574, but he received the Master
of Arts degree in 1576. Spenser’s period at the University of Cambridge was undoubtedly
important for the acquisition of his wide knowledge not only of the Latin and some of the
Greek classics but also pf the Italian, French and English literature of his own and earlier
times. His knowledge of the traditional forms and themes of lyrical and narrative poetry
provided foundations for him to build his own highly original compositions.
The Faerie Queene
Spenser’s masterpiece is the epic poem called The Faerie Queene. The first three books of
The Faerie Queene were published in 1590, and the second set of the three books was
published in 1596. Spenser originally indicated that he intended the poem to consist of
twelve books, so the version of the poem we have today is incomplete. Despite this, it
remains one of the longest poems in the English language. It is an allegorical work and can
be read on several levels of allegory. Spenser dedicated the work to Queen Elizabeth 1.
Several levels of allegory
An allegory is a story, poem or work of art that has a hidden meaning or message, usually a
moral. The Faerie Queene could be read at various levels. The allegory is threefold:
Moral allegory: The characters all represent various virtues and vices, whose
intrigues and warface against each other symbolize the struggle of the human soul
after perfection. The Redcross Knight, for example, personifies the single private
virtue holiness, while Prince Arthur stands for that perfect manhood which combines
all the moral qualities: Una represents abstract truth, while Gloriana symbolizes the
union of all the virtues in perfect womanhood.
Religious or Spiritual Allegory: Under this interpretation The Redcross Knight is a
personification of Protestant England, or the church militant, while Una represents
the true religion of the Reformed Church. On the other hand, Archimago symbolizes
the deceptions of the Jesuits and Duessa the false Church of Rome masquerading as
true religion.
