part I
covet to performe, In sort as° through the world I did proclame, That whoso kild that monster most deforme, And him in hardy battaile overcame, 175 Should have mine onely daughter to his Dame, And of my kingdome heyre apparaunt bee: Therefore since now to thee perteines the same, By dew desert of noble chevalree, Both daughter and eke kingdome, lo, I yield to thee. 180
XXI
Then forth he called that his daughter faire, The fairest Un' his onely daughter deare, His onely daughter, and his onely heyre; Who forth proceeding with sad sober cheare, As bright as doth the morning starre appeare 185 Out of the East, with flaming lockes bedight, To tell that dawning day is drawing neare, And to the world does bring long wished light: So faire and fresh that Lady shewd her selfe in sight.
XXII
So faire and fresh, as freshest flowre in May; 190 For she had layd her mournefull stole aside, And widow-like sad wimple throwne away, Wherewith her heavenly beautie she did hide, Whiles on her wearie journey she did ride; And on her now a garment she did weare, 195 All lilly white, withoutten spot, or pride, That seemd like silke and silver woven neare, But neither silke nor silver therein did appeare.
XXIII
The blazing brightnesse of her beauties beame, And glorious light of her sunshyny face, 200 To tell, were as to strive against the streame; My ragged rimes are all too rude and bace, Her heavenly lineaments for to enchace. Ne wonder; for her owne deare loved knight, All were she° dayly with himselfe in place, 205 Did wonder much at her celestiall sight: Oft had he seene her faire, but never so faire dight.
XXIV
So fairely dight, when she in presence came, She to her Sire made humble reverence, And bowed low, that her right well became, 210 And added grace unto her excellence: Who with great wisedome and grave eloquence Thus gan to say. But eare he thus had said, With flying speede, and seeming great pretence Came running in, much like a man dismaid, 215 A Messenger with letters, which his message said.
XXV
All in the open hall amazed stood At suddeinnesse of that unwarie sight, And wondred at his breathlesse hastie mood. But he for nought would stay his passage right, 220 Till fast before the king he did alight; Where falling flat, great humblesse he did make, And kist the ground, whereon his foot was pight; Then to his hands that writ he did betake, Which he disclosing, red thus, as the paper spake. 225
XXVI
To thee, most mighty king of Eden faire, Her greeting sends in these sad lines addrest, The wofull daughter, and forsaken heire Of that great Emperour of all the West; And bids thee be advized for the best, 230 Ere thou thy daughter linck in holy band Of wedlocke to that new unknowen guest: For he already plighted his right hand Unto another love, and to another land.
XXVII
To me sad mayd, or rather widow sad, 235 He was affiaunced long time before, And sacred pledges he both gave, and had, False erraunt knight, infamous, and forswore: Witnesse the burning Altars, which he swore, And guiltie heavens of his bold perjury, 240 Which though he hath polluted oft of yore, Yet I to them for judgement just do fly, And them conjure t'avenge this shamefull injury.
XXVIII
Therefore since mine he is, or free or bond, Or false or trew, or living or else dead, 245 Withhold, O soveraine Prince, your hasty hond From knitting league with him, I you aread; Ne weene my right with strength adowne to tread, Through weaknesse of my widowhed, or woe; For truth is strong her rightfull cause to plead, 250 And shall find friends, if need requireth soe. So bids thee well to fare, Thy neither friend, nor foe, _Fidessa_.
XXIX
When he these bitter byting wordes had red, The tydings straunge did him abashed make, That still he sate long time astonished, 255 As in great muse, ne word to creature spake. At last his solemne silence thus he brake, With doubtfull eyes fast fixed on his guest; Redoubted knight, that for mine onely sake Thy life and honour late adventurest, 260 Let nought be hid from me, that ought to be exprest.
XXX
What meane these bloody vowes, and idle threats, Throwne out from womanish impatient mind? What heavens? what altars? what enraged heates Here heaped up with termes of love unkind, 265 My conscience cleare with guilty bands would bind? High God be witnesse, that I guiltlesse ame. But if your selfe, Sir knight, ye faultie find, Or wrapped be in loves of former Dame, With crime do not it cover, but disclose the same. 270
XXXI
To whom the Redcrosse knight this answere sent My Lord, my King, be nought hereat dismayd, Till well ye wote by grave intendiment, What woman, and wherefere doth me upbrayd With breach of love, and loyalty betrayd. 275 It was in my mishaps, as hitherward I lately traveild, that unwares I strayd Out of my way, through perils straunge and hard; That day should faile me, ere I had them all declard.
XXXII
There did I find, or rather I was found 280 Of this false woman, that Fidessa hight, Fidessa hight the falsest Dame on ground, Most false Duessa, royall richly dight, That easy was to invegle weaker sight: Who by her wicked arts, and wylie skill, 285 Too false and strong for earthly skill or might, Unwares me wrought unto her wicked will, And to my foe betrayd, when least I feared ill.
XXXIII
Then stepped forth the goodly royall Mayd, And on the ground her selfe prostrating low, 290 With sober countenaunce thus to him sayd; O pardon me, my soveraigne Lord, to show The secret treasons, which of late I know To have bene wroght by that false sorceresse. She onely she it is, that earst did throw 295 This gentle knight into so great distresse, That death him did awaite in dayly wretchednesse.
XXXIV
And now it seemes, that she suborned hath This craftie messenger with letters vaine, To worke new woe and unprovided scath, 300 By breaking of the band betwixt us twaine; Wherein she used hath the practicke paine Of this false footman, clokt with simplenesse, Whom if ye please for to discover plaine, Ye shall him Archimago find, I ghesse, 305 The falsest man alive; who tries shall find no lesse.
XXXV
The king was greatly moved at her speach, And, all with suddein indignation fraight, Bad on that Messenger rude hands to reach. Eftsoones the Gard, which on his state did wait, 310 Attacht that faitor false, and bound him strait: Who seeming sorely chauffed at his band, As chained Beare, whom cruell dogs do bait,° With idle force did faine them to withstand, And often semblaunce made to scape out of their hand. 315
XXXVI
But they him layd full low in dungeon deepe, And bound him hand and foote with yron chains And with continual watch did warely keepe: Who then would thinke, that by his subtile trains He could escape fowle death or deadly paines? 320 Thus when that princes wrath was pacifide, He gan renew the late forbidden bains, And to the knight his daughter dear he tyde, With sacred rites and vowes for ever to abyde.
XXXVII
His owne two hands the holy knots did knit, 325 That none but death for ever can devide; His owne two hands, for such a turne most fit, The housling fire° did kindle and provide, And holy water thereon sprinckled wide; At which the bushy Teade a groome did light, 330 And sacred lamp in secret chamber hide, Where it should not be quenched day nor night, For feare of evill fates, but burnen ever bright.
XXXVIII
Then gan they sprinckle all the posts with wine, And made great feast to solemnize that day; 335 They all perfumde with frankencense divine, And precious odours fetcht from far away, That all the house did sweat with great aray: And all the while sweete Musicke did apply Her curious skill, the warbling notes to play, 340 To drive away the dull Melancholy; The whiles one sung a song of love and jollity.
XXXIX
During the which there was an heavenly noise Heard sound through all the Pallace pleasantly, Like as it had bene many an Angels voice 345 Singing before th' eternall Majesty, In their trinall triplicities° on hye; Yet wist no creature whence that heavenly sweet Proceeded, yet eachone felt secretly Himselfe thereby reft of his sences meet, 350 And ravished with rare impression in his sprite.
XL
Great joy was made that day of young and old, And solemne feast proclaimd throughout the land, That their exceeding merth may not be told: Suffice it heare by signes to understand 355 The usuall joyes at knitting of loves band. Thrise happy man the knight himselfe did hold, Possessed of his Ladies hart and hand, And ever, when his eye did her behold, His heart did seeme to melt in pleasures manifold. 360
XLI
Her joyous presence, and sweet company In full content he there did long enjoy; Ne wicked envie, ne vile gealosy, His deare delights were able to annoy: Yet swimming in that sea of blissfull joy, 365 He nought forgot how he whilome had sworne, In case he could that monstrous beast destroy, Unto his Faerie Queene backe to returne; The which he shortly did, and Una left to mourne.
XLII
Now strike your sailes ye jolly Mariners, 370 For we be come unto a quiet rode, Where we must land some of our passengers, And light this wearie vessell of her lode. Here she a while may make her safe abode, Till she repaired have her tackles spent,° 375 And wants supplide. And then againe abroad On the long voyage whereto she is bent: Well may she speede and fairely finish her intent.
* * * * *
NOTES
LINE 1. LO I THE MAN.... An imitation of the opening lines of Vergil's _Aeneid_:--
"Ille ego, qui quondam gracili modulatus avena Carmen,... Gratum opus agricolis, at nunc horrentia Martis."
Referring to his _Shepheards Calender_ (1579) Spenser thus gracefully indicates his change from pastoral to epic poetry.
5-9. KNIGHTS AND LADIES. The poet here imitates the opening of Ariosto's _Orlando Furioso_.
10. O HOLY VIRGIN CHIEFE OF NINE, refers to Clio, the muse of history. Spenser should have invoked Calliope, the muse of poetry.
14. OF FAERIE KNIGHTS, the the champions of Gloriana, the queen of Faerieland. FAIREST TANAQUILL, a British princess, daughter of Oberon, king of Faerieland. In the allegory she is Queen Elizabeth.
15. THAT MOST NOBLE BRITON PRINCE is Prince Arthur, the perfect knight, who is in love with Gloriana. In the allegory the Earl of Leicester is probably meant, though by one tradition Sir Philip Sidney is identified with Prince Arthur.
19. IMPE OF HIGHEST JOVE, Cupid, the god of love, and son of Jupiter and Venus. He is represented as armed with an ebony bow (l. 23).
25. TRIUMPHANT MART, Mars, the god of war. The spelling is that of the Italians and Chaucer.
28. O GODDESSE HEAVENLY BRIGHT, Queen Elizabeth (aged 56), who was fond of such extravagant flattery, and expected it of all her courtiers.
31. PHOEBUS LAMPE, Apollo, the sun-god.
34. GLORIOUS TYPE OF THINE, the Lady Una, who stands for Truth in the allegory.
35. THE ARGUMENT OF MINE AFFLICTED STILE, the subject of my humble pen. "_Afflicted_" has the original Latin sense of "cast down."
36. O DEAREST DRED, O beloved object of reverence; a common salutation of royalty.
## CANTO I
I. _The Plot:_ At the bidding of Gloriana, the Redcross Knight undertakes to deliver Una's parents from a dragon who holds them captive. He sets out upon his quest attended by a dwarf and guided by Una, mounted on an ass and leading a lamb. They are driven by a storm into a forest, where they discover the cave of Error, who is slain by the Knight. They are then beguiled into the house of Archimago, an old enchanter. By his magic he leads the Knight in a dream to believe that Una is false to him, and thus separates them.
II. _The Allegory:_ 1. Holiness, the love of God, united with Truth, the knowledge of God, is to deliver man from the thraldom of the Devil. Together they are able to overthrow Error; but Hypocrisy deceitfully alienates Holiness from Truth by making the latter appear unworthy of love.
2. There is a hint of the intrigues of the false Roman church and the treacherous Spanish king, Philip II, to undermine the religious and political freedom of the English people. The English nation, following the Reformed church, overthrows the Catholic faith, but is deceived by the machinations of Spanish diplomacy.
LINE 1. A GENTLE KNIGHT, the Redcross Knight, representing the church militant, and Reformed England. He is the young, untried champion of the old cause whose struggles before the Reformation are referred to in ll. 3, 4. His shield bore "a cross gules upon a field argent," a red cross on a silver ground. See _The Birth of St. George_ in Percy's _Reliques_, iii, 3, and Malory's _Morte d'Arthur_, iii, 65.
15. FOR SOVERAINE HOPE, as a sign of the supreme hope.
20. GREATEST GLORIANA, Queen Elizabeth. In other books of _The Faerie Queene_ she is called Belphoebe, the patroness of chastity, and Britomart, the military genius of Britain.
27. A DRAGON, "the great dragon, that old serpent, called the devil," _Revelation_, xii, 9, also Rome and Spain. Cf. legend of St. George and the dragon, and Fletcher's _Purple Island_, vii _seq._
28. A LOVELY LADIE, Una, the personification of truth and true religion. Her lamb symbolizes innocence.
46. A DWARFE, representing prudence, or common sense; according to Morley, the flesh.
56. A SHADIE GROVE, the wood of Error. "By it Spenser shadows forth the danger surrounding the mind that escapes from the bondage of Roman authority and thinks for itself."--Kitchin. The description of the wood is an imitation of Ariosto's _Orlando Furioso_, i, 37, Chaucer's _Assembly of Foules_, 176, and Tasso's _Jerusalem Delivered_, iii, 75. Morley sees in this grove an allegory of man's life, the trees symbolizing trade, pleasure, youth, etc.
69. THE SAYLING PINE. Ships were built of pine.
70. THE LOPLAR NEVER DRY, because it grows best in moist soil.
71. THE BUILDER OAKE. In the Middle Ages most manor houses and churches were built of oak.
72. THE CYPRESSE FUNERALL, an emblem of death among the ancients, and sacred to Pluto. Sidney says that they were wont to dress graves with cypress branches in old times.
73. THE LAURELL. Victors at the Pythian games and triumphing Roman generals were crowned with laurel. It was also sacred to Apollo, the god of poetry, hence "meed of poets sage."
74. THE FIRRE THAT WEEPETH STILL. The fir exudes resinous substance.
75. THE WILLOW. "Willows: a sad tree, whereof such who have lost their love make their mourning garlands."--Fuller's _Worthies_, i, 153. Cf. Heywood's _Song of the Green Willow_, and Desdemona's song in _Othello_, IV, iii, 39.
76. THE EUGH. Ascham in his _Toxophilus_ tells us that the best bows were made of yew.
78. THE MIRRHE, the Arabian myrtle, which exudes a bitter but fragrant gum. The allusion is to the wounding of Myrrha by her father and her metamorphosis into this tree.
79. THE WARLIKE BEECH, because lances and other arms were made of it. THE ASH FOR NOTHING ILL. "The uses of the ash is one of the most universal: it serves the souldier, the carpenter, the wheelwright, cartwright, cooper, turner, and thatcher."--Evelyn's _Sylva_. The great tree Igdrasil in the northern mythology was an ash.
81. THE CARVER HOLME, or evergreen oak, was good for carving.
106. SHAME WERE TO REVOKE, etc., it would be cowardly not to go forward for fear of some suspected unseen danger.
114. THE WANDRING WOOD, i.e. which causes men to go astray.
123. MONSTER. The description of the monster Error, or Falsehood, is based on Hesiod's Echidna, _Theog_. 301, and the locusts in _Revelation_, ix, 7-10. She is half human, half serpent, because error is partly true and
## partly false. Dante's Fraud and Milton's Sin are similar monsters.
126. FULL OF VILE DISDAINE, full of vileness that bred disgust in the beholder.
130. OF HER THERE BRED, etc., of her were born a thousand young ones. Her offspring are lies and rumors of many shapes.
141. ARMED TO POINT, completely armed. Cf. Fr. _à point_, to a nicety.
145. THE VALIANT ELFE, because he was the reputed son of an Elfin or Faerie, though really sprung from "an ancient race of Saxon kings." Three kinds of elves are mentioned in the _Edda_: the black dwarfs, and brownies, who both dwelt under ground, and the fair elves, who dwelt in Fairyland or Alfheim. "The difference between Spenser's elves and these Teutonic elves shows how he perverts Fairy mythology in the same way as he does Classical myths."--Percival.
168. HIS GALL DID GRATE FOR GRIEFE, his anger was aroused on account of pain. In the old anatomy anger had its seat in the gallbladder. See Burton's _Anatomy of Melancholy_, I, i, 2.
177. HER VOMIT FULL OF BOOKES, etc. From 1570, when Pope Sixtus V issued his bull of deposition against Queen Elizabeth, to 1590, great numbers of scurrilous pamphlets attacking the Queen and the Reformed church had been disseminated by Jesuit refugees.
181. NILUS. Pliny believed that the mud of the Nile had the power of breeding living creatures like mice. _Hist. Nat._ ix, 84. So Shakespeare, _Antony and Cleopatra_, II, vii, 29.
199. GENTLE SHEPHEARD. In this pastoral simile, Spenser imitates Homer's _Iliad_, ii, 469, and xvii, 641, and Ariosto's _Orlando Furioso_, xiv, 109.
208. THUS ILL BESTEDD. There is a similar combat in the old romance _Guy of Warwick_, ix, between the hero and a man-eating dragon.
217. HER SCATTRED BROOD. The poet here follows a belief as old as Pliny that the young of serpents fed on their mother's blood. In this entire passage the details are too revolting for modern taste.
232. THE WHICH THEM NURST. The antecedent of _which_ is _her_. In the sixteenth century _the_ was frequently placed before _which_, which was also the equivalent of _who_. Cf. the Lord's Prayer.
234. HE SHOULD CONTEND, he should have had to contend.
237. BORNE UNDER HAPPY STARRE. Belief in astrology was once common, and Spenser being a Pythagorean would hold the doctrine of the influence of the stars on human destiny.
239. THAT ARMORIE, the armor of the Christian warrior. _Ephesians_, vi, 13.
243. THAT LIKE SUCCEED IT MAY, that like successful adventures may succeed it. The word order is inverted for the sake of the rhyme.
250. TO FREND, as his friend.
254. AN AGED SIRE, the false enchanter, Archimago, or Hypocrisy, who is supposed to represent Pope Sixtus V or King Philip II of Spain. In general he stands for false religion or the Church of Rome. The character and adventure are taken from _Orlando Furioso_, ii, 12, in which there is a hypocritical hermit. The Knight at first takes Archimago to be a palmer, and inquires for the foreign news.
295. TAKE UP YOUR IN, take lodging.
301. A LITTLE WYDE, a little way off.
315. AN AVE-MARY, Hail Mary, a prayer to the Virgin. Cf. _Luke_, i, 28.
317. THE SAD HUMOUR, the heavy moisture, or "slombring deaw."
318. MORPHEUS, the son of Somnus and god of sleep and dreams, who sprinkled the dew of sleep on the brow of mortals from his horn or wings or from a bough dipped in Lethe.
323. HIS MAGICK BOOKES AND ARTES. Monks engaged in scientific investigation, such as Friar Roger Bacon, were popularly supposed to use cabalistic books, and to make compacts with the Devil by means of necromancy, or the black art, as in st. xxxvii. Before the close of the century Marlowe's _Doctor Faustus_ and Greene's _Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay_, both based on the popular belief in magic, were presented on the London stage.
328. BLACKE PLUTOES GRIESLY DAME, Proserpine, the avenger of men, and inflicter of curses on the dead. She is identified with Shakespeare's Hecate, the goddess of sorcery, and with Milton's Cotytto, goddess of lust. To this latter sin the knight is tempted.
332. GREAT GORGON, Demogorgon, whose name might not be uttered, a magician who had power over the spirits of the lower world. The poet is here imitating the Latin poets Lucan and Statius.
333. COCYTUS, the river of wailing, and STYX, the river of hate, both in Hades. There were two others, _Acheron_, the river of sorrow, and _Phlegethon_, the river of fire.
335. LEGIONS OF SPRIGHTS. In this stanza and the preceding Spenser follows Tasso's _Jerusalem Delivered_, xiii, 6-11, where the magician Ismeno, guarding the Enchanted Wood, conjures "legions of devils" with the "mighty name" (l. 332).
339. CHOSE. Imitation of Ariosto's _Orlando Furioso_, ii, 15, in which a false spirit is called up by a hypocritical hermit. The description of the House of Sleep in st. xxxix _seq_. is modelled on the same poet, _Orlando Furioso_, ii, 15 _seq_. The influence of Homer's _Odyssey_, xi, 16 is seen in st. xxxix, ll. 348 _seq_.
348. TETHYS, the ocean. In classical mythology she is the daughter of Uranus (heaven) and Gaea (earth), and the wife of Oceanus.
349. CYNTHIA, the moon. The allusion is to the story of Diana and Endymion. See Lyly's play _Endymion_.
352. WHOSE DOUBLE GATES. Homer, _Odyssey_, xix, 562, and Vergil, _Aeneid_, vi, 893, give the House of Dreams a horn and an ivory gate. Spenser substitutes silver for horn, mirrors being overlaid with silver in his time. From the ivory gate issued false dreams; from the other, true ones.
361. SLUMBER SOFT. This stanza shows Spenser's wonderful technique. His exquisite effects are produced, it will be noticed, partly by the choice of musical words and partly by the rhythmical cadence of the verse phrases. It is an example of perfect "keeping," or adaptation of sound to sense. Cf. Chaucer's description of the waterfalls in the Cave of Sleep in his _Boke of the Duchesse_, 162.
376. WHOSE DRYER BRAINE, whose brain too dry. In the old physiology, a dry brain was the cause of slow and weak perception, and a moist brain of quickness.
378. ALL, entirely, altogether.
381. HECATE, queen of phantoms and demons in Hades, and mistress of witches on earth. See xxxvii.
387. THE SLEEPERS SENT, the sleeper's sense.
405. MOST LIKE TO SEEME, etc.. most likely fit to seem for (represent) Una. _Like_ is an adv. A very awkward inversion.
411. BORNE WITHOUT HER DEW, i.e. created by him in an unnatural manner.
425. FAYRE VENUS, the daughter of Jupiter, or Zeus, and the sea-nymph Dione. She is the same as Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty.
430. THE GRACES, Euphrosyne, Aglaia, and Thalia, daughters of Zeus and Aphrodite.
431. HYMEN IÖ HYMEN, refrain of an old Roman nuptial song. Hymen, the son of Apollo and the Muse Urania, was the god of marriage.
432. FRESHEST FLORA, the goddess of flowers. She typified spring.
447. TO PROVE HIS SENSE, etc. To test his perception and prove her feigned truth.
449. THO CAN SHE WEEPE, then did she weep. _Can_ here is the Northern dialect form for the middle English _gan_, past tense of _ginnen_, to begin, which was used as an auxiliary.
454. THE BLIND GOD, Cupid, Eros, or Amor, the god of love.
478. Like other knights of romance, e.g. Sir Galahad and Sir Gareth in Malory's _Morte d'Arthur_, iii, 65, etc., the Redcross Knight does not yield to the temptation of the flesh, but overcomes it.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS FOR STUDY
(Canto I)
1. Tell in your own words the story of this canto. 2. Which muse does Spenser invoke? 3. Who were the nine muses? 4. What is the difference between _pastoral_ and _epic_ poetry? 5. Illustrate by _The Shepheards Calender_ and the _The Faerie Queene_. 6. Point out imitations of Homer, Vergil, Lucan, Statius, Ariosto, Tasso, and Chaucer. 7. Explain the reference to the religious questions and politics of Queen Elizabeth's reign. 8. Where does Spenser use classical mythology--mediæval legends? 9. What references to the Bible do you find? 10. Try to make a mental picture of the Knight--of Una--of Error--of Archimago. 11. Is Spenser's character drawing objective or subjective? 12. Is the description of the wood in vii true to nature? Could so many trees grow together in a thick wood? 13. Study the Rembrandt-like effects of light and shade in xiv. 14. What infernal deities are conjured up by Archimago?
15. Paraphrase in your own language ll. 88, 106-107, 116, 267-268.
16. Explain use of _of_ in l. 75. 17. What part of speech is _wandering_ l. 114? _to viewen_ l. 201? parse _which_ l. 232; _him_ and _spend_ l. 233; _you_ and _shew_ l. 276. 18. Find examples of Euphuistic hyperbole in iv, of alliteration in xiv. 19. Explain the use and form of _eyne_, _edified_, _afflicted_, _weeds_, _Hebean_, _impe_, _compeld_, _areeds_, _blazon_, _ycladd_.
## CANTO II
I. _The Plot_: Deceived by Archimago's phantoms, the Redcross Knight suspects the chastity of Una, and flies at early dawn with his dwarf. He chances to meet the Saracen Sansfoy in company with the false Duessa. They do battle and Sansfoy is slain. Duessa under the name of Fidessa attaches herself to the Knight, and they ride forward. They stop to rest under some shady trees, On breaking a bough, the Knight discovers that the trees are two lovers, Fradubio and Fraelissa, thus imprisoned by the cruel enchantment of Duessa.
II. _The Allegory_: 1. Hypocrisy under a pious disguise is attractive to Holiness. Truth is also deceived by it, and shamefully slandered. Holiness having abandoned Truth, takes up with Falsehood, who is attended by Infidelity. Unbelief when openly assailing Holiness is overthrown, but Falsehood under the guise of Faith remains undiscovered. The fate of the man (Fradubio) is set forth who halts between two opinions,--False Religion (Duessa) and Heathen Philosophy, or Natural Religion (Fraelissa).
2. The Reformed Church, no longer under the guidance of Truth, rushes headlong into Infidelity, and unwittingly became the defender of the Romish Faith under the name of the True Faith. There is a hint of the intrigues of Mary Queen of Scots and the libels of the Jesuits on Queen Elizabeth designed to bring back the English nation to Romish allegiance.
LINE 1. THE NORTHERNE WAGONER, the constellation Boötes.
2. HIS SEVENFOLD TEME, the seven stars of Ursa Major, or Charles's Wain. THE STEDFAST STARRE, the Pole-star, which never sets.
6. CHEAREFULL CHAUNTICLERE, the name of the cock in the fabliaux and beast epics, e.g. _Roman de Renart_ and _Reineke Fuchs_.
7. PHOEBUS FIERY CARRE, the sun.
11. THAT FAIRE-FORGED SPRIGHT, fair but miscreated spirit (I, xiv). Spenser took suggestions for this stanza from Ariosto and Tasso.
51. FAIRE HESPERUS, the evening star.
55. THE ROSY-FINGRED MORNING. This beautiful epithet of Aurora, the goddess of the dawn, is borrowed from Homer, Hesiod, and other ancient poets.
56. AGED TITHONES, son of Laomedon, King of Troy. Aurora conferred upon him immortality without youth, hence the epithet "aged."
58. TITAN, the sun-god in the Roman myths.
85. PROTEUS, a sea-god who was endowed with the power of prophecy. He could change himself into any shape in order to avoid having to prophesy. See Homer, _Odyssey_, iv, 366 _seq_., and Vergil, _Georgics_, iv, 387.
90. HERBES. In the sixteenth century the belief in potions, magic formulas, etc., was still strongly rooted in the popular mind. The Spanish court and the priests were supposed to employ supernatural agencies against the Protestants.
105. A FAITHLESS SARAZIN. Spenser uses the word Saracen in the general sense of pagan. During the Middle Ages the Saracen power was a menace to Europe, and the stronghold of infidelity. The names of the three Paynim brethren, Sansfoy, Sansjoy, and Sansloy,--faithless, joyless, and lawless,--suggest the point of view of Spenser's age.
109. A FAIRE COMPANION, the enchantress Duessa, or Falsehood, who calls herself Fidessa. In the allegory Spenser intended her to represent the Romish church and Mary Queen of Scots. Her character and appearance were suggested by the woman of Babylon, in _Revelation_, viii, 4, Ariosto's Alcina, and Tasso's Armida.
136. AS WHEN TWO RAMS. This figure is found in Vergil, Apollonius, Malory, Tasso, Dante, and other poets and romancers.
141. THE HANGING VICTORY, the victory which hung doubtful in the balance.
144. THE BROKEN RELIQUES, the shattered lances.
148. EACH OTHERS EQUALL PUISSAUNCE ENVIES, each envies the equal prowess of the other.
149. THROUGH THEIR IRON SIDES, etc., through their armored sides with cruel glances, etc.
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. MALVENÙ, 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? 7. Describe the dramatic appearance and character of Pride. Cf. description of Satan on his throne in _Paradise Lost_, iii. 8. What do you learn in this canto of Elizabethan or chivalric manners and customs? 9. Describe the procession at the court of Pride. 10. What satire of the Romish priesthood in xviii-xx? 11. Note examples of Spenser's humor in xiv and xvi. 12. Point out the classical influence (Dionysus and Silenus) in the description of Gluttony. 13. Subject of the interview between Duessa and Sansjoy. 14. Point out the archaisms in l. 10; alliteration in xxxix and l; the Latinisms in xlvi and xlvii. 15. In what case is _way_ in l. 17? 16. Explain the meaning and historical significance of _lazar_, l. 24, and _diall_, l. 36. 17. Explain the references of the pronouns in l. 55, and ll. 418-419. 18. Note the Euphuistic balance and antithesis in xxix and xlv. 19. Explain the suffix in _marchen_ in l. 325. 20. Note the double negative in iv, xlix. 21. Paraphrase in your own words ll. 239, 243, 360, 437.
## CANTO V
I. _The Plot_: (a continuation of Canto IV). The Knight fights in the lists with Sansjoy and defeats him, but is prevented by Duessa's magic from slaying him. Duessa descends to Erebus and obtains the aid of Night, who conveys the wounded Saracen in her chariot to Æsculapius to be healed of his wounds. The tortures of some of the souls in Erebus are described,
## particularly the cause of Æsculapius' punishment. A roll of the prisoners
whom the dwarf discovers in Pride's dungeon is given. The Knight flees with the dwarf from her house.
II. _The Allegory_: When the Christian Soldier is attacked by Joylessness, he has a far more desperate struggle than that with Infidelity, and comes out wounded though victorious. Joylessness when crushed by Holiness is restored by Pagan Philosophy. The backsliding Christian is warned in time by Prudence of the fearful consequences of sin, and hastens to turn his back on Pride and the other sins. The soul is led to dread Pride, not by Truth, but by its sufferings and other inferior motives.
25. THEIR TIMELY VOYCES, their voices keeping time with their harps.
27. OLD LOVES, famous love-affairs, the subject of the Minnesängers.
29. IN WOVEN MAILE, in chain armor.
32. ARABY, probably here the Orient in general.
33. FROM FURTHEST YND, from farthest India.
39. UNTO A PALED GREENE, a green inclosure (lists for a tournament) surrounded by a palisade.
44. HIS. An old method of forming the possessive, based on a misapprehension of the original Anglo-Saxon suffix _-es_, which was shortened in middle English to _-is_, and finally to _s_.
45. BOTH THOSE, etc. Both Duessa and the shield are to go to the victor.
65. A GRYFON, a fabulous animal, part lion and part eagle. _Gryfon_ is subject of _encountereth_ with _Dragon_ as object.
89. AND SLUGGISH GERMAN, etc., and sluggish brother dost relax thy strength to send his (Sansfoy's) foe after him, that he may overtake him. In ll. 86-88 Sansjoy addresses his brother, in ll. 89-90 himself. _German_ is any blood relation.
100. The Knight supposed that Duessa's encouraging words were addressed to him.
114. Spenser here, with fine dramatic effect, imitates Homer, who saves Paris and Æneas by a similar device. _Iliad_, iii, 380, and v, 345.
159. TEARES. This mention of the man-eating crocodile's tears is based on an old Latin proverb. Sir John Mandeville repeats the story.
172. GRIESLY NIGHT. According to mythology (Hesiod's _Theog_., 123), one of the first things created, the daughter of Chaos, and mother of Æther (sky) and Hemera (day); also of Deceit, Strife, Old Age, and Vengeance. See xxii and xxvii.
202. ON GRONING BEARE, on a bier with groaning friends around.
204. O WHAT OF GODS, etc., O what is it to be born of gods, if old Aveugle's (the father of the three Saracens) sons are so ill treated.
219. AND GOOD SUCCESSES, etc., and good results which follow their foes.
221. OR BREAKE THE CHAYNE, refers to Jove's proposition to fasten a golden chain to the earth by which to test his strength. Homer's _Iliad_, viii, 19. Cf. Milton's _Paradise Lost_, ii, 1051.
225. BAD EXCHEAT, bad gain by exchange. _Escheat_ is an old legal term, meaning any lands or goods which fall to the lord of a fief by forfeiture. Cf. "rob Peter to pay Paul."
229. SHALL WITH HIS OWNE BLOUD, etc., shall pay the price of the blood that he has spilt with his own.
263. Here Spenser imitates Homer's _Odyssey_, xvi, 163.
267. THE GHASTLY OWLE. The poet follows the Latin rather than the Greek poets, who regard the owl as the bird of wisdom.
273. OF DEEP AVERNUS HOLE. Avernus in the poets is a cavern (in an ancient crater), supposed to be the entrance to the infernal regions. Cf. Vergil's _Æneid_, vi, 237. In Strabo's Geography it is a lake in Campania.
298. CERBERUS, the dog which guarded the lower regions. This stanza is an imitation of Vergil's _Æneid_, vi, 417 _seq_. In Dante's _Inferno_ Vergil appeases him by casting handfuls of earth into his maw.
xxxv. In this stanza we see the influence of Homer and Vergil. Ixion, the king of Lapithæ, was chained by order of Zeus to a fiery-winged wheel for aspiring to the love of the goddess Hera (Juno). Sisyphus had to roll a huge stone forever up a hill for betraying the designs of the gods. Tantalus, for divulging the secrets of Zeus, was condemned to stand tormented by thirst in a lake. Tityus, for an assault on Artemis, was pinioned to the ground with two vultures plucking at his vitals. Typhoeus, a hundred-headed giant, was slain by Zeus' thunderbolt, and buried under Ætna. The gin on which he was tortured was probably the rack of the Middle Ages. Cf. the bed of Procrustes. Theseus, for attempting to carry off Persephone, was fixed to a rock in Tartarus. The "fifty sisters" are the fifty Danaides, who, for slaying their husbands, were condemned to pour water forever into a vessel full of holes.
322. SAD AESCULAPIUS, the god of medicine, slain by Zeus for arresting death and diseases.
354. AND FATES EXPIRED, and the threads of life which the fates (Parcæ) had severed.
387. GREAT PAINES, AND GREATER PRAISE, etc. His praise, like his pain, is to be eternal.
xlvii. This list of the thralls of Pride is in imitation of a similar one in Chaucer's _Monk's Tale_, which was based on Boccaccio's _De Casibus Illustrium Virorum_.
415. PROUD KING OF BABYLON, Nebuchadnezzar. See _Daniel_, iii and iv.
420. KING CROESUS, the last king of Lydia, who was overthrown by Cyrus in B.C. 646. _Herodotus_, i, 26.
422. PROUD ANTIOCHUS, Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria, who captured Jerusalem twice, and defiled God's altar. He died raving mad B.C. 164. Josephus, _Antiquities of the Jews_, xiii, 5-9.
424. GREAT NIMROD, "the mighty hunter" (_Genesis_, x, 8), whose game, according to Spenser, was man. Josephus tells us that through pride he built the tower of Babel.
426. OLD NINUS, the legendary founder of Nineveh, and put to death by his wife, Semiramis.
428. THAT MIGHTY MONARCH, Alexander the Great (B.C. 366-323), king of Macedon. While consulting the oracle of Jupiter Ammon in the Libyan desert he was saluted by the priests as "Ammons Sonne." He died either of poison (Plutarch) or of excessive drink (Diodorus).
437. GREAT ROMULUS, legendary founder of Rome (B.C. 753). See Livy, i, 16.
438. PROUD TARQUIN, Tarquinius Superbus, the last king of Rome. He was banished B.C. 510.
438. TOO LORDLY LENTULUS, surnamed Sura, member of a haughty patrician family, who conspired with Catiline, and was strangled B.C. 62.
439. STOUT SCIPIO, Cornelius Scipio Africanus (B.C. 287?-183?), the conqueror of Hannibal, and self-exiled from Rome. Livy speaks of his inordinate pride, xxxviii, 50.
439. STUBBORNE HANNIBALL (B.C. 247-183), the great Carthaginian general, who died by poison to avoid falling into the hands of the Romans.
440. AMBITIOUS SYLLA (B.C. 138-78), Cornelius Sulla, the Dictator, who died a loathsome death.
440. STERNE MARIUS (B.C. 157-86), after being seven times consul, he was obliged to take refuge from his rival Sulla amid the ruins of Carthage.
441. HIGH CAESAR, Caius Julius Caesar (B.C. 100-44), who was murdered by Brutus and other conspirators.
441. GREAT POMPEY. Cn. Pompeius Magnus (B.C. 106-48). After his defeat at Pharsalia, he fled to Egypt, where he was murdered.
441. FIERCE ANTONIUS, Marcus (B.C. 83-30), the great triumvir, who after his defeat at Actium killed himself in Egypt.
444. THE BOLD SEMIRAMIS, the legendary queen of Assyria.
446. FAIRE STHENOBOEA, the wife of Proteus, who on account of her unrequited love for Bellerophon, died by hemlock. Aristophanes' _Frogs_, 1049 _seq_.
448. HIGH MINDED CLEOPATRA (B.C. 69-30), the beautiful queen of Egypt, who is said by Plutarch to have died in the manner mentioned.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
(Canto V)
1. How did Redcross spend the night before the fight with Sansjoy?
2. Study in detail the fine description of Duessa's descent to Erebus.
3. What elements of beauty are seen in the description of dawn and sunrise in ii? and compare _Psalms_, xix, 5. 4. What arbitrary classification of musicians does Spenser make in iii? 5. Who is the _far renowmed Queene_ in v? 6. Describe the joust between the Knight and Sansjoy. 7. Where do you learn of the laws governing such contests? 8. Observe the dramatic way in which Duessa saves Sansjoy. 9. What dramatic stroke in xxvii? 10. Describe Night and her team. 11. Give an account of her descent to Erebus with Sansjoy. 12. What were some of the tortures of the damned? 13. What effect is produced in xxx and how? 14. Point out some instances in which Spenser has imitated Homer--Vergil.
15. Where does he follow the Latin rather than the Greek poets?
16. Why did Æsculapius hesitate to heal Sansjoy? 17. Whom did the dwarf see in the dungeons of Pride? 18. Why did the Knight flee from the House of Pride?
19. Examine the following grammatical forms: _maken_, l. 22; _woundes_, l. 400. 20. What _figure of speech_ is employed in xviii? 21. What illustration is used in viii? 22. Find example of _balanced structure_ in vii; _alliteration_ in viii, xv, xviii. 23. Scan l. 23. 24. Note nom. abs. construction in xlv.
25. Paraphrase the involved constructions in xlii, xix, viii, xxxvi.
## CANTO VI
I. _The Plot_: (Continuation of Canto III). Una is delivered from Sansloy by a band of Satyrs. She remains with them as their teacher. There a knight of the wild-wood, Sir Satyrane, discovers her, and by his assistance, Una succeeds in making her way out of the forest to the plain. On the way they meet Archimago, disguised as a pilgrim, and he deceives them and leads them to Sansloy. While Sir Satyrane and Sansloy are engaged in a bloody battle, Una flees. She is pursued by Archimago but makes her escape.
II. _The Allegory_: 1. Truth is saved from destruction by Lawless Violence (Sansloy) by the aid of Barbarism or Savage Instinct, which terrorizes Lawlessness but offers natural homage to Truth. Truth finds a temporary home among Ignorant and Rude Folk (Satyrs) and in return imparts divine truth to their unregenerate minds. Natural Heroism or Manly Courage (Sir Satyrane) sides with Truth and defends it against Lawlessness.
2. The religious allegory signifies the extension of Protestantism through the outlying rural districts of England and in Ireland. Upton thinks that Sir Satyrane represents "Sir John Perrot, whose behaviour, though honest, was too coarse and rude for a court. 'Twas well known that he was a son of Henry VIII." Holinshed says that as Lord President of Munster, Sir John secured such peace and security that a man might travel in Ireland with a white stick only in his hand.
16. FROM ONE TO OTHER YND, from the East to the West Indies.
61. A TROUPE OF FAUNES AND SATYRES. The Fauns were the wood-gods of the Romans, the Satyrs the wood-gods of the Greeks. They were half human, half goat, and represented the luxuriant powers of nature.
63. OLD SYLVANUS, the Roman god of fields and woods, young and fond of animal pleasures. Spenser represents him as a feeble but sensuous old man.
90. WITH CHAUNGE OF FEARE, from the wolf to the lion.
96. RUSTICK HORROR, bristling hair.
99. THEIR BACKWARD BENT KNEES, like the hinder legs of a goat.
101. THEIR BARBAROUS TRUTH, their savage honor.
103. LATE LEARND, having been recently taught. She had shown too "hasty trust" in Archimago.
112. WITHOUT SUSPECT OF CRIME, without suspicion of blame.
117. The olive is the emblem of peace, as the ivy (l. 126) is of sensuousness.
120. WITH THEIR HORNED FEET, with their hoofs.
128. OR BACCHUS MERRY FRUIT, etc., whether they did discover grapes.
129. OR CYBELES FRANTICKE RITES, the wild dances of the Corybantes, priestesses of Cybele, or Rhea, the wife of Chronos and mother of the gods.
132. THAT MIRRHOUR RARE, that model of beauty. So Sidney was called "the mirror of chivalry."
134. FAIRE DRYOPE, a princess of Æchalia, who became a forest nymph. Pholoe, mentioned in l. 135, is probably a fictitious creation of the author's.
146. DEAREST CYPARISSE, a youth of Cea, who accidentally killed his favorite stag and dying of grief was changed into a cypress. He was beloved by Apollo and Sylvanus.
148. NOT FAIRE TO THIS, i.e. compared to this.
152. N'OULD AFTER JOY, would not afterwards be cheerful.
153. SELFE-WILD ANNOY, self-willed distress.
154. FAIRE HAMADRYADES, the nymphs who dwelt in the forest trees and died with them.
156. LIGHT-FOOT NAIADES, the fresh water nymphs, companions of the fauns and satyrs.
161. THEIR WOODY KIND, the wood-born creatures of their own kind, e.g. nymphs or satyrs.
163. Una was "luckelesse" in having lost her knights, but "lucky" in the friendship of the Satyrs. Note the Euphuistic phrasing.
169. IDOLATRYES. The allegory has reference to the idolatrous practices of the ignorant primitive Christians, such as the worship of images of the Saints, the pageant of the wooden ass during Lent (see _Matthew_, xxi, and Brand's _Popular Antiquities_, i, 124), and the Feast of the Ass (see _Matthew_, ii, 14).
172. A NOBLE WARLIKE KNIGHT, Sir Satyrane, in whom are united rude untaught chivalry and woodland savagery. He represents natural heroism and instinctive love of truth.
173. BY JUST OCCASION, just at the right moment.
184. THYAMIS is the symbol of Animal Passion; LABRYDE of the lower appetites; THERION, the human wild beast, who deserts his wife.
xxiv. This account of Sir Satyrane's education is based on that of Rogero by his uncle Atlante in Ariosto's _Orlando Furioso_, vii, 5, 7.
213. MAISTER OF HIS GUISE, his instructor.
214. AT HIS HORRID VEW, his shaggy, uncouth appearance.
256. HIS FAMOUS WORTH WAS BLOWN, i.e. blazoned by Fame's trumpet.
308. A JACOBS STAFFE. According to Nares, "A pilgrim's staff; either from the frequent pilgrimages to St. James of Comfortella (in Galicia), or because the apostle St. James is usually represented with one."
371. See Canto III, xxxviii, where Archimago was disguised as St. George.
372. TH' ENCHAUNTER VAINE, etc., the foolish enchanter (Archimago) would not have rued his (St. George's) crime (i.e. slaying Sansfoy).
373. BUT THEM HIS ERROUR SHALT, etc., thou shalt by thy death pay the penalty of his crime and thus prove that he was really guilty. A very obscure passage. Look up the original meaning of _shall_.
386. This simile is found frequently in the old romances. Cf. Malory's _Morte d'Arthur_, ii, 104, and Chaucer's _Knight's Tale_, l. 1160.
416. According to a usage of chivalry, the lover wore a glove, sleeve, kerchief, or other token of his lady-love on his helmet. By "lover's token" Sansloy ironically means a blow.
425. TO HER LAST DECAY, to her utter ruin.
426. Spenser leaves the fight between Sansloy and Sir Satyrane unfinished. Both warriors appear in later books of the _Faerie Queene_.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
(Canto VI)
1. Who rescued Una from Sansloy? 2. How does Una repay their kindness? 3. How was she treated by them? 4. Explain the references to the various classes of nymphs. 5. Look up the classical references in xvi and xviii. 6. Why is Una described as "luckelesse lucky"? 7. What customs of the early Christians are referred to in xix? 8. What does Sir Satyrane symbolize in the allegory? 9. What was his character and education? 10. Note the Elizabethan conception of the goddess Fortune in xxxi. 11. Did Una act ungratefully in leaving the Satyrs as she did? 12. Who is the _weary wight_ in xxxiv? 13. What news of St. George did he give? Was it true? 14. Who is the Paynim mentioned in xl? 15. Note Euphuistic antithesis in xlii. 16. Explain the figures in iv, vi, x, xliv. 17. Paraphrase ll. 289, 296. 18. Find _Latinisms_ in xxv; xxvi; xxviii; xxxi; and xxxvii. 19. Describe the fight at the end of the Canto.
## CANTO VII
I. _The Plot:_ (Continuation of Canto V). Duessa pursues the Redcross Knight, and overtakes him sitting by an enchanted fountain, weary and disarmed. He is beguiled into drinking from the fountain, and is quickly deprived of strength. In this unnerved and unarmed condition he is suddenly set upon by the giant Orgoglio. After a hopeless struggle he is struck down by the giant's club and is thrust into a dungeon. Una is informed by the dwarf of the Knight's misfortune and is prostrated with grief. Meeting Prince Arthur, she is persuaded to tell her story and receives promise of his assistance.
II. _The Allegory:_ 1. The Christian soldier, beguiled by Falsehood, doffs the armor of God, and indulges in sinful pleasures, and loses his purity. He then quickly falls into the power of Carnal Pride, or the brutal tyranny of False Religion (Orgoglio). He can then be restored only by an appeal to the Highest Honor or Magnificence (Prince Arthur) through the good offices of Truth and Common Sense.
2. In the reaction from the Reformation, Protestant England by dallying with Romanism (Duessa, Mary Queen of Scots) falls under the tyrannic power of the Pope (Orgoglio), with whom Catholic England was coquetting. At this juncture National Honor and Consciousness comes to the relief of Protestantism. There is personal compliment to either Lord Leicester or Sir Philip Sidney.
19. HE FEEDES UPON, he enjoys. A Latinism: cf. Vergil's _Æneid_, iii.
37. PHOEBE, a surname of Diana, or Artemis, the goddess of the moon.
45. Spenser probably takes the suggestion from the fountain in the gardens of Armida in Tasso's _Jerusalem Delivered_, xiv, 74. Cf. also the fountain of Salmacis in Ovid's _Metamorphoses_, xv, 819 _seq_.
56. POURD OUT, a metaphor borrowed from Euripides (_Herac._, 75) and Vergil (_Æneid_, ix, 317).
62. HIS LOOSER MAKE, his too dissolute companion.
67. AN HIDEOUS GEANT, Orgoglio, symbolizing Inordinate Pride, and the Pope of Rome, who then claimed universal power over both church and state (x). For a list of many other giants of romance see Brewer's _Handbook_, pp. 376-379.
104. THAT DIVELISH YRON ENGIN, cannon. The invention of artillery by infernal ingenuity is an old conception of the poets. There is a suggestion of it in Vergil's _Æneid_, vi, 585 _seq._, which is elaborated in Ariosto's _Orlando Furioso_, ix, 91, which Milton in turn imitated in _Paradise Lost_, vi, 516 _seq_. So in the romance of _Sir Triamour_.
112. TH' ONELY BREATH, the mere breath.
119. DO HIM NOT TO DYE, slay him not; cf. "done to death."
138. A MONSTROUS BEAST, on which the woman of Babylon sat; _Revelation_, xiii and xvii, 7.
139. This refers to the Romish policy of fostering ignorance among its members.
140. THAT RENOWMED SNAKE, the Lernæan Hydra, a monster with nine or more heads, offspring of Typhon and Echidna. It was slain by Hercules. STREMONA is a name of Spenser's own invention.
147. The reference is to the cruelty and insensibility of the Romish Church.
150. Its tail reached to the stars. _Revelation_, xii, 4.
155. AND HOLY HEASTS FORETAUGHT, and holy commands previously taught (them).
161. HIS FORLORNE WEED, his abandoned clothing.
165. MONIMENTS, the sorrowful, mournful relics.
182. SO HARDLY HE, etc. So he with difficulty coaxes the life which has flown to return into her body. According to the Platonic teaching, the body is the prison-house of the soul. Cf _Psalms_, cxlii, 7.
202. BUT SEELED UP WITH DEATH, but closed in death. "Seel" was a term in falconry, meaning "to sew up" (the eyes of the hawk).
219. THE BITTER BALEFULL STOUND, the bitter, grievous moment during which she listens to the story.
220. IF LESSE THEN THAT I FEARE, etc., if it is less bitter than I fear it is, I shall have found more favor (been more fortunate) than I expected.
231. SORROWFULL ASSAY, the assault of sorrow (on her heart).
236. WAS NEVER LADY, etc., there never was lady who loved day (life) dearer.
249. A GOODLY KNIGHT. Prince Arthur, son of King Uther Pendragon and Queen Ygerne, the model English gentleman, in whom all the virtues are perfected (Magnificence). According to Upton and most editors, Prince Arthur represents Lord Leicester; according to another tradition, Sir Philip Sidney. Could the author have possibly intended in him compliment to Sir Walter Raleigh? See Spenser's _Letter to Raleigh_. Arthur is the beau ideal of knighthood, and upon him the poet lavishes his richest descriptive powers. His armor, his shield Pridwen, his lance Roan, and sword Exculibur, were made by the great enchanter Merlin in the isle of Avallon.
259. SHAPT LIKE A LADIES HEAD, an effigy of Queen Elizabeth, the Faerie Queene.
260. LIKE HESPERUS, the evening star. Cf. Phosphorus, the morning star.
268. The dragon couchant was also the crest of Arthur's father, Uther, surnamed on this account Pen-dragon. The description in this stanza is imitated from Tasso's description of the helmet of the Sultan in _Jerusalem Delivered_, ix, 25, which in turn follows Vergil's _Æneid_, vii, 785 _seq._
280. GREENE SELINIS, a town in Sicily.
284. HIS WARLIKE SHIELD. Spenser here follows closely the description of the shield of the magician Atlante in Ariosto's _Orlando Furioso_, ii, 55.
300. SILVER CYNTHIA, the moon. It was popularly supposed that magicians and witches had power to cause eclipses of the moon.
304. All falsehood and deception. Truth and Wisdom are symbolized (Upton).
306. WHEN HIM LIST, when it pleased him. _Him_ is dative.
314. IT MERLIN WAS. Ambrose Merlin, the prince of enchanters, son of the nun Matilda, and an incubus, "half-angel and half-man." He made, in addition to Prince Arthur's armor and weapons, the Round Table for one hundred and fifty knights at Carduel, the magic fountain of love, and built Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain. He died spellbound by the sorceress Vivien in a hollow oak. See Tennyson's _Idylls of the King_.
326. DID TRAMPLE AS THE AIRE, curveted as lightly as the air.
335. AND FOR HER HUMOUR, etc., and to suit her (sad) mood framed fitting conversation.
355. The subject of _found_ is the substantive clause _who... impart_.
xli. Observe the antithetical structure of this stanza, both in the _Stichomuthia_, or balance of line against line, and in the lines themselves. In this rapid word-play Arthur wins his point by appealing to Una's faith.
363. NO FAITH SO FAST, etc., no faith is so firm that human infirmity may not injure it.
376. Una, Truth, is the sole daughter of Eden.
377. WHILEST EQUAL DESTINIES, etc., whilst their destinies (Fates) revolved equally and undisturbed in their orbits. (Astronomical figure.)
381. PHISON AND EUPHRATES, etc., three of the four rivers that watered Eden, the Hiddekel being omitted. See _Genesis_, ii, 11-14. In this stanza the poet strangely mixes Christian doctrine and the classical belief in the envy of the gods working the downfall of men.
385. TARTARY, Tartarus (for the rhyme), the lowest circle of torment in the infernal regions.
391. Has this obscure line any reference to prophecy? Cf. _Daniel_, vii, 25, _Revelation_, xii, 6, 14.
394. THAT HEAVEN WALKS ABOUT, under the sky.
404. THAT NOBLE ORDER, the Order of the Garter, of which the Maiden Queen was head. The figure of St. George slaying the dragon appears on the oval and pendant to the collar of this Order.
405. OF GLORIANE, Queen Elizabeth.
407. CLEOPOLIS IS RED, is called Cleopolis, i.e. the city of Glory, or London.
425. MY DOLEFULL DISADVENTUROUS DEARE, my sad misadventurous injury.
429. THAT HE MY CAPTIVE LANGUOR, the languishing captivity of my parents.
432. MY LOYALTY, i.e. the loyalty of me that rather death desire, etc.
441. THAT BROUGHT NOT BACKE, etc., (and whence) the body full of evil was not brought back dead.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
(Canto VII)
1. Relate how the Knight fell into the hands of the Giant. 2. Note the fine adaptation of sound to sense in vii. 3. Who were the parents and the foster-father of Orgoglio? 4. What are the principal characteristics of the giants of romance as seen in Orgoglio? cf. with the giants in _Pilgrim's Progress_. 5. In the description of the giant do the last two lines (viii) add to or detract from the impression? Why? 6. To whom does Spenser ascribe the invention of artillery? 7. Explain the allegory involved in the relations of Duessa and Orgoglio. 8. How does Una act on hearing the news of the Knight's capture? 9. What part does the Dwarf play? 10. Is Una just to herself in ll. 200-201? 11. Is she over sentimental or ineffective--and is the pathos of her grief kept within the limits of the reader's pleasure? 12. Express in your own words the main thought in xxii. 13. Note the skillful summary of events in xxvi, and observe that this stanza is the _Central Crisis_ and _Pivotal Point_ of the whole Book. The fortunes of the Knight reach their lowest ebb and begin to turn. The first half of the Book has been the _complication_ of the plot, the second half will be the _resolution_. 14. Give a description of Prince Arthur. 15. What mysterious power was possessed by his shield? Cf. the Holy Grail. 16. Observe carefully the scene between Una and Arthur, noting the changes in her mood. What light is thrown on her character? What are her feelings toward the Knight? 17. Explain the various threads of allegory in this Canto.
## CANTO VIII
I. _The Plot:_ Prince Arthur and Una are conducted by the Dwarf to Orgoglio's Castle. At the blast of the Squire's horn the Giant comes forth attended by Duessa mounted on the seven-headed Beast. In the battle which ensues Arthur wounds the Beast, slays the Giant and captures Duessa. Prince Arthur finds the Redcross Knight half starved in a foul dungeon and releases him. Duessa is stripped of her gaudy clothes and allowed to hide herself in the wilderness.
II. _The Allegory:_ 1. Magnificence, the sum of all the virtues, wins the victory over Carnal Pride, and restores Holiness to its better half, Truth. With the overthrow of Pride, Falsehood, which is the ally of that vice, is stripped of its outward show and exposed in all its hideous deformity.
2. The false Romish Church becomes drunk in the blood of the martyrs. There is a hint of the persecutions in the Netherlands, in Piedmont, of the massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day and the burnings under Bloody Mary. Protestant England is delivered from Popish tyranny by the honor and courage of the English people. Militant England (Prince Arthur) is assisted by the clergy (Squire) with his horn (Bible) and is guided by Truth and Common Sense (Dwarf).
23. HORNE OF BUGLE SMALL, the English Bible. Spenser here imitates the description of the magic horn of Logistilla in Ariosto's _Orlando Furioso_, xv, 15, 53. Such horns are frequently mentioned in romance, e.g., _Chanson de Roland_, _Morte d' Arthur_, Hawes' _Pastime_, Tasso's _Jerusalem Delivered_, _Huon of Bordeaux_, _Romance of Sir Otarel_, Cervantes' _Don Quixote_, etc.
50. LATE CRUELL FEAST, a probable reference to the massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day in Paris in 1572, and to the persecutions of Alva's Council of Blood in the Netherlands in 1567.
ix. This stanza is an imitation of Homer's _Iliad_, xiv, 414.
95. IN CYMBRIAN PLAINE, probably the Crimea, the ancient Tauric Chersonese. Some connect it with the Cimbric Chersonese, or Jutland, which was famous for its herds of bulls.
96. KINDLY RAGE, natural passion.
105. Note the Latinism "threatened his heads," and the imperfect rhyme "brands."
118. HER GOLDEN CUP, suggested by Circe's magic cup in Homer's _Odyssey_, x, 316, and the golden cup of the Babylonish woman in _Revelation_, xvii, 4.
148. THROUGH GREAT IMPATIENCE OF HIS GRIEVED HED, etc., through inability to endure (the pain of) his wounded head, he would have cast down his rider, etc.
155. IN ONE ALONE LEFT HAND, in one hand alone remaining. His left arm had been cut off (x).
xix. The uncovered shield represents the open Bible. The incident is an imitation of Ruggiero's display of his shield in _Orlando Furioso_, xxii, 85.
246. YOUR FORTUNE MAISTER, etc., be master of your fortune by good management.
268. UNUSED RUST, rust which is due to disuse; a Latinism.
296. WITH NATURES PEN, etc., i.e. by his gray hairs, at that age to which proper seriousness belongs. "I cannot tell" did not become his venerable looks.
310. THAT GREATEST PRINCES, etc. This may mean (1) befitting the presence of the greatest princes, or (2) that the greatest princes might deign to behold in person. The first interpretation is preferable.
312. A general reference to the bloody persecutions without regard to age or sex carried on for centuries by the Romish Church, often under the name of "crusades," "acts of faith," "holy inquisition," etc.
315. This may refer to the burning of heretics, under the pretext that the Church shed no blood. Kitchin thinks that it means "accursed ashes."
317. AN ALTARE, cf. _Revelation_, vi, 9. CARV'D WITH CUNNING YMAGERY, "in allusion to the stimulus given to the fine arts by the Church of Rome" (Percival).
366. BRAWNED BOWRS, brawny muscles.
375. WHAT EVILL STARRE, etc. In Spenser's day, belief in astrology, the pseudo-science of the influence of the stars on human lives, was still common.
381. There was an old familiar ballad entitled _Fortune my Foe_.
384. i.e. your good fortune will be threefold as great as your evil fortune.
384. GOOD GROWES OF EVILS PRIEFE, good springs out of our endurance of the tests and experience of evil.
391. BEST MUSICKE BREEDS DELIGHT, etc. A troublesome passage. Upton and Jortin emend _delight_ to _dislike_; Church inserts _no_ before _delight_ and omits _best_; Kitchin suggests _despight_; Grosart prefers the text as it stands with the meaning that although the best music pleases the troubled mind, it is no pleasure to renew the memory of past sufferings. I venture to offer still another solution, based on the context. When Una shows a desire to hear from her Knight a recountal of his sufferings in the dungeon, and he is silent, being loath to speak of them, Arthur reminds her that a _change of subject is best_, for the best music is that which breeds delight in the troubled ear.
xlvi. In this passage Spenser follows closely the description of the witch Alcina in Ariosto's _Orlando Furioso_, vii, 73. Rogero has been fascinated by her false beauty, and her real foulness is exposed by means of a magic ring. The stripping of Duessa symbolizes the proscription of vestments and ritual, and the overthrow of images, etc., at the time of the Reformation. Duessa is only banished to the wilderness, not put to death, and reappears in another book of the poem.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
(Canto VIII)
1. What moral reflections are found in i? 2. What were the duties of the Squire in chivalry? 3. What part does Arthur's Squire play? 4. What does the Squire's horn symbolize? 5. Observe the classical figure in ix. 6. Describe the battle before the Giant's Castle, stating what part is taken by each of the four engaged. 7. Point out several of the characteristics of a typical battle of romance, and compare with combats in classical and modern times. 8. What additional traits of Una's character are presented in this Canto? Note especially her treatment of the Knight. 9. How is the unchangeableness of truth illustrated in this story? 10. Who is the old man in xxx _seq._? 11. Who is the _woful thrall_ in xxxvii? 12. In what condition, mental and physical, is the Knight when liberated? 13. How long was he a captive? 14. What was Duessa's punishment? Was it adequate? Explain its moral and religious meaning. 15. Observe the use of _thou_ and _ye_ (_you_) in this Canto. 16. Find examples of _antithesis_, _alliteration_, _Latinisms_.
## CANTO IX
I. _The Plot:_ Prince Arthur tells Una of his vision of the Faerie Queene and of his quest for her. After exchanging presents with the Redcross Knight, he bids farewell to Una and her companions. These pursue their journey and soon meet a young knight, Sir Trevisan, fleeing from Despair. Sir Trevisan tells of his narrow escape from this old man, and unwillingly conducts the Redcross Knight back to his cave. The Knight enters and is almost persuaded to take his own life. He is saved by the timely interposition of Una. This is the most powerful canto of