1552-1599

1. 1552-1599

2. 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,' discussinglaw, 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

3. 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.

4. 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 QueeneBooks 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).

5. Spenserian Stanza • 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.

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

7. 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

8. 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 Arthurdisplaying twelve “public virtues.” • Spenser names Aristotleas 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).

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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

12. 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.

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

14. A 15th-century icon of St. George.

15. 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)

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

17. 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.

18. Duessa • She represents • Falsehood, Deception • Mary Queen of Scots (Catholic) • Catholic Church

19. 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 Duessa Una

20. 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.

21. 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