Spenser's The Faerie Queene, Book I

Line 1. Lo I the man.... An imitation of the opening lines of Vergil's Aeneid:—

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. Phœbus 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.

243. 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 Phœbus 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.