Spenser probably takes the suggestion from the fountain in the gardens
of Armida in Tasso's _Jerusalem Delivered_, xiv, 74.
of Armida in Tasso's _Jerusalem Delivered_, xiv, 74.
Spenser - Faerie Queene - 1
_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 _AEneid_, 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
(_AEneid_, 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 _AEneid_, vi, 585 _seq.
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 _AEneid_, 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
(_AEneid_, 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 _AEneid_, vi, 585 _seq.
