No More Learning

--In the sixteenth century it was the
opinion of Puritan England that every literary masterpiece should not only
give entertainment, but should also teach some moral or spiritual lesson.
"No one," says Mr. Patee, "after reading Spenser's letter to Raleigh, can
wander far into Spenser's poem without the conviction that the author's
central purpose was didactic, almost as much as was Bunyan's in _Pilgrim's
Progress. _" Milton doubtless had this feature of the _Faerie Queene_ in
mind when he wrote in _Il Penseroso_:--

"And if aught else great bards beside
In sage and solemn tunes have sung
Of turneys, and of trophies hung,
Of forests and enchantments drear,
_Where more is meant than meets the ear_. "

That the allegory of the poem is closely connected with its aim and ethical
tendency is evident from the statement of the author that "the generall end
therefore of all the booke is to fashion a gentleman or noble person in
vertuous and gentle discipline. Which for that I conceived should be most
plausible and pleasing, being coloured with an historical fiction, the
which the most part of men delight to read, rather for varietie of matter
then for profite of the ensample. " The _Faerie Queene_ is, therefore,
according to the avowed purpose of its author, a poem of culture. Though it
is one of the most highly artistic works in the language, it is at the same
time one of the most didactic. "It professes," says Mr. Church, "to be a
veiled exposition of moral philosophy. "

The allegory is threefold,--moral, religious, and personal.

(a) _Moral Allegory. _--The characters all represent various virtues and
vices, whose intrigues and warfare against each other symbolize the
struggle of the human soul after perfection. The Redcross Knight, for
example, personifies the single private virtue of holiness, while Prince
Arthur stands for that perfect manhood which combines all the moral
qualities; Una represents abstract truth, while Gloriana symbolizes the
union of all the virtues in perfect womanhood.

(b) _Religious or Spiritual Allegory.
_--Under this interpretation the
Redcross Knight is a personification of Protestant England, or the church
militant, while Una represents the true religion of the Reformed Church. On
the other hand, Archimago symbolizes the deceptions of the Jesuits and
Duessa the false Church of Rome masquerading as true religion.

(c) _Personal and Political Allegory. _--Here we find a concrete
presentation of many of Spenser's chief contemporaries. One of Spenser's
prime objects in composing his epic was to please certain powerful persons
at court, and above all to win praise and patronage from the vain and
flattery loving queen, whom he celebrates as Gloriana. Prince Arthur is a
character that similarly pays homage to Lord Leicester. In the Redcross
Knight he compliments, no doubt, some gentleman like Sir Philip Sidney or
Sir Walter Raleigh, as if he were a second St. George, the patron saint of
England, while in Una we may see idealized some fair lady of the court. In
Archimago he satirizes the odious King Philip II of Spain, and in false
Duessa the fascinating intriguer, Mary Queen of Scots, who was undeserving
so hard a blow.

KEY TO THE ALLEGORY IN BOOK I

_Characters_ _Moral_ _Religious and _Personal and
Spirtual_ Political_

Redcross Knight Holiness Reformed England St George

Una Truth True Religion

Prince Arthur Magnificence, or Protestantism, or Lord Leicester
Private Virtue the Church Militant

Gloriana Glory Spirtual Beauty Queen Elizabeth

Archimago Hypocrisy The Jesuits Phillip II of Spain

Duessa Falsehood False Religion Mary Queen of Scots,
Church of Rome

Orgoglio Carnal Pride Antichrist Pope Sixtus V

The Lion Reason, Reformation by Force Henry VIII,
Natural Honor Civil Government

The Dragon Sin The Devil, Satan Rome and Spain

Sir Satyrane Natural Courage Law and Order Sir John Perrott
in Ireland

The Monster Avarice Greed of Romanism Romish Priesthood

Corceca Blind Devotion, Catholic Penance Irish Nuns
Superstition

Abessa Flagrant Sin Immorality Irish Nuns

Kirkrapine Church Robbery Religious State Irish Clergy
of Ireland and Laity

Sansfoy Infidelity

Sansjoy Joylessness Pagan Religion The Sultan and
the Saracens

Sansloy Lawlessness

The Dwarf Prudence,
Common Sense

Sir Trevisan Fear

The Squire Purity The Anglican Clergy

The Horn Truth The English Bible

Lucifera Pride, Vanity Woman of Babylon Church of Rome


4. THE SPENSERIAN STANZA. --The _Faerie Queene_ is written in the Spenserian
Stanza, a form which the poet himself invented as a suitable vehicle for a
long narrative poem. Suggestions for its construction were taken from three
Italian metres--the Ottava Rima, the Terza Rima, the Sonnet--and the
Ballade stanza. There are eight lines in the iambic pentameter measure
(five accents); e. g. --

v -/- | v -/- | v -/- | v -/- | v -/-
a gen | tle knight | was prick | ing on | the plaine
followed by one iambic hexameter, or Alexandrine (six accents); e.