Spenser's The Faerie Queene Part 31

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 Lernaean 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 a.s.say, the a.s.sault 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 s.h.i.+eld 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 Ta.s.so's description of the helmet of the Sultan in Jerusalem Delivered, ix, 25, which in turn follows Vergil's aeneid, vii, 785 seq.

280. greene Selinis, a town in Sicily.

284. His warlike s.h.i.+eld. Spenser here follows closely the description of the s.h.i.+eld 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 ant.i.thetical 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 cla.s.sical belief in the envy of the G.o.ds 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 n.o.ble 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 languis.h.i.+ng 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 princ.i.p.al 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 s.h.i.+eld? 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 ma.s.sacre of St. Bartholomew's Day and the burnings under b.l.o.o.d.y Mary. Protestant England is delivered from Popish tyranny by the honor and courage of the English people. Militant England (Prince Arthur) is a.s.sisted by the clergy (Squire) with his horn (Bible) and is guided by Truth and Common Sense (Dwarf).