"Faerie Queene"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses Book One of Edmund Spenser's epic poem, "Faerie Queene," in which nature serves a primary purpose as a testing ground for the human soul. The paper also discusses the plot of the poem and the characters involved. It looks at the imagery and what it portrays about nature as a testing ground. The paper concludes that by the end of Canto Six, Spenser has established nature as the ultimate battle ground between good and evil in the human spirit.

From the Paper:

"Nature is contrasted with the supernatural in Spenser's story, too. Shape-shifting beings, dragons, and sundry other phantasmagoric creatures populate the woods of the Faerie Queen. Spenser's depiction of dragons and other supernatural beasts suggests an interface between the natural world and human intelligence. The beasts are not part of the natural world but they live in it, just like human beings. Human beings are shown to be in the world but not of it; unlike the trees and beasts of the forests, human beings are not entirely comfortable in nature. They are also unlike the woodland gods, supernatural creatures who are wholly in tune with wilderness but who have yet to transcend the ignorance of the animal mind."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Spenser, Edmund. The Faerie Queene: Book I. Retrieved online April 2, 2008 from http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/%7Erbear/queene1.html#Canto%20I.

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• Book Review # 101776 : "The Faerie Queene"
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