"The Faerie Queene"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how Edmund Spenser's "The Faerie Queene" is one of the greatest allegorical poems ever written in English and how the religious symbolism connected with the poem is practically the key of the entire allegory. In particular, the paper examines how the way in which Spenser represents nature in his poem is very significant precisely because the text is an allegory in which the real, natural setting is symbolic. Furthermore, the paper attempts to show that Spenser represents nature in two adverse ways which illuminate his vision of the world. The paper concludes that Spenser represents nature as a sympathetic force which is part of God's divine creation and which is moreover able to reflect the spiritual qualities of a certain being.

From the Paper:

"Nature is therefore itself a part of the great allegory. In fact, Spenser's allegorical poem is a synthesis of his vision of the world, comprising the forces that drive the world and human behavior at the same time. The poem relates mainly the adventures of Redcorsse, the errant knight of Holinesse, and Una, his female companion and the symbol of truth. The Faerie Queene is no less than Queen Elizabeth of England, whom Spenser regarded as a holy person because she was the defendant of Protestantism against the corrupted Catholicism. The allegory opposes these two religions, making it clear that Protestantism is the right religious view. In the first Book of the poem, nature is depicted in its entirely luxurious wilderness. There is a great array of mythological characters and beasts which are met, in turns, by the wandering knight. The divide between the natural and the unnatural forces obviously corresponds to that between good and evil. Although natural law is condemned by Puritanism, Spenser did not reject it. "

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