This essay examines Edmund Spenser's epic poem The Faerie Queene through the lens of his prefatory letter to Sir Walter Raleigh, in which Spenser states his intention to fashion "a gentleman or noble person in vertuous and gentle discipline." The paper analyzes how Spenser employs allegory, characterization, and symbolism to portray Aristotelian virtues and Christian ideals. It discusses the Redcrosse Knight as an emblem of holiness and Protestant faith, Britomart as the icon of chastity, and the Faerie Queen herself as a figure of magnificence representing Queen Elizabeth. Together, these figures construct Spenser's vision of the ideal human being and the ideal social order.
Edmund Spenser opens, prefaces, and introduces The Faerie Queene with a letter addressed to Sir Walter Raleigh. In this letter, Spenser outlines his intention behind writing the epic poem — a letter that, in his own words, gives "great light to the reader." Spenser writes, "The generall end therefore of all the booke is to fashion a gentleman or noble person in vertuous and gentle discipline." To accomplish this goal, The Faerie Queene features "the historye of King Arthure, as most fitte for the excellency of his person, being made famous by many mens former workes, and also furthest from the daunger of envy, and suspition of present time."
Spenser thus explains why The Faerie Queene alludes to the Arthurian legends; the hearkening to the past is no small accident. The author hopes to engender in the reader a sense of lofty ambition, hope, and courage that the Arthurian legend represents. In so doing, Spenser also creates the central tone, theme, and motif of The Faerie Queene.
The Faerie Queene also alludes to ancient Greek philosophy and literature. Spenser draws a connection between King Arthur and the Aristotelian virtues, creating a portrait of the ideal man. He writes, "I labour to pourtraict in Arthure, before he was king, the image of a brave knight, perfected in the twelve private morall vertues, as Aristotle hath devised, the which is the purpose of these first twelve books." Spenser achieves his goal of fashioning a "gentleman or noble person in vertuous and gentle discipline" through tone, characterization, and symbolism. In so doing, he presents his ideal social norms.
In the letter to Sir Walter Raleigh, Spenser writes about "the deedes of Arthure applyable to that vertue which I write of in that booke." Arthur's deeds, his acts, and his reactions to life reveal the king to be the emblem of all that is good, noble, and virtuous. For this reason, Spenser uses Arthur to instruct his readers how to become the ideal human being. However, it is not only Arthur who exhibits the virtues of a human being — different knights embody different virtues, or idealized characteristics.
The characters in The Faerie Queene are highly symbolic archetypes. Spenser describes them in his letter: "The first of the Knight of the Redcrosse, in whome I expresse holynes: The seconde of Sir Guyon, in whome I sette forth temperaunce. The third of Britomartis, a lady knight, in whome I picture chastity." The Faerie Queen herself represents glory, and her position of power is to bestow upon the knights the tools of their salvation and their personal power.
The first book of The Faerie Queene brings up the topic of Christianity and its importance to ultimate virtue. The Redcrosse Knight approaches the Faerie Queen and asks for an adventure. A lady then enters the room "riding on a white asse, with a dwarfe behind her leading a warlike steed, that bore the armes of a knight, and his speare in the dwarfes hand." This lady's parents have been imprisoned in a castle by a dragon, and she wants them rescued. The knight accepts the challenge, but the woman tells him he shall only go wearing "the armour of a Christian man specified by Saint Paul, vi. Ephes." By this, Spenser suggests that Christianity leads one to a virtuous victory.
Holiness is the particular virtue that the Redcrosse Knight embodies. The cross is a symbol of Christianity; it is impossible to be holy without being Christian. Because the cross appears on the knight's shield, Spenser also suggests that Christianity protects one from death. The trials and tribulations the Redcrosse Knight encounters — such as the monster Error and the dragon — are tests of his faith and spiritual fortitude.
Because Spenser wrote The Faerie Queene in part to glorify Queen Elizabeth's official conversion of the state religion to the Protestant faith during the English Reformation, the evildoers and enemies of the Redcrosse Knight symbolize not Satan but Roman Catholicism. Roman Catholicism was an emblem of all that was wrong in the social and political order, and Spenser's allegory shows that it is personal piety and a fiery spirit — qualities the knight exemplifies — that constitute genuine holiness. The Redcrosse Knight thus symbolizes the new social order of Protestant faith.
Furthermore, the Redcrosse Knight represents "a gentleman or noble person in vertuous and gentle discipline" because he is dedicated to his Christian faith. Because the knight pursues faith independently of the clergy, he represents the genuine Protestant connection between an individual believer and God. If Spenser's work were framed not according to the Aristotelian twelve virtues but to the Christian trio of Faith, Hope, and Chastity, the Redcrosse Knight would be the emblem of Faith. He therefore reappears throughout The Faerie Queene as a "noble person in vertuous and gentle discipline."
"Britomart embodies chastity as spiritual strength"
"Gloriana represents Queen Elizabeth and worldly glory"
"Arthur's magnificence unifies all Aristotelian virtues"
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