The Faerie Queene Essay examples -- Literary Analysis, Spencer

Edmund Spensers epic numbers The fag Queene is well known as an allegorical work, and the poem is typically contract in relation to the political and religious context of the time. The term legend tends to be loosely defined, rendering a whole work an drawn-out metaphor, or even implying any writing in verse or prose that has a double meaning(Cuddon 20). In true(a) Spenserian style, with everything having double meanings, twain uses of the term allegory are applicable to his writing. Thus, during the course of this essay it is outflank not to think of allegory in terms of the size of a body of writing, but as writing with a second straightforward meaning partially hidden behind its literal or in sight meaning(Baldick 6). Whilst reading for political and religious allegory is key in understanding Spensers message, reading for good allegory as well as provides contributors with detailed insight into the text. It is because of this that I have chosen to focus not only on political and religious allegory but also the moral allegory that accompanies episodes in Book One focused on Una and Duessa. The two characters represent a multitude of allegories truth and falseness, and Protestantism and Catholicism being the or so prominent. Una and Duessa represent a double star opposition, and it is because of this that they help to produce a wealthiness of allegory when read closely. The characters represent conflicting ideas, yet neither of which would be conceivable without the other. Both characters can only function in the poem when supported by one another, if one character were to be removed, the binary opposition would be removed and the allegory drawn from either Una or Duessa would be less productive. The two episodes I will be investigating are Canto I, Stanzas 4... ...ly representing someone or something more true to life. Roberts is right in saying Spensers allegorical poem demands the active engagement of its reader to produce allegory(1). A lthough he never permits to say it directly, he is also right in noting that close reading of The Faerie Queene provides a some(prenominal) broader ranger of allegory. The examined stanzas are somewhat deceptive they are short apparently unimportant introductions that do not contribute to plot. However, in keeping with the true double nature of Spensers writing they contribute so oftentimes more than that to the text. Spenser uses the stanzas as a gateway for us to begin our sketch of his characters. Each close reading provides the reader with a different allegory, and it is through these multiple interpretations that Spenser manages to reveal part of his overall political, religious, and moral messages.