Thematic Introduction to Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene Book I The Legend of Holiness

“Holiness signifies devotion to God, the urge to conform to his will and as far as is possible in a state of mortality, the accomplishment of that urge. Ideally, holiness results in spiritual perfection and, as such, becomes equivalent to sanctity. Etymologically, holy derives from Old English hal (whole) and signifies completeness, the integrity of one’s spiritual and moral nature, the union of flesh and spirit.” Douglas Brooks-Davies, “The Faerie Queene, Book I,” The Spenser Encyclopedia.

Characters Redcross knight Redcross knight St George St George Holiness Holiness Una Una Oneness, a contrast to Duessa Oneness, a contrast to Duessa RCK’s companion RCK’s companion Truth Truth Elizabeth (Queen of the realm & head of the Church of England) Elizabeth (Queen of the realm & head of the Church of England) Mary Mary Eve Eve

Characters Duessa Duessa Falsehood, duplicity Falsehood, duplicity Two-ness, double-ness Two-ness, double-ness In Bk I, religious falsehood In Bk I, religious falsehood Intrinsically ugly, but “faire seeming” Intrinsically ugly, but “faire seeming” A type of Circe and the Whore of Babylon A type of Circe and the Whore of Babylon Archimago Archimago Evil magician Evil magician Appears symbolically out of the defeat of Errour Appears symbolically out of the defeat of Errour An emblem of hypocrisy (arch image-maker) An emblem of hypocrisy (arch image-maker)

Characters Sansfoy, -joy, -loy Sansfoy, -joy, -loy Three brothers, “bred / Of one bad sire” (1.2.25) Three brothers, “bred / Of one bad sire” (1.2.25) Faithlessness, joylessness, without loyalty Faithlessness, joylessness, without loyalty The order in which they are encountered is significant The order in which they are encountered is significant Orgoglio Orgoglio Italian for “pride” Italian for “pride” A giant A giant

Characters Lucifera Lucifera Name derived from Lucifer (Satan) Name derived from Lucifer (Satan) Embodiment of RCK’s delight in worldly glory Embodiment of RCK’s delight in worldly glory Queen of the palace of pride Queen of the palace of pride A parody of Gloriana A parody of Gloriana Arthur Arthur The image of a brave knight, perfected in the twelve moral virtues The image of a brave knight, perfected in the twelve moral virtues The greatest of the British monarchs The greatest of the British monarchs

The Faerie Queene Book 2 The Legend of Sir Guyon OrTemperance

Book II Thematically self-contained “with analysis of moral life and human nature as his business, Spenser no longer needs to draw extensively on the Bible and the church for imagery” “The new impetus in Book II is humanism” René Graziani, “The Faerie Queene, Book II,” The Spenser Encyclopedia.