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Questions and Answers
Who represents holiness in The Faerie Queene?
Who represents holiness in The Faerie Queene?
What does Redcross Knight carry that protects him?
What does Redcross Knight carry that protects him?
an enchanted shield
Which character represents temperance?
Which character represents temperance?
The villainous witch Acrasia is associated with the theme of ______.
The villainous witch Acrasia is associated with the theme of ______.
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Britomart is the only major knight in The Faerie Queene who is a woman.
Britomart is the only major knight in The Faerie Queene who is a woman.
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What is the ultimate goal of the Redcross Knight?
What is the ultimate goal of the Redcross Knight?
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In which book does Sir Calidore pursue the Blatant Beast?
In which book does Sir Calidore pursue the Blatant Beast?
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Match the knight with the virtue they represent:
Match the knight with the virtue they represent:
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The seventh book of The Faerie Queene has been completed.
The seventh book of The Faerie Queene has been completed.
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Who helps rescue Amoretta from Busirane?
Who helps rescue Amoretta from Busirane?
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Sir Guyon resists temptation and destroys Acrasia's ______.
Sir Guyon resists temptation and destroys Acrasia's ______.
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Study Notes
The Faerie Queene
- Written by Edmund Spenser
- Divided into six books with fragments of a seventh
- Each book tells a self-contained story
- Protagonists represent different virtues
- Antagonists represent the heroes' opposites
Book I: Redcross Knight
- Represents holiness
- Serves the Faerie Queene
- Travels with Una and her dwarf
- Enchanted shield with a red Christian cross
- Goal: Slaying the dragon terrorizing Una's parents in Eden
- Battles Error, a monstrous serpent-woman
- Tricked by Archimago into believing Una's infidelity
- Led astray by Duessa disguised as a fair maiden
- Faces trouble from Saracens: Sansfoy, Sansloy, and Sansjoy
- Rescued by Prince Arthur who becomes King Arthur
- Saved from Despair by Una
- Finally defeats the dragon after a three-day battle
- Marries Una but leaves to serve the Faerie Queene
Book II: Sir Guyon
- Represents temperance
- Serves the Faerie Court
- Archimago tries to convince him to attack Redcross Knight
- Encounters Amavia, a dying woman
- Learns of Acrasia, the pleasure-seeking witch who killed her knight
- Resists temptation on an island devoted to idle pleasure
- Battles hot-headed knights like Pyrochles
- Destroys Acrasia's Bower of Bliss, freeing those trapped
Book III: Britomart
- Represents chastity
- The only female knight in The Faerie Queene
- Obsessed with finding her future husband Arthegall after a vision
- Trained in knightly ways
- Accompanied by her nurse Glauce
- Wounds Marinell, a knight warned against women
- Meets Scudamore seeking to free his lady Amoretta from Busirane
- Convinces Busirane to free Amoretta
Book IV: Cambell and Triamond
- Represents friendship
- Cambell holds a tournament to find a husband for his sister Canacee
- Triamond, the strongest of three brothers, wins the tournament
- Cambell and Triamond become great friends
- Cambell marries Triamond's sister, Cambina
- Britomart and Arthegall meet and fight in a tournament
- Britomart wins, but they both fall in love after removing their helmets
- Amoretta is captured by a "savage" carle
- Arthur and Timias help Amoretta escape
- Amoretta reunited with Scudamore
Book V: Arthegall
- Represents justice
- Travels with his iron companion Talus
- Subdues and punishes injustice
- Defeated and captured by the Amazon queen Radigund
- Britomart rescues him, beheading Radigund
- Rescues Eirena from the evil tyrant Grantorto
Book VI: Sir Calidore
- Represents courtesy
- Pursuing the Blatant Beast
- Witnesses the idyllic life of shepherds, especially Pastorella
- Drawn into this life, but leaves it behind
- Leads a rescue mission after brigands attack the shepherds
- Decides to continue his quest to subdue the Blatant Beast
- Finds the beast, muzzles it, and forces it to follow him
- The Blatant Beast eventually breaks free and continues to roam
Book VII: Mutabilitie
- Only two cantos survive
- Mutabilitie (Change), descended from titans
- Argues for rule over heaven instead of Jupiter
- Challenge is ultimately unsuccessful
- No definitive ending due to Spenser's death
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Description
Explore the epic poem 'The Faerie Queene' by Edmund Spenser, focusing on its structure and key themes. Delve into Book I featuring the hero Redcross Knight and his journey representing holiness, alongside other important characters and their virtues. Understand the distinctive storytelling technique used in this iconic work.
