The Faerie Queene Essay - 466 Words

The poem, The Faerie Queene, is a story about a courageous knight who goes through great trials and fights monsters. This in itself is entertaining but, it also has many allegorical references to Christianity. Many times Spenser talks about things when in reality hes really talking something closer to home. For instance, this faerie land he talks about sounds like he is referring to England, the country where hes from. Also, the title Faerie Queene itself is seems to represent Queen Elizabeth, the Queen of England. Redcrosse, the hero of the poem, is a major part of this allegory. He is called the Knight of Holinesse which is a reference to being holy and worshiping God. He represents the lonely Christian on a journey to put†¦show more content†¦As Redcrosse and Una travel on their way, things are fine and both are kept in tact. Redcrosse is first introduced to evil when fighting the dragon, Error. When fighting the dragon, Spenser writes, Her vomit full of bookes and papers was (177). These papers represent Roman Catholic propaganda that was put out in Spensers time, against Queen Elizabeth. This shows the allegory Spencer was trying to put forth in writing this poem. After defeating the dragon, Redcrosse and Una travel looking for the right path, when it starts to get dark and they find a place to stay, with a hermit in his inn. When they fall asleep, we find out who this hermit is, Archimago, an evil sorcerer. He conjures up two spirits to trouble Redcrosse. One of the spirits goes into his dreams and makes him dream of love and lust, when he awakes; he is lying next to the other spirit who is disguised as Una, who asks for a kiss from him. He turns it down, and falls back asleep. Then Archimago takes the spirit disguised as Una and lays it in a bed, and takes the other spirit and disguises it as a young man. Redcrosse awakes and sees this and is furious and decides to leave without her. The mission Archimago was out to accomplish had worked and he had separated holiness and faith. Now without faith, Redcrosse goes out and is all on his own. He travels on until he meets another knight, Sansfoy,Show MoreRelated The Faerie Queene Essay1944 Words   |  8 PagesEdmund Spenser’s epic poem The Faerie Queene is well known as an allegorical work, and the poem is typically read in relation to the political and religious context of the time. The term allegory tends to be loosely defined, rendering a whole work an extended metaphor, or even implying â€Å"any writing in verse or prose that has a double meaning†(Cuddon 20). In true Spenserian style, with everything having double meanings, both uses of the term allegory are applicable to his writing. 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