the Faerie Queen by sir Edmund Spencer (in 1590-96)
Which of Spenser's observations from this epic poem stand out to you? Why?
1. That the type of “Middle English” he uses is mainly his own invention. I find this amusing that I was somewhat fooled, and interested because it is closer to modern English than Chaucer's, so I was able to understand much more of it.
2. How Spencer emphasizes British culture and saints by putting St. George and King Arthur into the story, just as Virgil emphasized the Roman culture through elaborating on a Greek myth. I found it interesting that writing a story could help people identify their culture and define their country better.
3. I found it interesting how much politics he put into the story: Saracens, the Catholic Church, general immorality, and warfare—which are still hot topics today.
4. I found it interesting that he valued pride as the house of all the deadly sins, just as John Milton did when he said “for by it the angels fell.” C.S. Lewis also describes pride as the chief deadly sin: think that you know more than G-d (arrogance) or want to attain more power than G-d (greed) or think that G-d cannot save you (despair). Even though Spencer did not invent the seven deadly sins, and catagorizes them under pride, they seem to still fall under the world, the flesh, and the devil—which I think he is really aware of.
5. It's odd that after the Red-Cross Knight slays the Catholic propaganda machine monster he then houses with the hypocrite. (which seems reverse.) Also it is interesting to note that the monster's parasitic children feed on her after her death—which seems to imply that those that were benefited from Church corruption soon fed off of her demise—which seems to be a critique of many of the radical Protestants (like Zwingli) who seemed to rejoice and benefit off of corruption rather than revile or reform it.
6. It's also interesting that the redcrosse knight became disillusioned with Una, or the true faith after he stayed at the hypocrite Archimago's house, and that after Una lost her defense she became accompanied by the same hypocrite and then captured by a Saracen, or muslim knight. Spencer seems to be implying not necessarily that Catholicism is evil, as much as its false adherents and administrators led the Church astray and disillusioned the Christian knight.
7. After the disillusionment of the Red cross Knight, he gets involved with Duessa who poses as “Fidessa” or faithful, whose red dress could resemble the Catholic church but more relevantly represents the adultress in Revelation who is known as the “Whore of Babylon,” which implies that he is becoming sexually immoral.
8. The House of Pride is where Duessa takes the new “atheist” where the Knight thinks he sees through religion and “knows it all.” Of course this leads to all the other kinds deadly sins: lechery/lust, envy, wrath, sloth/idleness, gluttony/drunkenness, greed/avarice. Now that the Knight is sufficiently immoral he meets an enemy the revengeful Saracen, Sansjoy.
9. It is interesting to note that his brother Sansfoy (without faith) first introduced the Knight to Duessa—most likely referring to the crusaders introduction to the Caliphate or Muslim-type empire which in between the wars became full of insider trading, slaves, treasures, sensuality, and general “worldliness” which Spencer is suggesting, helped lead the Knight away. However, just as there are “worldly” kinds of Saracens, there were devout and revengeful ones who challenged Christendom. How amazing that this applies for today, where Western Civilization has lost the faith and become atheistic and immoral, yet face a rabid kind of fanaticism in Islam (Not all Muslims, obviously.)
10. Again, it is interesting that this Christian Knight battles the Saracen without leaving the house of Pride—only until he realizes it is deadly. The whore of Babylon may be an enemy of violent-revengeful-Islam, but both are still enemies of the Christian. (The world+flesh vs. the devil+world are still opposing Faith, Hope, and Love.)
11. Finally, the Redcrosse Knight is always firstly susceptible to the world and the flesh which are the interior struggles of the soul before he is destroyed by the outward manifestation of evil such as the Pagans are (tribalism, Nazism, Communism, violent-Islam etc.) And only by the rescue King Arthur—perhaps representing Christ—can he be set free from his inward imprisonment of sin and despair.
