Paper# 04

Poetry
Submitted By
SAMRA KHAN
Masters in English
1st Semester
ID: 12300

Submitted to:
Sir Ihsan Ullah

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
CITY UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
PESHAWAR- PAKISTAN
3rd March, 2021
 1. Chaucer’s literary career remained under multiple influences and is evident from
the publication of each of his work; however, Canterbury Tales represents his
English period and influence drawn from the English society, comment (25)
Geoffrey Chaucer, was born on c. 1342/43, in London, England and died on October
25, 1400, in London, he was the outstanding English poet before Shakespeare and
“His The Canterbury Tales ranks as one of the greatest poetic works in English. He also
contributed importantly in the second half of the 14th century to the management of
public affairs as courtier, diplomat, and civil servant. In that career he was trusted and
aided by three successive kings Edward III, Richard II, and Henry IV. But it is his
avocation and he is remembered because of his writing.
Influences on Chaucer Career:

GEOFFREY CHAUCER, THE FATHER OF ENGLISH POETRY FOR ALL

AGES AND WRITERS IN HISTORY AS WELL AS FOR NOW. He did his work in all
means as uniformed and detailed as no other writer of his age did so.

The Canterbury Tales is, no doubt, the masterpiece of Geoffrey Chaucer, and is one of
the most famous works in English literature. It is portrayed around the English period of
Chaucer’s age, for what he is often regarded as the father of modern English poetry.

Matthew Arnold, in the scope of poetry, has confirmed it, as the great contribution of
Chaucer to English language and literature is incomparable. His position in English language is
for the father. In fact, he wrote in Old ages, but when readers refined this language, it becomes
modern English. So The Canterbury Tales had a great influence and contribution on the
succeeding literature in English.

The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales and the original Poem “The Canterbury Tales” are the
only and the bombastic achievements at the third & last stage of Chaucer’s poetic career. This
crowning achievement reflects his complete wisdom and excellence in Poetry. It is an original
work and English through and through. The "tales' is suffused with the English air.

Chaucer improves upon Boccaccio and gives English character to the frame-work. He has
structured to compose this poem probably in 1387 and finished it in 1388 with seventeen
thousand lines. He has characterized different type of characters in these tales. What he paints
here is derived from real life. In this respect, Emile Legouis says,

"It is more than a literary innovation. It is a change of mental attitude.

Poetry turned with tolerant curiosity to the study of man and manners.

For the first time, the relation between individual and ideas is clearly realized"

This masterpiece is the high point of all English medieval literature. Chaucer draws
together 29 pilgrims including himself, the meet at the Tabard Inn in order to go on a pilgrimage
to the tomb of Samuel Beckett and the group of people includes all classes of English society of
14th Century. The cheerful host of the inn suggests that each member of the company will tell
tales. The best teller of stories will be given a fine supper at general expense on their return.

When we study The Canterbury Tales, we find that the company should tell at least one
hundred and twenty complete stories. But they are able to finish only twenty one complete tales
and the three remained unfinished. But it is crystal clear that Chaucer has meditated an immense
work covering the whole life of England. Both complete and incomplete stories cover a wide
range of contemporary English society. They cover the stories of love and chivalry, of saints and
religious, travels and adventures, allegory, satires and the coarse humour of the common people.

Chaucer is the first English poet to bring the atmosphere of romantic interest about the
men and women and their daily works. The characters of "The Canterbury Tales" are to real life.
In this poem, we find the merry host of the inn, the fat monk, the parish priest, the kindly
ploughman and the like. As a result, "The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales" is regarded as a
picture gallery. Here all people from every sphere of English life are described with a quiet
kindly humour. Chaucer is able to portray the pilgrims as types and individuals. The wife of bath
is typical of certain primary instincts of women. But she is given a local habitation. In this way,
The Canterbury Tales is a poem in which the essential humanity is emphasized.

William Langland with his allegory of heaven and hell gains much in grandeur and
impressiveness. But Chaucer with his individuals types gains infinitely in reality and in human
sympathy. This realism of painting human life is first abiding contribution of Chaucer to
literature. He holds up a beautiful picture of the contemporary society in his mirror, The
Canterbury Tales. But his picture is incomplete. The dark underside of his age is in no way
reflected by him. Chaucer has written for the court and the nobility. The nobility do not wish to
be disturbed by painful reminders of plagues, famines and popular discontent. The poem also
contains few references to the plague, only one to the peasant uprising and to Lollardy. These
references are casual and jesting.

Chaucer as a Representative of His Age:

Chaucer was a great poet of his age and he has presented the whole society in his prologue. It
reflects all the leading features of that age. He has depicted a true picture of his society. It
reflects profession, dresses, habits, manners, attitude, merits and demerits of the people of his
age. As a mirror reflects reality and truth. Prologue reflects the same like a mirror. We can see
the whole England of 14 century in his prologue. His prologue presents truth so Chaucer has
presented truth because he loves main kind and has deep interest in human beings.Chaucer
presented life as it’s without addition and without elimination. The prologue is highly
imaginative and the production of his observation. His description of society and narration of
tales evolves a micro England but his presentation is poetic. His character belongs to different
work of life with different profession and possesses different qualities of common people with
merits and demerits, agreements and disagreements. It shows that his prologue reflects the cross
section of 14th century England in full detail. He has included different events of his age. “Black
death” was a leading event of his age. The whole England was destroyed by the Epidemic.
Chaucer Prologue contains a character of “Doctor of Physics” which is the symbol of that age.
Medical science was helpless to treat people. So doctor was an expert in surgery and used
astronomy. His aim was only to earn money which represents the greedy nature of man.

Prosperity as a dominating feature.

In his age, prosperity was dominating feature. The people were enjoying their lives fully. They
were rich people and also very hospitable. The feature is traceable in Chaucer prologue. Prologue
in form of Franklin who was very hospitable at his table. A big table was fixed in his dining
room for his guests with delicious dishes and also according to the season. He was a rich land
owner and his house was never without meat and also he changed his food and supper according
to season. During that age merchant class also developed and they earned a lot of money in their
businesses. E.g The shipman was an experience and matchless person in this connection he was a
business man and earned much money illegally.

His age was Conservative:

His age also contained conservative class though that age had the modernity. Yet these
people were also present. This class was a symbol of plug man who was a great hard worker and
honest and obedient man. He has been presented a clean man and he was sincere to his authority
and his own work. So the working class of his age was leading a pleasant and hard life. The
people were hard worker, honest and religious. This class is also present in prologue.

Extravagant dresses were another leading feature of Chaucer age.

Extravagant dresses were another leading feature of Chaucer age. This feature is also
present in his prologue. His character are well dressed and according to the new fashion in
society e.g Squire dress was decorated with embroidery and like meadow containing variety of
flower on his dress. Monk is also included in this category.

People Resisted the church:

Before reformation the common people were doubt full about the church and they were
against the church. The ignored the religion and gave it a secondary importance. They were busy
in illegal and immoral activities which were forbidden by the religion. They did not care much
about the religion and did not trust the church. The learned people and the religious people who
were on important posts were corrupt. All the ecclesiastical characters except “Priest were
corrupts. Friar, Prioress, Pardoner, monk and summoner all of them were corrupt and earned
money on the name of religion. So, the common ridiculed these corrupt people because they
were busy in worldly comforts and ignored their divine concept. The only character who was
sincere was a poor man and he was busy in preaching religion and obeyed the divine concept of
religion and also delivered services to his people. He was not greedy nor he got benefited from
the church he delivered his services properly and encouraged the people. So the charge has
adopted objectivity because he has presented him a clean man in reality.

Love For Stories

 Another important of his age was people were the lover of the stories and there were
story tellers in his age. This feature is also available in his poetry because stories are narrated by
every character and storytelling is the foundation of Canterbury tales.

Shrine Visits:

Another determining feature of his age was the visit of shrines by the people. They paid
full devotion to their visits to present tribute and homage to their religious persons and this
feature is the foundation of his poetry.

Medieval Chivalry

Another Feature of his age was chivalry basically this feature was a feature of medieval age and
knight was famous in this age too. He was evening star of medieval age. Chaucer believed in
medieval chivalry which stood for honor, truth, bravery and freedom. Chaucer knight is the best
example in this connection. Who was brave and fought fifteen deadly battles for his religion. The
story narrated by knight is also full of medieval chivalry which reflects the society in prologue

Commercial Class

Commercial class was also another feature of that age .New trend was coming and knighthood
was losing its position. The trading class was gaining in that age. The new industries were
becoming popular which lead to the expansion of business. This feature is present in the form of
“Five number of Guild. The shipman and merchant. These people represent commercial class.

Modernity:

Modernity was another feature of that age.The people adopted modernity in this age.The people
adopted modernity in their dresses, their manner and in the form of business.The religious people
ignored religion and become modern from different aspects.E.g prioress, monk wife of bath etc.

Touch of Renaissance:

Chaucer prologue has some touches of Renaissance elements and influence of new learning in
that society. E.g Renaissance encouraged the movement of literacy e.g “Clerk” who is an
important character in prologue was a great scholar and a leading philosopher. He represents
learning class of his age.
Conclusion:

From the above discussion, we conclude that Geoffrey Chaucer is the mouthpiece of his age. He
is a great representative poet and represents his age completely and not in fragments. He is a
social historian of his age, realistic and faithful. We are able to know more about his age from his
The Canterbury Tales than from any book of history. The poem is a mirror to contemporary life
and the very framework of the poem is realistic. It seems to be a cinematograph. Chaucer for the
first time portrays men and women realistically and sympathetically. Thus he introduces modern
note in literature. Through few limitations are obvious in The Canterbury Tales, it has rich
comedy, variety of humor, description powers and study of characters. So we can say that the
poem is a unique achievement and has great historical importance.

Q.3.Spenser’s Faerie Queene is a traditional allegory exploiting the moral norms of the
Elizabethan English society; illustrate with the help of characters from the text. (25)

Spenser’s Faerie Queene as a Moral Allegory:

Spenser has been considered as great poet of his age. He has written many popular poems during
his life time which gain more popularity on account of his charm and beauty. Farrie Queen is on
of them which is considered as allegory

Allegory:

Allegory is a poem which has double meaning. It is a form of literature. The double meanings
are internal and external. The external meanings are simple, direct and pleasant. The internal
reader enjoys the external meaning. In an allegory reader look for the hidden meanings. This
form is called allegorical. The critics say if you do not meddle with an allegory, the allegory will
not meddle with you, The internal meanings are highly philosophical and requires interpretation.
Farrie Queene is considered as an spiritual allegory because it meets the requirement of an
allegory.

Faerie Queene in light of his characters:

Red Cross Knight

Red Cross Knight is the main character and hero of book 1 in Faerie Queene.He represents ad
stands for religion, holiness and faith. He is embedment of divine principles and moral values.
He is the defender of the faith and well equipped with own armory which reflects the idea that
religion can defend itself. In Faerie Queene Red Cross encounters many difficulties. Similarly
religion also encounters many difficulties before its establishment. It is consider that Red cross
knight stands for divine Holiness.

Lady Luna

Faerie Queene contains a lady bearing name Lady Luna. She is the symbol of truth,
ridding on a snow white horse or ass, that ass represents or stands for humanity. It means
truth( Luna) rests on humanity(Ass)and accompanied holiness(Knight) It means truth needs the
support of religion against evil forces which have expelled the parents of lady Luna from their
own kingdom and now religion(Knight) is proceeding for the liberation of her parents.

Lady Luna was accompanied by a dwarf who stands for common sense it was the same
dwarf who promptly warned religion when he was trying to enter the dangerous den of monster.
Dwarf was a faithful servant of lady luna and helped her in carrying her luggage. All the forces
and virtues were in one company, proceeding against hostile forces.

Lady Luna and Red Cross Knight enter in to a dense forest and deceived from different
beaten paths in forest, finally reach in to a den which is a horrible monster. This monster stands
for evil. Monster stands for evil forces against church and religion while the wondering wood
stands for superstation and they are in different paths symbolizes superstitious elements in
human being reflected in Faerie Queene.

Red Cross Knight and Monster Conflict

The fight between Red Cross Knight and monster symbolizes a conflict between religion
and evil forces. Religion means Roman Catholic supremacy of pope while evil forces means
protesters involved in protestant movement against the Catholic church. In that however the
religion dominates and defeats evil forces after great struggle. It means evil forces were equally
strong to resist against religion in that fight even religion was in grip of evil forces but for a very
short time and then religion controlled itself but at the same time monster sweeped out the filthy
maw which was full of books and papers. It indicates the attack of protesters against the church
in the form of written literature which they published against the Catholic Church.

When Monster belched out for second time it contained serpents which molested religion
but not fully. It means religion was strong though it was molested by hostile forces. Finally the
monster died and her young ones searched for blood which symbolizes the idea that hostile
forces against religion perished automatically which shows religion supremacy.

Arch-Migo

Arch-Migo is another important character in Faire Queene, who is the symbol of hypocrisy.
Knight meets him who deceived him. This meeting is also symbolic. It indicates encounter
between holiness and hypocrisy. Holiness could not detect hypocrisy but take him a Nobel old
man.Arch-migo had long robe bear footed with white beard having, having books, beating
himself to show his repentance on his evil act and in real he was a wicked man and was against
the religion. Those things were sufficient to deceive religion or holiness and truth , he takes them
to his own hut to contaminate them and he succeeded in his magic art and separated religion
from truth because he was against religion. In this connection he with the power of magic
brought two false dreams which disturbed them and finally he succeeded.

Arch Migo as a False Knight

False Knight( Arch Migo) represents false religion, who is powerless and was in search of lady
Luna to further torcher her. He finally encounters with sansfey who kills him and get his
deserved punishment. The fight between knight and sansfey symbolizes a conflict between
religion and lawlessness. In this encounter religion is defeated and lawlessness prevail.

Red cross Encounters With Sensefy:

Red Cross encounters with sensfey who stands for faithfulness. In this encounter religion
dominates against faithfulness because faithfulness is powerless and helpless. Lady Dauesa is a
symbol of falsehood and holiness is enraptured by falsehood who narrates a false story and
shows herself Fidessa truth faith.

Doubt:
They seek shelter under trees which represents doubt. Drops of blood trickle down when Red
cross Knight broke a brach of tree Fraudubec is doubtful who narrates his story of
transformation. It was though wickedness that she wanted to satisfy her wicked intention.On
refusal he transformed in to a tree and planted in to deserted valley.He still feels pain and trouble
of climate conditions just like human beings.

Search of Truth and Holiness

Lady Luna started her Journey in search of Redcross Knight. This search implies that truth is
searching holiness from place to place and from village to village. The lion is symbol of
valiance, courage and rashness but it is subdued by truth. It means that truth prevails over
violence. Blind denotation is represented by Blind Careeca while her daughter Abeesa stands for
Abjectness. Kirkirpine stands for fornication, indulgence, profligacy and sensual pleasure and
other rapacious forces. The lion killed by Sensoly means that courage cannot encounter with
lawlessness.

Sensoly represents lawlessness. The encounter between Sensoly and archmiego implies a
conflict between lawlessness and false religion. False religion cannot resists lawlessness.
Archimego is defeated and sensoly dominates. It means lawlessness prevails and truth falls in the
hand of lawlessness. Truth deprived of holiness, falls victim to hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Falsehood (Duessa) leads holiness (RCK) to all sins. Knight is contaminated by seveb deadly
sins yet strong to meet sensoly who represents jolyness. He wins over it.It shows the holiness
with truth associated with falsehood is subject to temptation of pride and despondency.

Spenser’s Pictorial Qualities:

Pictorial qualities are a striking feature of English literature which varies from time to time and
from poet to poet. Spenser has been considered a superb word painter. His pictorial qualities
were striking and marvelous. These features have received attention of many readers. It appears
that Spenser has special talent for painting a person, place or a thing. Spenser Pictorial qualities
are mentioned below:
1. Pictorial Feature is the greatest quality of Spenser. His poetry replicates picture of various
kinds. It was his habit of mind to decorate his poetry with poetic devices. His poetry is
loaded metaphors, similes and imageries.
2. His poetry and images take birth in his mind. His poetry is highly charged with pictures.
His pictorial quality is supreme and he has proved his supremacy in this field. These
pictures are overcrowded and over flowing in his mind. He has poured these pictures into
his poetry. These pictures provide pleasure to readers.
3. Spenser is a word painter. Painter uses paint but Spenser uses words, phrases and
sentences. These elements have been harmonized together. The poetry has been
decorated with pen picture. His presentation is delightful and continuous. He is a painter
in verse.
4. Spenser pictures are complete, developed and mature. They ever come out of focus. They
reflect the poets vision, learning and artistic presentation. These pictures uplift the mind
and charge the soul of the reader.
5. There is a great variety in Spenser picture. Reader feels pleasure like a sailor who looks
at the seashore after a long voyage. Similarly Red cross knight feels pleasure like a
merchant. Who looks at the safe arrival of his ship. These pictures can be painted in
colors. Most of his pictures are related to natural objects. A detailed picture of the forest
is the best example. Similarly, the hermitage of Archimago located in a valley is highly
artistic.
6. Spenser’s Pictures are detailed distinct and well defined. His pictures are definite and
concrete. They are never abstract and imaginary. They appeal to our senses. These
pictures are very striking and prominent e.g
 A shepherd is molested by honey bees
 A gentle knight was riding on a horse
 A picture of Archmiago hermitage situated in a valley near a stream at the fact of
mountain.
 Fight between Redcross knight which depicted as fight between two ranks
 The picture of forest in which there are many trees and many ways and Redcross
Knight lost his way.
 The picture of a marphious house at the center of the earth.
  The picture of Duessa in the company of Sensfoy.
Legoius says it’s a picture gallery most of the stanza can be converted in to
pictures. His pictures are symbolic they are the embodiment of some abstract
virtue of idea.Archimago symbolize hypocrisy. RCK stands for holiness and lady
Una represents truth. This symbolism is vibrating in fairy queen. Apart from
symbolism Fairy queen is an interesting story but the hidden meanings are serious
and deep.
In the light of above data it is evident that Spenser is a great word painter and his
supremacy has been recognized by the critics. Pictorial quality is a striking feature
of spenser. Fairy Queene is a picture galley which is unrivaled by any literary
production.

4. Milton’s Paradise Lost tries to validate the hierarchal nature of the universe through his
text, explain with references from the text. (25)

The Importance of Obedience to God:

The first words of Paradise Lost narrate a story of “Man’s first Disobedience.” In this poem
Milton narrates the story of Adam and Eve’s disobedience and explains how and why it
happened and places the story within the larger context of Satan’s rebellion and Jesus’
resurrection. Raphael tells Adam about Satan’s disobedience in an effort to give him a steady
grip of the risk that Satan and humankind’s disobedience poses.  Paradise Lost presents two
moral paths that one can take after disobedience firstly the downward spiral of increasing sin and
degradation, represented by Satan or and the road to redemption, represented by Adam and Eve.
While Adam and Eve are the first humans to disobey God, Satan was the first of God’s creation
to disobey. His decision to rebel comes only from himself he was not persuaded or provoked by
others. Also, his decision to continue to disobey God after his fall into Hell ensures that God will
not forgive him. Adam and Eve, on the other hand, decide to repent for their sins and seek
forgiveness. Unlike Satan, Adam and Eve understand that their disobedience to God will be
corrected through generations of toil on Earth.

The Hierarchical Nature of the Universe:

Paradise Lost is about hierarchy as much as it is about obedience. Paradise lost represents the
picture of universe that heaven is, hell is below and earth is in the middle. It also represents the
universe as a hierarchy based on proximity to God and his grace. This spatial hierarchy leads to a
social hierarchy of angels, humans, animals, and devils. Adam and Eve and Earth’s animals
come next, with Satan and the other fallen angels following last. To obey God is to respect this
hierarchy. In paradise lost Milton narrates the hierarchical nature of universe that how all the
elements of universe follow God.
Satan refuses to honor the Son as his superior, thereby questioning God’s hierarchy. As the
angels in Satan’s camp rebel, they hope to beat God and thereby dissolve what they believe to be
an unfair hierarchy in Heaven. When the Son and the good angels defeat the rebel angels, the
rebels are punished by being banished far away from Heaven. At least, Satan argues later, they
can make their own hierarchy in Hell, but they are nevertheless subject to God’s overall
hierarchy, in which they are ranked the lowest. Satan continues to disobey God and his hierarchy
as he seeks to corrupt mankind.

Likewise, humankind’s disobedience is a corruption of God’s hierarchy. Before the fall, Adam
and Eve treat the visiting angels with proper respect and acknowledgement of their closeness to
God, and Eve embraces the subservient role allotted to her in her marriage. God and Raphael
both instruct Adam that Eve is slightly farther removed from God’s grace than Adam because
she was created to serve both God and him. When Eve persuades Adam to let her work alone,
she challenges him, her superior, and he yields to her, his inferior. Again, as Adam eats from the
fruit, he knowingly defies God by obeying Eve and his inner instinct instead of God and his
reason. Adam’s visions in Books XI and XII show more examples of this disobedience to God
and the universe’s hierarchy, but also demonstrate that with the Son’s sacrifice, this hierarchy
will be restored once again.

The Fall as Partly Fortunate

After he sees the vision of Christ’s redemption of humankind in Book XII, Adam refers to his
own sin as a felix culpa or “happy fault,” suggesting that the fall of humankind, while originally
seeming an unmitigated catastrophe, does in fact bring good with it. Adam and Eve’s
disobedience allows God to show his mercy and temperance in their punishments and his eternal
providence toward humankind. This display of love and compassion, given through the Son, is a
gift to humankind. Humankind must now experience pain and death, but humans can also
experience mercy, salvation, and grace in ways they would not have been able to had they not
disobeyed. While humankind has fallen from grace, individuals can redeem and save themselves
through continued devotion and obedience to God. The salvation of humankind, in the form of
The Son’s sacrifice and resurrection, can begin to restore humankind to its former state. In other
words, good will come of sin and death, and humankind will eventually be rewarded. This
fortunate result justifies God’s reasoning and explains his ultimate plan for humankind.
2. How is the Redcross Knight a typical representative of medieval chivalry in
Spenser’s Faerie Queene.
Red cross Knight a typical representative of medieval chivalry
Edmund Spenser stands among the greatest writers of the Elizabethan period whose valuable
contributions fashioned a new tradition in English literature. Nowadays he is hailed to be one of
the chief initiators of the Renaissance movement in English literature. Spenser's rich and
vigorous imagery and careful treatment of metrical structure left a profound influence on the
succeeding poets and ensured his place as one of the seminal literary artists in the flamboyant
field of English literature.
Spenser reached the highest pinnacle of his art and invention with his romantic tour de force The
Faerie Queene. It has been hailed as Spenser’s masterpiece, the supreme triumph of the poetic art
in English literature. The poem is an allegorical romance symbolizing the moral and spiritual
journey of an individual through innumerable temptations of sins towards the ultimate attainment
of glory and truth. The poem thus has a serious purpose behind its fanciful characters, settings
and events. All the characters in The Faerie Queene have allegorical significance since they
represent abstract ideas.
Red Cross Knight
Red Cross Knight, fictional character, protagonist of Book I of The Faerie Queene (1590), an
epic poem by Edmund Spenser. The Red Cross Knight represents the virtue of holiness, as well
as St. George and the Anglican Church. He is the chivalric champion and eventual husband of
Una, who symbolizes truth and true religion.
Red cross Symbol of Holiness
The Red Cross Knight who is appointed by the Fairy Queen to assist Lady Una in releasing her
parents from the prison of Dragon is the embodiment of Holiness, piety, and true religion
(Protestantism). Lady Una stands for truth, goodness and wisdom. Her parents symbolise
humanity held by Evil represented by the foul Dragon. The mission of Holiness is to champion
the cause of Truth and regain the right of human race, held by subjection by the mighty force of
Evil.
For a Christian to be holy, he must have true faith. So Holiness must be grounded in Truth in
order to remain pure and immaculate in the world. As long as Truth and Holiness are united no
evildoer can stand against holiness. The power of truth invigorates Holiness. The plot of Book I
mostly concerns the attempts of evildoers to separate Red Cross from Una to decrease his
strength. Most of these villains are meant by Spenser to represent one thing in common: the
Roman Catholic Church. The poet felt that, in the English Reformation, the people had defeated
“false religion” (Catholicism) and embraced “true religion” (Protestantism/Anglicanism).So Red
Cross must defeat villains who mimic the falsehood of the Roman Church. In the course of his
mission he and Una come upon various manifestations of evil. The first encounter is with
monster Error. The monster Error allegorically stands for all sorts of mistakes which every
individual makes in the course of his life.
Fight Between Red cross and Monster
The fight of the Red Cross Knight with the monster Error symbolizes the conflict between
Protestantism and Catholicism. The books and papers vomited by Error allude to the offensive
pamphlets directed against Queen Elizabeth by the Roman Catholics.
Red Cross Knight Defeats Errors
The Red Cross Knight may able to defeat these obvious and disgusting errors, but until he is
united to the truth he is totally lost and can be easily deceived. This deceit is arranged by
Archimago, who symbolizes the hypocrisy of Papacy. When Truth and Holiness are separated,
Hypocrisy gets the chance to mislead Holiness. The separation of Truth from Holiness
symbolises the danger of the English Church against the hypocrisy and plots of the Roman
Catholicism.
Once separated, Holiness is susceptible to the opposite of truth or falsehood. Red Cross may able
to defeat the strength of Sansfoy or faithlessness through his own native virtue, but he falls prey
to the tricks of Falsehood herself Duessa. Duessa also represents the Roman Church, both
because she is “false faith”, and of her rich, purple and gold clothing, which, for Spenser,
displays the greedy wealth and arrogant pomp of Rome. Historically Duessa stands for Queen
Mary who was a Roman Catholic by faith. Having been separated from Truth, the Holiness
becomes weak and feeble. He cannot withstand the fierce attack of Falsehood and becomes a
prey to Duessa. Red Cross becomes a veritable puppet in the hands of Duessa. In the similar
manner Truth also becomes weak and in order to protect her virtue she gets aid and succour from
Lion which stands for Courage. But subsequently the hypocrisy of Archimago makes her an easy
victim Sans Loy who stands for lawlessness. She is later saved by Sir Satyrane who is a symbol
of the Natural force. The implication here is very clear and concrete. Truth cannot be subjected
to Lawlessness for long. It has a natural force which would assuredly impel it to reassert itself
against all hindrance. The humility, symbolised by the Dwarf, informs Truth the story of the
sufferings of Holiness. Then Truth goes in search of Gloriana, the Fairy Queen and Holiness is
led to the palace of Divine Grace by Truth. There he recovers his former strength. He is now
ready to fight against the malignant forces of nature.
Thus at the end Spenser represents the triumph of Holiness and Truth. They may be separated by
various evildoers but ultimately they are united again to bring about the redemption and moral
salvation of the human race.