THE FAERIE QUEENE( Excerpt from Book I, Canto I )
This excerpt from The Faerie Queene provides examples of an allegory, and the stanzaic form known as the Spenserian stanza. |
The Faerie Queene is an allegory
designed to set forth "a gentleman or noble person in virtuous and gentle discipline." The central characters
are Gloriana, the queen of an imaginary ("faerie") court, who symbolizes Glory, and her suitor, Prince Arthur, who
stands for Magnificence (Munificence), "which virtue is the perfection of all the rest." Besides these, the twelve moral virtues
were to have been separately represented by twelve knights, each performing deeds and overcoming temptations according to his
character. But as the poet's design was never finished, only half these virtues get representation, and the central characters receive
rather less prominence than the six several virtues which are set forth in the six completed books. Each of these books, consisting of
twelve cantos, is practically a complete story in itself. The first deals with the Knight of the Red Cross, or Holiness, who, clad in the armor
of the Christian faith, is sent forth by his Queen as the Champion of Una (Truth) to deliver her parents, "who had been by a huge dragon
many years shut up in a brasen castle." Beneath the moral allegory may be read also a political one, according to which Gloriana
is Queen Elizabeth, Prince Arthur is Lord Leicester, Duessa is Mary Queen of Scots, etc. But after all, the poetry of the poem is worth far more
than the elaborate allegory. The language and spelling are deliberately and sometimes falsely
archaic.
-- English Literature, by Alphonso Gerald Newcomer |
Upon a great adventure he was bond,
That greatest Gloriana to him gave,
That greatest Glorious Queene of Faerie lond,
To winne him worship, and her grace to have,
Which of all earthly things he most did crave;
And ever as he rode, his hart did earne
To prove his puissance in battell brave
Upon his foe, and his new force to learne;
Upon his foe, a Dragon horrible and stearne.
A lovely Ladie rode him faire beside,
Upon a lowly Asse more white then snow,
Yet she much whiter, but the same did hide
Under a vele, that wimpled was full low,
And over all a blacke stole she did throw,
As one that inly mournd: so was she sad,
And heavie sat upon her palfrey slow;
Seemed in heart some hidden care she had,
And by her in a line a milke white lambe she lad.
So pure and innocent, as that same lambe,
She was in life and every vertuous lore,
And by descent from Royall lynage came
Of ancient Kings and Queenes, that had of yore
Their scepters stretcht from East to Westerne shore,
And all the world in their subjection held;
Till that infernall feend with foule uprore
Forwasted all their land, and them expeld:
Whom to avenge, she had this Knight from far compeld.
Whoever can endure unmixed delight,
whoever can tolerate music and painting and
poetry all in one, whoever wishes to be rid of thought and to let the busy anvils of the
brain be silent for a time, let him read the "Faery Queen."
  ---James Russell Lowell |
Enforst to seeke some covert nigh at hand,
A shadie grove not far away they spide,
That promist ayde the tempest to withstand:
Whose loftie trees yclad with sommers pride,
Did spred so broad, that heavens light did hide,
Not perceable with power of any starre:
And all within were pathes and alleies wide,
With footing worne, and leading inward farre:
Faire harbour that them seemes; so in they entred arre.
To Allegory in the Glossary | |
---|---|
Alphabetic Page Version | Entire Glossary Version |
To Spenserian Stanza in the Glossary | |
Alphabetic Page Version | Entire Glossary Version |
PROTHALAMIONStanzas 1 through 6
This excerpt from Prothalamion provides examples of an occasional poem, a prothalamium, and a refrain. |
In the text of this example, both the spelling and punctuation have been modernized to facilitate ease of reading. |
Prothalamion. termed
a "Spousall Verse" by Spenser, was written in honor of the approaching double marriage of the Ladies
Elizabeth and Katherine Somerset in 1596, apparently celebrating some visit of theirs to Essex House. F. T. Palgrave, 1824-97, an English poet and critic, said of this poem, "Nowhere has Spenser more emphatically displayed himself as the very poet of Beauty; The Renaissance impulse in England is here to be seen at its highest and purest." |
Eftsoons the nymphs, which now had flowers their fill,
Ran all in haste, to see that silver brood
As they came floating on the crystal flood;
Whom when they saw, they stood amazèd still
Their wondering eyes to fill;
Them seem'd they never saw a sight so fair
Of fowls, so lovely, that they sure did deem
Them heavenly born, or to be that same pair
Which through the sky draw Venus' silver team;
For sure they did not seem
To be begot of any earthly seed,
But rather Angels or of Angels' breed;
In the original text, Spenser spelled "summer's heat" as "Somers-heat," apparently intended as an ornamental pun on Somerset, the surname of the sisters whose pending double wedding inspired the writing of this poem. |
Then forth they all out of their baskets drew,
Great store of flowers, the honour of the field,
That to the sense did fragrant odours yield,
All which upon those goodly birds they threw,
And all the waves did strew,
That like old Peneus' waters they did seem
When down along by pleasant Tempe's shore
Scatter'd with flowers, through Thessaly they stream,
That they appear, through lillies' plenteous store,
Like a bride's chamber-floor.
Two of those nymphs, meanwhile, two garlands bound
Of freshest flowers which in that mead they found,
The which presenting all in trim array,
Their snowy foreheads therewithall they crown'd;
Whilst one did sing this lay
Prepared against that day,
Against their bridal day, which was not long:
Sweet Thames! run softly, till I end my song.
To Occasional Poem in the Glossary | |
---|---|
Alphabetic Page Version | Entire Glossary Version |
To Prothalamium in the Glossary | |
Alphabetic Page Version | Entire Glossary Version |
To Refrain in the Glossary | |
Alphabetic Page Version | Entire Glossary Version |
EPITHALAMIONStanzas 1 through 6
This excerpt provides an example of an epithalamium. |
In this excerpt the author's original spellings have been retained. |
Early before the worlds light giving lampe
His golden beame upon the hils doth spred,
Having disperst the nights unchearefull dampe,
Doe ye awake, and with fresh lustyhed,
Go to the bowre of my belovèd love,
My truest turtle dove,
Bid her awake; for Hymen is awake,
And long since ready forth his maske to move,
With his bright Tead that flames with many a flake,
And many a bachelor to waite on him,
In theyr fresh garments trim.
Bid her awake therefore, and soone her dight,
For lo! the wishèd day is come at last,
That shall, for al the paynes and sorrowes past,
Pay to her usury of long delight:
And whylest she doth her dight,
Doe ye to her of joy and solace sing,
That all the woods may answer, and your eccho ring.
Bring with you all the Nymphes that you can heare,
Both of the rivers and the forrests greene,
And of the sea that neighbours to her neare,
Al with gay girlands goodly wel beseene.
And let them also with them bring in hand
Another gay girland,
For my fayre love of lillyes and of roses,
Bound truelove wize with a blew silke riband.
And let them make great store of bridale poses,
And let them eeke bring store of other flowers,
To deck the bridale bowers.
And let the ground whereas her foot shall tread,
For feare the stones her tender foot should wrong,
Be strewed with fragrant flowers all along,
And diapred lyke the discolored mead.
Which done, doe at her chamber dore awayt,
For she will waken strayt;
The whiles doe ye this song unto her sing
The woods shall to you answer, and your Eccho ring.
Ye Nymphes of Mulla, which with carefull heed
The silver scaly trouts doe tend full well,
And greedy pikes which use therein to feed,
(Those trouts and pikes all others doo excell)
And ye likewise which keepe the rushy lake,
Where none doo fishes take,
Bynd up the locks the which hang scatterd light,
And in his waters which your mirror make,
Behold your faces as the christall bright,
That when you come whereas my love doth lie,
No blemish she may spie.
And eke ye lightfoot mayds which keepe the deere
That on the hoary mountayne use to towre,
And the wylde wolves which seeke them to devoure,
With your steele darts doo chace from comming neer,
Be also present heere,
To helpe to decke her and to help to sing,
That all the woods may answer, and your eccho ring.
Wake now, my love, awake! for it is time,
The Rosy Morne long since left Tithones bed,
All ready to her silver coche to clyme,
And Phoebus gins to shew his glorious hed.
Hark how the cheerefull birds do chaunt theyr laies,
And carroll of loves praise!
The merry Larke hir mattins sings aloft,
The thrush replyes, the mavis descant playes,
The Ouzell shrills, the Ruddock warbles soft,
So goodly all agree, with sweet consent,
To this dayes merriment.
Ah! my deere love, why doe ye sleepe thus long,
When meeter were that ye should now awake,
T'awayt the comming of your joyous make,
And hearken to the birds love-learnèd song,
The deawy leaves among?
For they of joy and pleasance to you sing,
That all the woods them answer, and theyr eccho ring.
My love is now awake out of her dreame,
And her fayre eyes, like stars that dimmèd were
With darksome cloud, now shew theyr goodly beams
More bright then Hesperus his head doth rere.
Come now, ye damzels, daughters of delight,
Helpe quickly her to dight.
But first come ye, fayre Houres, which were begot,
In Joves sweet paradice, of Day and Night,
Which doe the seasons of the year allot,
And al that ever in this world is fayre
Doe make and still repayre.
And ye three handmayds of the Cyprian Queene,
The which doe still adorne her beauties pride,
To Epithalamium in the Glossary | |
---|---|
Alphabetic Page Version | Entire Glossary Version |