Because meanwhile, the knights in Spenser's tale seem to "...rotate the service of virtue from legend to legend, which the stationless and free-lance Arthur functions once in each of their legends in their stead - like an itinerant Levite" (Nohrnberg, p. 39).
Meanwhile, Arthur is often the right man at the right time: "When the rightful exponent of any virtue in its normal functioning is helpless or elsewhere, it is the moment for Arthur, the helper from heaven" (Parker, 1960). When the Salvage Man has gone past the limits he can deal with, along comes Arthur along that forest path, to help.
And Spenser, in developing the character of Arthur with all his courage and steadfast loyalty to duty and to do what is right, and to protect others from harm, juxtaposes Arthur with the cowardly Shame, who is probably the only coward among the evil of the knights.
The poet depicts Shame fighting against others who are not armed, and who, though antagonists, don't put up much of a fight; and yet Shame runs away when the unarmed antagonists resist. Arthur, a bit later in the story, goes to Shame's rescue, which contrasts Shame's shameful lack of courage and valor with Arthur's full steam of courage and valor.
And still later readers receive a lesson in virtue (not a satirical one but allegorical in its message) and in morality (this may actually be a morality story, was the point posed at the outset of this paper) when two young knights, who have taken direct action (impetuously and foolishly) against Arthur after Turpine accused Arthur of "great discourtisie," get their due.
When one of the youth knights, Inexperience, lashes at Arthur with his sword, he "is killed by the blow Arthur returns" (Parker, 241). The lesson shared by Spenser here (and interpreted by Parker) is a lesson that rings "true to life. Youth may survive the encounter in which he has been deceived into taking the wrong side; inexperience cannot, it necessarily dies in the very act of...
Faerie Queen Edmund Spenser opens, prefaces, and introduces The Faerie Queen with a letter addressed to Sir Walter Raleigh. In this letter, Spenser outlines his intention behind writing the epic poem, "Which For That It Giveth Great Light to The Reader." Spenser writes, "The generall end therefore of all the booke is to fashion a gentleman or noble person in vertuous and gentle discipline." To accomplish this goal, The Faerie Queen
" It is she who meets with Arthur and brings him to the rescue of her Knight. But although he is good and true, the Red Cross night is not perfect, he can be defeated without help from God and the name of Arthur who represents England's great past, and the vision of his queen. Significantly, Arthur's glory and victory over Orgoglio comes not through military might, but through showing the
She argues that the evasiveness and incongruites in the narrative exist since Spenser is facing issues that are not easily answered. From the start, Britomart represents an authority figure, a power not found in any other knight in the Faerie Queene. Spenser says that Britomart literally cannot be beaten, since she carries a powerful magic spear, or phallic symbol (depending on the interpretation) that refers back to the theme of
He stated that, "I mean printed works produced ostensibly to give children spontaneous pleasure and not primarily to teach them, nor solely to make them good, nor to keep them profitably quiet." (Darton 1932/1982:1) So here the quest is for the capture and promotion of children's imagination through stories and fables that please as well as enlighten. There is always the fallout that once a child learns to love
Chastity in Renaissance Literature and Political Power Chastity was a concept that was promoted throughout Renaissance society by the church and those in political power. Chastity was promoted not only as a virtue and measure of the worthiness of a woman at the time of her marriage, it was also utilized as a means to repress women and their ability to gain their own power in society. However, in some ways,
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