“The Faerie Queene” as a Romantic Epic
The Faerie Queene is a notable literary work by Edmund Spenser. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, to various questions of The Faerie Queene.
Answer
Write a note on “The Faerie Queene” as a Romantic epic.
Or “The Faerie Queene,” Book I is blended with epic and romantic qualities.- Discuss.
The Canto 1, Book 1, of “The Faerie Queene” by Edmund Spenser (1552/53-1599) is a small part. So, it cannot be considered either an epic or a romance. To call it a romantic epic, we must investigate the entire book. However, we can try to find out the epic and romantic qualities of Canto 1.
Mingled Invocation to the Muses: An epic is a long poem with heroic actions written in an elevated style. Invocation is an inevitable part of an epic, and Canto 1 begins with that. Spenser makes an appropriate invocation. At first, he invokes the Muse, who inspired him a short time ago to write a pastoral poem. Now, he undertakes writing the stern deeds of war and singing the deeds of noble birth. Then he goes on to pray to Clio, the chief of the nine muses, to assist him in carrying out the task assigned to him. He Says:
O help thou my weake wit, and sharpen my dull Tong.
The poet does not forget to pay tribute to Venus, the goddess of love, and her son Cupid, as his poem also deals with love and chivalry. Lastly, he pays glowing tribute to Queen Elizabeth for her role in national life.
Heroism: The poem deals with the elements of the heroic deeds of the Red Cross Knight, who alone fights with a powerful giant, the monster of Error, and defeats that monster courageously. Thus, this canto contains the essential aspect of the epic. But the conclusion is unheroic. The knight cannot come out of the netcast over them by the magician Archimago. Spenser reveals Knight’s heroism in the following lines,
Wherein old dints of deepe wounds did remaine,
The cruell markes of many a bloudy fielde;
Romantic Elements with an Epic Feature: “The Faerie Queene” can be best described as a romantic epic. Along with epic features, the romantic elements are also discussed. In Canto 1, the romantic elements occur to a large degree. In the theme, there is Knightly love. Nature, in all her grandeur, is depicted perfectly. Through the forest, the journey of the Red Cross Knight and Lady Una to release her parents is the paradigm of scenic beauty. The trees in the grove where the Knight and Una had to take shelter against the storm were very tall and were covered with thick leaves from which the light of the sun, moon, and stars could not penetrate. It was like a woven sheet of leaves to act as an umbrella to protect them from the rain.
War and Love: War is the theme of epic, and love is the theme of love poems. They were the main themes of romances of Spenser’s time. Spenser added religion to it. In this Canto, the poet treats love, war, and religion romantically. The purity of Una’s love charms the reader. The intrigues of Archimago in the guise of religion, though hated, but undoubtedly romantic. Here is the indication of the warrior and war field,
A Gentle Knight was pricking on the plaine,
Y clad in mightie armes and silver shielde,
…………………………………………….
The cruel markes of many a bloudy fielde;
Sympathetic Heroine: This is the key point of any romance and is the sign of a romantic epic. Lady Una is the heroine of that epic and is so sympathetic. When Una’s parents are entrapped by the Dragon, she will find a way to rescue them. Here, we find the sign of her sympathy. From this point of view, we can say that “ The Faerie Queene is a romance.
Chivalric Themes and Adventure: The narrative structure of “The Faerie Queene” is built around the exploits of knights who embark on quests to uphold virtues such as Holiness, Temperance, and Chastity. These adventures are replete with battles against dragons, enchantresses, and other mythical beings, evoking the spirit of medieval chivalry and romance.
A Happy Ending: A happy ending is the last quality of a romance. In the last moment of the epic, we see that the Red Cross Knight has effectively rescued Una’s parents from the Dragon. They came back to their own kingdom. This epic is filled with all the qualities of a romantic epic.
From the above discussion, we see that “The Faerie Queene” contains almost all of the features that define a literary work as epic and a romantic piece. So we can mark it as a Romantic epic without any hesitation.