Allegory in The Faerie Queene

An allegory is a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another. It is a device in which characters or events represent or symbolize ideas and concepts. ↙

In the 'Fairie Queene' there is a fusion of three kinds of allegories: A moral or spiritual allegory, a religious allegory and a personal and historical allegory. ↙

The moral or religious allegory Spenser's objective of producing a work that might instruct and guide gentlemen and noblemen into living morally and religiously upright and virtuous lives: ↙

“The generall end therefore of all the booke, is to fashion a gentleman or noble person in vertuous and gentle discipline.” (Letter to Sir Walter Raleighi) ↙

The good characters of the book stand for the various virtues, while the bad characters symbolize the corresponding vices. The Red Cross Knight represents Holiness and Lady Una stands for Truth, Goodness and Wisdom. Her parents symbolize the Human race and the Dragon who has imprisoned them stands for Evil. The mission of Holiness (Red Cross Knight) is to help Truth (Lady Una) to fight Evil (Dragon) and thus regain its rightful place in the human heart. ↙

This moral and spiritual allegory mingles with the religious allegory of the book. The reformation was the most important religious movement of the time and in this epic Spenser has represented it allegorically. The Red Cross Knight, for example, represents the Manhood of England or the Reformed Church fighting against the corruption. The parents of Una symbolize Humanity and the foul Dragon who has captured them, stands for Pope of Rome. Archimago represents the cunningness and hypocrisy of Papacy. ↙

With these two allegories there mingles a third one--a political and personal allegory. Spenser wrote his epic especially for the glory of Queen Elizabeth and his courtiers. The Dedication of The Faerie Queene establishes the connection between Elizabeth I and Gloriana. The historical/national aspects of the allegory are calculated to give her praise, glory, and honor for her virtue, valor, and noble sovereignty: ↙

“The most high, mightie, and magnificent/

Emperesse .../

Elizabeth/

By the grace of God .../

Defender of the Faith etc./

Her most humble servaunt/

Edmund Spenser/

Doth in all humilitie/

Dedicate, Present, and Consecrate These His Labours/

TO LIVE WITH THE ETERNITIE OF HER FAME.” ↙

There are countless other personal and historical references also. 

The Faerie Queene as an Epic

There are about five epic conventions involving the text of the epic. In The Faerie Queene, Spenser uses the first epic convention in medias res (Lat. “into the middle of things”) since the beginning of Book I, Canto I starts with “A Gentle Knight was pricking on the plaine..” which is middle of the story.↙ 

A second epic convention in terms of the textual aspect is the invocation of the Muse at the beginning of an epic poem. In The Faerie Queene, Spenser remains true to this tradition. ↙

 Epic similes, also called Homeric simile, are a third textual epic convention. There are many examples of this convention in The Faerie Queene. For example, comparing Error's defiling 'quality' to the flooding of the Nile and the mudd it leaves, ↙

 “As when old father Nilus gins to swell/With timely pride above the Aegyptian vale,/His fattie waves do fertile slime outwell,/And overflow each plaine and lowly dale:/But when his later spring gins to avale,/Huge heapes of mudd he leaves,” ↙ 

The fourth epic convention with regards to the textual aspect, is the use of frequent, long speeches in elevated tone : for example, “Una's” speech in stanzas 51 and 52 of Book I. ↙ 

The last epic convention in terms of text is the frequency of epithets, re-namings of, mainly, characters by stock phrases. For example: “The Knight of the Redcrosse” is among others named “the Champion (stout)”, “the valiant Elfe”, “the Elfin knight”. ↙ 

These epic conventions, covering both text and content, bring us to the third type, the content-related characteristics. ↙

 A first one, and perhaps the most important deals with the hero of the epic. The hero is the Redcrosse Knight who engages in a journey with the fair and faithful Una and his Dwarf servant to defeat the horrible dragon who terrorizes the land of the lady's parents and who hided themselves and their nationals in fear of the beast. He contains all the characteristics of an epic hero. ↙

 A next epic convention in terms of content is the intervention in human affairs by Gods or supernatural forces and such supernatural intervention occurs in the battle between Redcrosse and Sansjoy. ↙

 A third epic convention concerning the content is the vast setting of the story: Faerie Land and hell.