The Faerie Queene

This essay will be a critical assessment of The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser. It is a direct response to the text itself and will examine the concerns, idioms as well as styles of early modern writing. The poem is the first epic poem in English, written around sixty years before Paradise Lost. Evidently, the epic is a focus on the theological virtues of Christian faith, yet Spenser could not resist including classical mythology and legends in the books. Moreover, the poem is said to be a religious, moral along with political allegory. It would be accurate to say that Spenser intended The Faerie Queene to be read mainly by young men, desiring to cultivate virtues in their lives. Spencer chose a nine-line verse stanza, modernly known as the…

Tragic love stories have fascinated humans since ancient times. They conquered the hearts of many and opened the ways for more love stories. Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343 – to October 1400) is one of the most famous English authors of the middle ages. Chaucer is considered the father of English literature and thrilled the mass with his literary works. His most famous works include the Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde. Yet, again a tragic love story that is still widely popular in the 21st…

What is it that we see in a knight or a hero? Do we focus on their physical appearance or do we think about their moral representation? From medieval texts to modern day movies, some aspects of physical appearance and ethics have changed while some have stayed the same. Writers often depict men in a way in which they feel is suitable to justify them as a knight or hero. Sometimes, though, writers try to connect the reader to a character in order to make them feel equal. A quality like judgement…

Catholics were often criticized because Protestants such as Spenser and Foxe believed that they oppressed their people and only allowed them to interpret the scriptures in the way the church told them to. Foxe demonstrates his love of Protestantism and its importance by telling the stories of selfless and courageous men who translated the scriptures so that the public could read and understand them. This allowed the Protestants to interpret God and love in their own way, which was much freer…

Every human beings have been at least lazy once, whether be it taking a nap on a couch or procrastinating till the very last second. Everyone is born to be lazy. However, laziness, that is part of one 's everyday life, is considered to be one of the seven deadly sins. In fact, in an epic poem "the Faerie Queene" by Edmund Spenser, this very sin is personified. In addition, not only is he personified, but also symbolizes in many potentially different ways depending on the interpretation of the…

“The mind maketh good or ill, wretch or happy, rich or poor.” These were the words of Edmund Spenser. This comes from the third book of “The Faerie Queene” written by Edmund Spenser. He was a very famous poet. In fact, he was one of the greatest poets of England. He wrote his book “The Faerie Queene” in Ireland. He took over a 3,000 acre plantation in Ireland too. He had two wives and a daughter and son. His children’s names were unknown. There are many facts and information about Edmund…

Since the dawn of man, steel rings, blades flash, sparks fly, fire spews, fangs snap, and roars rip. Well, since the dawn of fantasy, anyways. Good ol’ fashioned knights in shining armor running off to slay a dragon—not that it always ends in the knight actually saving the princess. Or killing the dragon. Or living. Brave warriors of epic literature like Beowulf and the Redcrosse knight fight climatic battles against unnamed dragons of legendary proportions, and their tales parallel one…

Throughout time the concept of a hero has changed. Although the meaning has remained the same over the years, what defines them varies. This is shown when analyzing and comparing texts from different time periods such as Beowulf, Lanval, The faerie Queene, and Oroonoko. All four texts present a hero and share some similarities and differences. Each text was written during different time periods therefore each society having different morals and views which reflects what they defined a hero to…

The Early Modern Period, also known as the English Renaissance period, symbolizes the rebirth of classical learning, and the refocus of ancient Greek and Roman intelligence. The Renaissance movement initiated in Italy and found its way to England in the 1500’s and lasted until the 1700’s. It was a period where king’s had godly rights to rule, many scientific investigations were being held, and many scholars were pursing the understanding of ancient Greece and Rome. Literature of the Renaissance…

There were many other poets that influenced him and his work like Edmund Spenser, John Milton, Hellenism, and Shakespeare. (The Influences on John Keats: Hellenism, Milton and Shakespeare) Keats was inspired by Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene to abandon his studies on becoming a surgeon and return back to his love for poetry and pursue it as his career. (Poetry Foundation) He used Hellenistic elements in his main text from his first few poems to his last. He aspired to be as great as his idols…