The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser as an allegorical poem

The Faerie Queen (Book 1)

Edmund Spenser

What is an allegory? Describe The Faerie Queen as an allegorical poem.

Answer: An allegory is a narrative that is used to convey a broad message about real-world problems and events in a character, place, or event. Authors have used metaphorical forms throughout history to convey or explain complex concepts and ideas in a way that is understandable or appealing to their viewers, readers or listeners.

There are two meanings in an allegory: a primary or surface meaning; and secondary or underlying meaning. Some of the fables are presented in disguise of others. Descriptively, Spencer's The Faerie Queen: book 1 shows the battle between evil and virtue and the victory of virtue in the end. Now we need a critical discussion that The Faerie Queen is a metaphor.

The Faerie Queen discusses the actions and interactions of virtue and weakness with moral and spiritual fairy tales. Good characters stand for different qualities and bad characters stand for bad. The Red Cross Night is for holiness, and Lady Una, for truth and righteousness. His parents are the symbol of the human race and the dragons who kept them in prison have stood up for sin. The goal of holiness is to fight the truth against evil and thus regain its rightful place in the heart of man. Thus the Red Cross Knight, encouraged by Lady Una, kills the monster and moves on. This is the first moral truth taught in the story. Archimago, the magician, who is the symbol of hypocrisy, is an evil in disguise. His mission is to work out terrible designs and conspiracies against the Red Cross Knight and Lady Una so that they become separated from each other.

The religious metaphors of the book are mixed with moral and spiritual fables. Reform was the most important religious movement of the time, and Spencer metaphorically presented it in his epic. He is a staunch supporter of the Reformed Church of England, which is the only true church for him and against the Pope and Catholic Church. Here the Red Cross Knight signifies the Reformed Church of England. The parents represent Lady Una Humanity, and the ugly dragon that captured them is the Pope of Rome. Monster error metaphorically refers to the error or mistake that humans make during their lifetime. The Red Cross Knight's fight with the giant flaw symbolizes the conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism. Funny pamphlets directed against Roman Elizabeth by Roman Catholics proved to be books and papers vomited by error.

Moral and religious forms have merged with political fairy tales in The Faerie Queen. According to political mythology, the Red Cross Knight is known as St. George of England and Lord Leicester is known as Prince Arthur. Lady Una stands for the truth that is represented by the National Church of England. His parents are people from England who are subjugated to Roman Catholicism represented by dragons (Christianity). Monster error is one of the most powerful but evil forces in Roman Catholicism. Archimago is Philip II of Spain, who was a Roman Catholic by faith. Archimago plays the role as an instrument of separation between the Red Cross Knight (Holiness) and Lady Una (Truth). He may also be identified with the Roman Catholic Pope.

In conclusion based on the above discussion, we can safely deduce that Spencer's The Faerie Queen is not only the single largest metaphorical epic we have read in English literature with a great moral and spiritual parable but it is an allegorical poem also in its true sense of meaning. 

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