The Faerie Queene - Symbolism and Allusion

Symbolism and Allusion

Throughout The Faerie Queene, Spenser creates “a network of allusions to events, issues, and particular persons in England and Ireland” including Mary, Queen of Scots, the Spanish Armada, the English Reformation, and even the Queen herself (Norton Anthology 775). We also know that James VI of Scotland read the poem, and was very insulted by Duessa – a very negative depiction of his mother, Mary Queen of Scots (McCabe 48). The Faerie Queene was then banned in Scotland. This led to a significant decrease in Elizabeth’s support for the poem (McCabe 48). Within the text, both the Faerie Queene and Belphoebe serve as two of the many personifications of Queen Elizabeth, some of which are “far from complimentary” (Norton Anthology 775). Although it does praise her in some ways, The Faerie Queene questions Elizabeth’s ability to rule so effectively because of her gender, and also inscribes the “shortcomings” of her rule (Heale 11). There is a character named Britomart who represents married chastity. This character is told that her destiny is to be an “immortall wombe” – basically, to have children (Heale 11). Here, Spenser is making a reference to Elizabeth’s unmarried state and is touching upon anxieties of the 1590’s about what would happen after her death since the kingdom had no heir (Heale 11). The Faerie Queene’s original audience would have been able to identify many of the poem’s characters by analyzing the symbols and attributes that spot Spenser’s text. For example, readers would immediately know that “a woman who wears scarlet clothes and resides along the Tibet River “represents the Roman Catholic Church” (Norton Anthology 775). However, marginal notes jotted in early copies of The Faerie Queene suggest that Spenser’s contemporaries were unable to come to a consensus about the precise historical referents of the poem’s “myriad figures” (NA 775). In fact, Sir Walter Raleigh’s wife identified many of the poem’s female characters as “allegorical representations of herself” (Norton Anthology 775). Other symbols prevalent in The Faerie Queene are the numerous animal characters present in the novel. They take the role of “visual figures in the allegory and in illustrative similes and metaphors.” (Marotti 69) Specific examples include the swine present in Lucifera’s castle who embodied gluttony, and Duessa, the deceitful crocodile who may represent Mary the Queen of Scots in a negative light.