NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
How is the condemnation of moral duplicity in Book I of the Faerie Queen compatible with the duplicity or multiplicity of meaning that allegory requires? In answering the above question, it is necessary to focus on the function of duplicity / multiplicity in the two contexts presented. In the moral context, duplicity is equivalent with dishonesty, it involves purporting to be one thing whilst being another; it is a necessary deceit. In contrast, multiplicity in allegory involves an affirmation of truths power and its ability to penetrate through boundaries of meaning. In other words, the many levels and meanings of allegory reflect the same truth in different ways, while the many differences in character of the morally deceptive reveal an inconstancy as they challenge truth (in the integrity of the character).
Thus the relationship to truth in the case of the morally duplicitous is one of negation whilst that of the aesthetically duplicitous (allegory) is one of confirmation. In my essay I intend to explore these processes of negation and confirmation in relation to Spenser's Faierie Queen Book I as I explain how allegorical ideologies are employed to create a certain kind of knight and a certain kind of reader that can attain the true whilst learning to recognise and avoid the false. First it may be beneficial to examine the nature of truth as presented in the Faierie Queen in its characteristics of worth, vulnerability, power and simplicity. C.
S. Lewis has stated that the first thing we notice about the Spenserian images of good is their veiled, mysterious, even hidden character and indeed Una, representing Truth, is veiled throughout only relinquishing her coverings on two occasions; that is, when the Red Cross Knight is finally betrothed to her in Canto 12 and when she is by herself free from all mens sight (3: 4). Truth must remain veiled at all other times because it is a valuable prize and therefore vulnerable to exploitation. This is epitomized in the image of Una's virginity, that stubborn forte (6: 3) which can only be gained access to through commitment on the seekers part, the kind of commitment that Arthur displays in his search for his Queen To see her out with labour, and long tyne, / And never vow to rest, till her I find. (9: 15) Like the House of Holiness, Una's gates remain closed to passers by, and so she remains veiled throughout for risk of being raped for her beauty by dangerous characters such as Sans Loy and Archimago. This confirms one of the theories of allegory prevalent in the Renaissance, that allegory conceals ideas from the vulgar and reveals them only to the deserving Therefore, it is only once the Red Cross Knight has declared his intention as Arthur did, to fulfil the quest, returning to that great Faierie Queen (2: 18) and so proving himself a true knight, that Una appears to him without her veil and cloak. When Una eventually does unveil herself, the blinding power of her beauty is evoked in the stanza beginning The blazing brightness e of her beauties became (12: 23), with the plosive Bs and long vowels sounds resonating with the meaning.
Truth cannot be seen by the fainthearted and so if it is to have any appearance amongst the common people it must wear a veil as Moses did in the Old Testament after he had been with God. The second purpose of allegory that Rivers highlights is significant here. He essential power of truth is very hard to enunciate and through allegory we can find a means of saying things that would otherwise be inexpressible. In the same way that Una's great grief will not be told, ? And can more easily be thought (7: 41), huge concepts such as truth cannot be conveyed directly and simply, for if they were they would blind the reader. Biblical parallels seem especially apt to this question.
Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life (italics mine) and yet spoke in parables as a means of conveying profound truths. Similarly, the book of Revelation, which in its very name claims to make clear, is undoubtedly the most obscure book in the bible through its use of symbolism and apocalyptic techniques. In both cases truth is filtered through a screen as obscurity is paradoxically a means of achieving clarity. Allegory is just one of many techniques of defamiliarisation that are used in literature, as it promises to show the world in a new light and so it should not be surprising that the concepts perceived to be most important and powerful, such as truth, should be the most elusive being pinned down and consequently require the most obscurity to be expressed. It can be noted that Spenser's use of archaic language is just another means of making strange that enables the truth to be seen anew. The final characteristic of truth that I would like to discuss here is simplicity and naturalness.
In contrast to Duessa in garments gilt, / And gorgeous gold away (5: 26), Una enters humbly like Jesus Upon a lowly Asse (1: 4) and Under a very, that wimpled was full low, . Duplicity must display itself and captivate with shows (as exemplified by Duessa being set upon a seven-headed beast for more aw and dread (7: 18) ), but truth conceals its splendour and through simple truth (3: 6 italics mine) is able to tame the lion. The naturalness of truth ministers best to those who are most natural. Thus the lion and the fauns, although they be A rude, misshapen monstrous rabblement (6: 8) recognise Una's beauty and goodness and respond accordingly.
Simple creatures are seen to have a keener discernment than men as they not only identify the goodness of Una, but also the evil nature of Duessa and despite her cloudy covering in Canto 5, the animals recognise her, barking, howling and hooting in warning to mankind. An image that ties together these themes effectively, is that of the diamond box that Arthur gives to the Red Crosse Knight: Prince Arthur gave a be of diamond sure, Embossed with gold and gorgeous ornament, Wherein were close few drops of liquor pure Of wondrous worth, and virtue excellent. (9: 19) This gift is a helpful metaphor for the depiction of truth and goodness within the allegory. The liquid is valuable...
Free research essays on topics related to: allegory, red cross, italics mine, knight, una
Research essay sample on Italics Mine Red Cross
