Ajaz Ahmed Bhatt

SUMMARY Canto 1 A knight, identified only by the red cross on his shield, accompanies an unnamed lady (later revealed to be Una) across a plain. A storm arises, forcing them to take shelter in a beautiful forest; unfortunately, the forest turns out to be the “Wandering Wood,” where the monster Errour makes her den. Una realizes this and warns Redcrosse not to venture forth, but the knight proceeds anyway and finds himself locked in battle with Errour. Errour gains the advantage by spewing forth vile misinformation at Redcrosse, but Una encourages him to stand firm in his faith. Doing so, Redcrosse is able to gain the upper hand and strangle Errour. He leaves Errour’s body to her foul offspring, who gorge themselves on the body until they burst. Redcrosse and Una depart the forest and encounter a hermit, who is actually the sorcerer Archimago in disguise. Archimago offers them shelter, but while they sleep, he plots against them with his dark arts. The sorcerer summons sprit

ANALYSIS Canto 1 Redcrosse represents Holiness, while Una represents Truth. Specifically, Una represents the truth of Protestantism against that of Roman Catholicism, which Errour represents. When Errour spews forth her lies upon Redcrosse Knight, Catholic tracts and papal injunctions are among the papers that make up her vomit. Redcrosse can only achieve victory over Errour by holding to the true faith, Protestant Christianity. In this way, holiness triumphs over falsehood. Canto 2 Archimago means “arch-image,” a name that reflects his use of deceitful appearances to work his evil. Having already failed to diminish Redcrosse’s virtue through the false Una (something which seems like the truth, but is not), he has more success with the false image of Una’s unfaithfulness. Redcrosse has a much harder time quelling his doubts about Una’s fidelity, leading to his flight into the forest and his encounter with Sansfoy. Sansfoy means “faithlessness,” and here represents Redcrosse’s own faith

Faerie Queene Summary. BOOK 1,2 and 3 Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene is a sixteenth-century English epic poem. Spenser originally intended the poem to be a series of twelve books, each devoted to one of twelve moral virtues as exemplified by the characters of twelve knights. In an introduction addressed to Sir Walter Raleigh, Spenser explains that the Faerie Queene, Gloriana, represents both Queen Elizabeth and the abstract idea of Glory. King Arthur, whom Spenser portrays as the epitome of all twelve virtues, experiences a vision of Gloriana and finds her in “Faeryland,” where she is hosting her twelve-day feast. Each day, a different emblematic knight undertakes a quest, with Arthur often joining the escapades. Book 1 begins not at the Queene’s feast, but with the in-progress adventure of the Redcrosse Knight, who represents “Holiness.” When Lady Una requests a warrior to free her parents’ kingdom from a rampaging dragon, Gloriana dispatches Redcrosse on the mission. Traveling w