The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser - Book Report/Review Example

The Faerie Queene In The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser, in the first book and the first Canto, Queen Elizabeth is represented by the Faerie Queene, Gloriana. Queen Elizabeth and the Faerie Queene both shared in common their rule over their people. They each had a power and a force that made others hasten to obey them. Furthermore, each person had been able to give lessons and unwillingly, for lack of better word, teach those that obeyed their rule; this can be especially seen in the first Canto, in which the Faerie Queene taught the Knight a few things to bear in mind when handling the Faerie Queene.

The political context is also related to the rule of Queen Elizabeth. The greatest comparison is that the poem touches on the Tudor Dynasty, which Queen Elizabeth had been a part of. This also goes hand-in-hand with the information in the aforementioned paragraph, displaying the similarities between Queen Elizabeth and the Faerie Queene. Throughout the stanzas, the author touches base with happenings that had been going on between Ireland and the trial of Mary, Queen of Scots - though this was not as evident in the later stanzas of the first Canto.

The final political matter discussed, if somewhat vaguely, concerns the place of the Queen - both Elizabeth and that of Faerie - within the government. The position and roles that each person plays makes a huge impact on each of their personal stories, whether real or fictional. The religious background finds its foundation in the Knight of Holiness, or Redcrosse, the man who has set out to find religious salvation. The Faerie Queene represents an obstacle, becoming the virginal being that Redcrosse is lusting after, therefore going against this quest of religious salvation.

Many of the other characters represent different religions - Catholicism and Protestant - and personify the different battles that took place in securing these religions. Some of the puns seen within The Faerie Queene can be found in the names of the characters. Many of these names can be translated into a word or term that shows the symbolism of the name. This was the most common form of the puns. Another form was seen in the characterization, often coupled with personification of an event, such as the different disagreements in regards to religions.

Finally, the Faerie Queene being used to symbolize the Virgin Mary, to an extent - she was not the purest of beings, yet she still preached of purity and the sanctity of love. The Faerie Queene teaches the lesson of lust, and why it is something that should not be sought after or acted upon. She teaches of love and purity, using the mistakes of Redcrosse as an example, as he had fallen prey to lusting after the Faerie Queene. Another subject that she touches upon is that of self-love, though in the context that one should not do too much of it, especially when there is someone else deserving of their love as well.

The Queene goes into great detail to describe the different "symptoms" of lust and too much self-love, and then delving into why such acts are considered sins.