In-depth exploration of The Faerie queene Book 1

Abstract

Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene exhibits a complex array of detail that cannot be overlooked, from the description of Red Crosse Knight and Error to the successful completion of his quest for holiness. My thesis will carefully examine Book 1, with the most attention given to Cantos 1, 2, and 11. Within these sections, a solid foundation is established, and the other cantos rest heavily on this groundwork. More significantly, answers to the following queries will be revealed both through my lens of interpretation as well as relying on other scholar's previous work: What does the encounter between Red Crosse Knight and Error represent, and how does it denounce the Catholic Church? What were the reasons for Spenser's decision to use medieval diction and a variety of character names from several languages within his work? Who, aside from Sidney, were the other writers that inspired Spenser's epic, and in turn, what knowledge did Spenser gain from each of their works? How does the encounter between Red Crosse Knight and the dragon compare to the temptation of Jesus in the desert, and why is this event integral to the epic? Finally, how does the epic both delight and teach readers, to quote Sidney, and what are the means/conventions used to accomplish this task?