The Faerie Queene | On National Identity and Leisurely Reading

It has recently struck me that I classify "pleasure reading" and "class reading" in two disjoint categories. While I do enjoy reading the works of Shakespeare and other Renaissance authors, for instance, these are not the texts that I immediately go to when I think, "I would like to read something." There is always that part of me that says, "Huh, there seems to be an obvious connection between this work and other contemporary works of the time!" or "Ah, yes, this does (or perhaps does not) reflect the societal norms of 17th century England quite well!" I am always looking for that think that would make a brilliant paper, even if I set out to read solely for the sake of reading. Perhaps because they are held to a different standard than other works (and they are, undoubtedly, held to a different standard), I do this with any works that fall into the "established literary canon," since that is what, as an English major, I have been trained to do.

That said, I would venture to say that Spencer's The Faerie Queene is the closest I have come to being able to read a "classic" and "important" work without over-analyzing it. There are times where I have been more eager to find out what happens to Una and the Lion, for instance ("Is it gonna eat her?"; "Where will they go next?"), than to think, "What does the lion symbolize in this context?" or "What societal commentary is being made by pairing the Lion with Una in this passage?" It has been a refreshing change of pace, and it has been nice to read a text with minimal pressure to determine why it is such a deeply-rooted part of the established literary canon and a staple Renaissance work.

And with that said, I do still feel obligated to give a thought-out and more in-depth post on The Faerie Queene. So let's talk about English nationalism. While a decidedly "English" national identity had already begun to form by the time that Elizabeth I took the throne, the defeat of the Spanish armada in the mid-late 1500s (if I recall correctly) truly cemented this idea of "Englishness." It would be unsurprising then, to find instances of English nationalism in Spencer's work (published in the late 1500s), and so I would like to turn to Chaucer and Arthur. If I were to ask who the top five quintessential English writers were, I have no doubt that Chaucer would be a recurring answer, even more so if the question addressed only authors contemporary to or older than Spencer. And so when Spencer writes in his pseudo-middle-English and in a way which bears many similarities to Chaucer's The Tale of Sir Thopas (I discussed this briefly in my last post), I cannot help but think that Spencer is drawing a connection between himself, an English writer during this period of growing nationalism, and one of the greatest writers in English history, Chaucer, as an expression of English nationalism. What better way to express this nationalism than by honoring one of the greatest English writers through your own work? This can also be seen in works such as Shakespeare's The Two Noble Kinsmen, though I will not get into that here.

Another instance of nationalism is the portrayal of Arthur in The Faerie Queene. Arthur is arguably one of the most well-known English heroes (whether he is a mythical or historical figure makes no difference), and so making him the hero who rescues the main character Redcrosse is a very "English" thing to do. Arthur, the English hero, saves the day; England is righteous, powerful, and just. Spencer could hardly portray England in a better light than by portraying Arthur this way in his work. Further, it is a common interpretation that Arthur, in TFQ, is portrayed as a very Christ-like figure. While Arthur has an obvious connection with religion in many of the tales in which he appears, making Arthur himself a Christ-like figure further elevates Arthur's status as a hero and as a symbol of English identity. Thus, it seems evident to me that Spencer and The Faerie Queene are both clearly involved with the rise and cementation of English nationalism. I am sure there are more instances of this throughout TFQ, but these are the two that jumped out at me while reading.

Until next time.