'Faerie Queene'. James Vincent Holleran Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1961 The inorM Characters in Spenser's 'Faerie Queene'. James Vincent Holleran Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Holleran, James Vincent, "The inorM Characters in Spenser's 'Faerie Queene'." (1961). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 692. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/692 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This dissertation has been 6 2—49 microfilmed exactly as received HOLLERAN, James Vincent, 1928— THE MINOR CHARACTERS IN SPENSER'S FAERIE QUEENE. Louisiana State University, Ph.D., 1961 Language and Literature, modern University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan PHI 'NOT? CHARACTERS IN CFLNSER'; F a ERIE QUEENS D: scert.’at '.on Pubmi tied to tho Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana Gtate University and icricultural and Mechanical College in partial, fulfillment of the requirements for the dec1’©© of Doc to i’ of Philosophy ' n The Department of English by James V. Holleran P. A• , Paint Joseph's C ollege, 1955 H. , U niversity of Notre Dame, 1957 August, 1961 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The author deeply appreciates the help and encourage ment of Professor Waldo P. McNeir, under whom this study began, and Professor Esmond L. Karilla, under whom it was completed. Thanks are a lso due to Professors Nathaniel I'. Caffee and Lewis P. binpson for reading the study and for their helpful suggestions. The author also wishes to express his thanks to Mrs. Magee for her patience with the typing and to Miss Ann Lhaeler for her enlightening observations about the poem. T.'.PLE OF CO’JTEET: .P'TP'CT.................................................................................................. *.v r fr.T* T ' r n j ^ T ' > ~ . 1 . Plot Chnroctc:’ * n. tho JOp > c of ;.r! oi’to , Tn::rc, and oponser CKiPTEP ' T Potrnlo n trrc n '::t OP chapter :t't ;t Pale tn tf,ron*. c t. i * ....... ...... 10 8 CH'PTEP TV Prarradochio ......................................................................................?l0 CH APT Eli V Kale and F^rruln I rotaf ont ct::. ............................Pfl n? PL1 OG IE. PITY...........................................................................................31 V I ....................................................................................................................1 1 i t AH./rRACT llthourh .'.penserU: Faerie Queene has received a groat deni of or't'cal attention, moat often the poem hoc been stud'ed in torn, of t s allegorical implications, its .-tructurnl form, end the portrayal of the major charac ter:.'. the n'ner characters have never been studied in -ein'l. i !f :: study attempts to establish t he i r » mport- nre r 'ho poem, to a rrange them i nto groups on the ■ f' le'r fu n ction s, and to evaluate them as • * c f j ’ures. The rr'ncr characters deserve serious ■*er.‘ on because In many cases they are more r e a lis - ' 11 y t-o rtrayed than are the major figures. In effect, nil the ho roe: succeed in their endeavors; but the less inv’ne'hle n‘ nor characters suffer the 11 mi tat ions of real flesh-and-blood people. ince they ai*e not guaranteed success, many of them full. Therefore, the real dramatic conflicts and tensions in the Faerie s^ueens often exist among the miner characters* Of course, not all the minor characters in the F.aorie Queene are of equal dramatic importance. As e rule, the minor antagonists are better drawn than the minor protagonists, because, unlike their epic prede cessors in Tassofs Jerusalem Delivered and \r:iosto*s LV Orland o Furl oso, they represent the main obstacles which the heroes must face in the course of their quests. Yet even some of the antagonists, such as the hags, the foils, and the abstractions, are insignificant. However, the minor figures of other groups, like the seductressss, the seducers, and the brothers, are realistically de lineated. In the persons of Kadigund and Braggadochio the minor antagonists are represented by two of the outstanding figures In the poem. These two, b e tte r than any of the other minor characters, reveal 3penser,s deftness in creating tragic and comic figures. Hadigund, n truly noble Amazon, dies tragically at the hands of her rival, Brltomart, after she has been betrayed by her trusted maid, Clorinda. And Braggadochio, a comic braggart, is really an ironic commentary on the heroes in the Faerie Queene, for the boaster imitates In a comic subplot many of the noble actions of the heroes In the main p lo t. Although none of the minor protagonists are as successfully portrayed as Hadigund and Braggadochio, some, such as Timias, Glauce, and datyrane, are admirable dramatic figures. These characters represent, respec tively, the three outstanding groups of protagonists: the lovers, the squires, and the savages. The special advantage of analyzing the minor charac ters in the Faerie Queene by arranging them into groups v is that it permits a fuller appreciation of openser's dramatic skill. Each group, whether it be the abstrac tions, the seductresses, or the squires, reveals the poet*s careful attention to the dramatic balance of themes, characters, and incidents. The entire cast of minor figures have real importance in that they serve to enhance the dramatic dimensions of the major figures; but even in their own right they deserve the special attention which this study attempts to give them. vi CHAPTER I PLOT A Hi) CHARACTER IH THB EPICS OP ARIOSTO, TASSO, AID SPEMSER By lta vary nature a detailed study of spenser1* minor oharaoters In tha Faerie queens b«oona a many* aldad endeavor. That la, tha minor aharaetara oan naltbar ba truly appraolatad until tbay ara aaan in tha light of thalr aplo pradaoaaaora In Arloato*a Orlanoo **urloao and Taaao'a Jaruaalam Dalimarad, nor can tbay ba effectively atudlad until thay ara aaan in thalr propsr ralatlonahlpa with tha major aharaetara, tha plot, and tha sattlng of tha paaMa queens. quite obviously, a lengthy conaldera- tion of theaa two aapaeta could aaally oarry us far afield from tha minor oharaoters themselves. However, alnaa suoh a consideration la neoessary in order to furnish tha proper baokground for this atudy, tha purpose of this Initial ohap- tar will ba to present these two aspecta of Spenser1s minor oharaoters as briefly as possible* Literature knows few suoh lengthy works as tha Faerie queene, Orlando Purloao, and Jerusalem Delivered. Tat if our purpose la only to furnish a background by attempting to determine how spanser, Ariosto, and Tasso aaeh handled what thay shared in common, tha dangers of digression may be less perilous. An examination of narrative technique 2 and characterisation nay raTaal tha basic dramatic virtues and artistio variations of saeh post without minimising tbs special merits of saoh posa and without losing sight of the fsot that tha minor characters In the Faerie queene arc our primary oonoem. Spenser's literary relationships with both Ariosto and ?asso are perhaps best deaonstrated by the faot that any lengthy study of the Faerie Queene w ill Invariably Include sens observations about Orlando Furl os o and Jerusalem Delivered. In his letter to Raleigh, Spenser hlaself avows his debt to thea and to Honor, V irgil, and Aristotle for his portrait of Arthur, However, with too few exceptions, aost crltlos H alt their consents on the three poens to tracking down various oharaoters and situations in the Faerie Queene to their sources in Orlando Furioso and Jerusalem Delivered, For example, one need only examine a few pages of the Spenser Variorum or glance through Dodge's long list of parallels which appears at the end of his standard article, "Spenser's Imitations from Ariosto," *KLA, XII, (1897), 151-201*. The number of im ita tions is overwhelming,^ Certainly, the dlsoovery of new souroes for any great work of literature such as the Faerie Queens is a valuable contribution to scholarship. Tot, It must be remembered that the discovery of a new source is in Itself incomplete. For if two or more poets write about essentially the same subjeot, as la often the case with Ariosto, Tasso, and 3 SptnMr, then It la tha taak of tha critic not only to ba aware of tha sim ilarities but, even more Important, to OTaluata comparatively tha apaelal merits of tha different treatments. It la tha erltloal comparative analyala of tha three poama which haa baan largaly neglected. Lot ua bagln oar dlsouaslon by a conaldaratlon of narrative taohnl<|ua - eonoantrating attantlon on tha plot strootnra, tha tona, and tha setting uaad by tha thraa p o e ta * Tha plot structure of tha thraa poena la obviously dlffarant.2 Orlando Furloao haa a looaa, oonplex unity; Jaruaalan Delivered haa a tight ainpla unity; and tha Faorlo Queens attenpta a combination of tha two. Orlando Furloao la a long sprawling poan whlah follow a tha separate yat related adventures of no fawar than tan major charao- tara through a oonplax aarlaa of queata and aub-quaata. The various thraada of tha narrative oroaa and raorosa as tha dlffarant najor eharaetara naat and leave ona another while pursuing thalr Individual ooooaraa. Vo ona ranalna vary long In ona plaoa baf ora ha or aha la o a lied away on aona new adventure. Suoh lntarwovan narrative a nay at flrat oreate the Inpraaaion of utter eonfualon; but If the reader la willing to exart tha attantlon Arloato demanda, tha complexity of tha plot baoonea laaa annoying; and It aoon emergea aa a vary Intricate and carefully organised atruetura.