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THIS DISSERTATION LA THESE A ETE . ' - - ' HAS BEEN MICROFILMED MICROFILMEE TELLE QUE . EXACTLY AS RECEIVED NOUS L'AVONS RECUE - ; e Ottawa, Canad% KlAON4 \ NL-339 (Rev. 8/80) ' THE FAElUE QUEENE '/ Peter Bernard Murphy LYLns. Simon Fraser university, 1975 c \ A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF - THE REQUIRFMENTS FOR THE DEGREE "OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department 0 f 1. En91ish , Peter Bernard Murphy 1981 I SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy %orother means, without permission of the author. DEGREE : Ester of -4rts a TITLE OF THESIS: The Gentlaan and the Circle of Courtrtsy in . .-d .-d Spmser's The Faerie we. Chairperson: Dr. Paul klany -" . f V -r Professor John lfills, Senior Sqe.r&30r, 'Pmfess~rof Ewlish. , Professor med Gmdelaria, Professor of EiilFsh. PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE C, I hereby grant to Sinion Fraser University the right to l end* rny'thesis, project or extended essay (the title of which .is shown below) to users o the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make part al or. single copies only for such users or ih response to a reqhest from tKe library of any other university, or other,educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users,: I further agree .that permission ' for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted . by me or the Dea? of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication'of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed - without my written permission. 4 , ' rn T i t I e of Thes i s/Project/ExteAnded -Essay . (name) - t (date) AB STRACT 0 L. Can The Faerie Queene be considered a finished work? This thesis proposes that the poem can be read as complete, even though Spenser's alleged designfor it will remain for ever unfinished. A sense of completeness in the work arises .' because it adheres to and acecrmplishes its major theme of courtesy. In doing . sb, it' fvlfi1s"Spenser's~central , ambition. that it would "fashion a gentleman". I ' - J Whil,e the, thde of courtesy is an :obvious one, it has been generally overlooked . I by critics as a unifying and defining force in the poem. Early criticism . regarded The aerie Queene as incomplete because it fajled to meet the formulae . 8 of classical design. &st later critics,: while not submitting to this dogmatic approach, have nevertheless agreed,with its conclusion, usually on the basi.s < of external evidence such as Spenser's plan for the poem contained in his. letter to Sir alter Raleigh, or theexistence of the "Mutabilitie Cantos". Acwmledging the contributions of several recent cr$ics, I propose that The Faerie Queene is complete by the end of its sixth book, which because it is entirely concerned with courtesy, , provides an appxopriate-place for &he study,: to begin. In relation to this, however, it has also been necessary to outline. + ' the philosophical -..concepts behind Spenser ' s theme, and to show his familiarity with them as demonstrated in his other works, me ~h-epheardesCalendar, -Th'e Farre Hymnes, and ~olinClout's Come*Home Againe. By compa&n; these works to The Faerie Queene it is possible to deduce that Spenser's gentleman was inspired * adfashioned by the ppwer of love, which7,was described by Plato and by ~eoc-1 platonic philosophers as the motivating force of the cosmos. The Platonic,. ? - love process follows a circular pattern, the Creator's love moving conti~uously from Him to His creation, and back again. According to ~enaissancethoughb, 1 . the process could be observed in the, world in the actions,of..good men,. adwas ;; ' 3- .v 1 i? , a . \ *I . iii . - . ., P ff * swlized, syncretically, by the classical symbol of the Dance of the Graces, * j. --which depicts love be- freely given, received and returned, Such+.rocesses- - Z 'may be seen to be at work in Book VI of The aerie Queene, especially in the actions of Calidore,.' the Knight bf Courtesy, and symbol of Spenser's ideal /' / ' On another plane, however, the same processes work to give The'Faerie < -. peene 'itself an appearance of circularity. Evidence for this lies in the man2 paralleis found in its first book, "Holinesse", and its sixth, "Courtesy". d The two virtues seem to be so related as to be interdependent, and it is this 7 very quality that suggests Books I and VI form a beginning and conclusion to the work. Spenser may not have completed the plan for his great poem.out- 7 Ii ' 'lined, somewhat ambiguously, in the letter to Raleigh, but 0.n the basis of the phiiosdphical concepts employed with continuity in Books I and VI, his design of The Faerie Queene is complete at the end of Calidorels.adventures. I MY CHILDREN CONTENTS I:. AB S TRACT iii DEDICATION LIST 'OF REFERENCES WORKS CONSULTED I C, - PREFACE '_. - F s . - d t - - -- - - - - -- In this study I propose that The Faerie ,Queene, although an unfinished + work, may be read as complete. Reasons' for this, simply stated, are that - ..' > *, = Spenser's overall theme for the work i's courtesy, and by the-endm& the poem's sixth book, which deals with that subject, the &thor has provided enough i L : material to achieve his ahi of "fashi,oning a gentledan". In _order@for the r c, . - reader to understand how this occurs, it is necessary that he or she bq acquainted with theJYphilosophic,alconceits that underlie The Faerie Queene ' s - .. design and purpose. The Rbnaissance beliefs, a mixture of christian and classical phiiosophies, are evident in other poems written by Spenser which - - e 'predate, or are contemporary with The Faerie Queene, and his understan ing of f - $ them can. thus '6e readily and reliably established. His application of these t' 4 1 * ideas to The Faerie Quegne , hiWreateste work ands the longe;t poem in English, . q is, therefore a logics1 progression. A * \ i This thesis is divided into three chapters. Chapter One provides back- I ,. \ ground to the poem, first discussing previous literary criticism relating to its unity,; then outlining the concepts that influenced Spenser and .demonstrating ' his use of them in The. Foore' &es , The Shepheardes Calendar, and Colin clout s) . > ~ome*HomeAgaine, to show how and why these concepts apply to The aerie ~ueeno. - ' / . The second' chapter concerns itself with courte.sy as it 'is presented .in *- * the >,/ ) * .poem's sixth book. *Aft-erdiscussing Elizabethan ideas concerning the gehtlernan, the very expression of courtesy, this chapter looks principally at the adventures . - - 1 of &lidore, that virtue's exemplar. ALtikktional chafacters both rpajor and minor, *. -. ,whose actions parallel- or are directly related to Widore's; are also examined. Among these are Calepine and Serena, Melike-, Pastorella, and, of course, the ~l~tant'Beast, Calidore ' s and courtesy's mortal enemy. In con junction, with this, a ,.. vii - Chapter Two aTso discusses the symbol of the three Graces, whosec~culardice . expresses the platonic love concept or'giFing, receiving, and returnl'ng B (* which was thought to motivate the coAs , and .'is itself essential.to, under- standing The Faerie QueenL.