No More Learning

Note confusion of
pronouns in xxii and xxxv. 18. Examine the _nominative absolute_
construction in st. xiv and xxxix. 19. Explain the ambiguous construction
in l. 165. 20. Parse _her_ in l. 262. 21. Note careless use of relative in
l. 288.

CANTO IV

I. _The Plot:_ In this and the following canto the adventures of the
Redcross Knight are continued from Canto II. Guided by Duessa, he enters
the House of Pride. There he sees Lucifera, the Queen of Pride, attended by
her sinful court. Her six Counselors are described in detail, with an
account of a pleasure trip taken by the Queen and her court. Sansjoy
unexpectedly arrives and challenges the Knight to mortal combat for the
shield of Sansfoy. That night Duessa holds a secret conference with the
Saracen knight.

II. _The Allegory:_ 1. The Christian Soldier, under the influence of false
ideals (Duessa), is exposed to the temptations of the Seven Deadly Sins,
chief among which is Pride. In the midst of these sinful pleasures, he is
assailed by Joylessness, on whose side is Falsehood secretly.

2. The religious and political allegory is here vague and somewhat
discontinuous. There is a hint, however, of the attempts of Mary Queen of
Scots to bring England back to Romanism. The pride and corruption of the
false church and its clergy are set forth. There is also a suggestion of
the perilous position of the English in Ireland.

20. OF EACH DEGREE AND PLACE, of every rank and order of society.

21. HAVING SCAPED HARD, having escaped with difficulty.

24. LAZARS. Leprosy was a common disease in England even as late as the
sixteenth century.

49. MALVENU, ill-come, as opposed to _Bienvenu_, welcome.

73. LIKE PHOEBUS FAIREST CHILDE, Phaethon, the son of Helios. He was killed
by a thunderbolt from the hand of Zeus, as a result of his reckless driving
of the chariot of the sun.

86. A DREADFULL DRAGON, Fallen Pride.

94. This genealogy of Pride is invented by the poet in accord with the
Christian doctrine concerning this sin.

107. SIX WIZARDS OLD, the remaining six of the Seven Deadly Sins, Wrath,
Envy, Lechery, Gluttony, Avarice, and Idleness. See Chaucer's _Parson's
Tale_ for a sermon on these mortal sins, Gower's _Dance of the Seven Deadly
Sins_, and Laugland's _Piers Plowman_.

145. COCHE. Spenser imitates Ovid and Homer in this description of Juno's
chariot. The peacock was sacred to the goddess, who transferred to its tail
the hundred eyes of the monster Argus. See Ovid's _Metamorphoses_, i, 625
_seq_.

157. WITH LIKE CONDITIONS, etc. The behests were of a kind similar to the
nature of the six Sins.

174. HE CHALENGED ESSOYNE, he claimed exemption.

185. LIKE A CRANE. This refers to Aristotle's story of a man who wished
that his neck were as long as a crane's, that he might the longer enjoy the
swallowing of his food. _Nic. Ethics_, iii, 13.

205. A DRY DROPSIE, a dropsy causing thirst.

236. UPON A CAMELL, etc. The reference is to a story in Herodotus'
_History_ (iii, 102 _seq_. ), in which the Indians are described as carrying
off on camels gold dust hoarded by enormous ants.

252. UNTO HIM SELFE UNKNOWNE, i. e. being ignorant of his own wretchedness.

309. UNTHRIFTY SCATH, wicked damage, or mischief that thrives not.

313. THE SWELLING SPLENE. The spleen was the seat of anger.

314. SAINT FRAUNCES FIRE, St. Anthony's fire, or erysipelas. Diseases were
named from those who were supposed to be able to heal them.

335. WITH PLEASAUNCE, etc. Fed with enjoyment of the fields, the fresh air
of which they went to breathe.

437. AND HELPLESSE HAP, etc. It does no good to bemoan unavoidable chance.

440. PAY HIS DEWTIES LAST, pay his last duty to the shade of the slain man
by sacrificing his murderer.

443. ODDES OF ARMES, chances of mishap in arms due to some advantage of
one's antagonist.

QUESTIONS AND TOPICS

(Canto IV)

1. What are the moral reflections in stanza i? 2. What suggestion of the
condition of the English roads do you find in st. ii? 3. _But few
returned_, l. 21. What became of the rest? 4. Give a description of the
House of Pride. Note resemblance to a typical Elizabethan hall. 5. Explain
the allegory of the House, noting the association of ugliness and beauty.
6. How is expectation aroused in vi? 7. Describe the dramatic appearance
and character of Pride. Cf. description of Satan on his throne in _Paradise
Lost_, iii. 8. What do you learn in this canto of Elizabethan or chivalric
manners and customs? 9. Describe the procession at the court of Pride. 10.
What satire of the Romish priesthood in xviii-xx? 11. Note examples of
Spenser's humor in xiv and xvi. 12. Point out the classical influence
(Dionysus and Silenus) in the description of Gluttony. 13. Subject of the
interview between Duessa and Sansjoy. 14. Point out the archaisms in l. 10;
alliteration in xxxix and l; the Latinisms in xlvi and xlvii. 15. In what
case is _way_ in l. 17? 16. Explain the meaning and historical significance
of _lazar_, l. 24, and _diall_, l. 36. 17. Explain the references of the
pronouns in l. 55, and ll. 418-419. 18. Note the Euphuistic balance and
antithesis in xxix and xlv. 19. Explain the suffix in _marchen_ in l. 325.
20. Note the double negative in iv, xlix. 21. Paraphrase in your own words
ll. 239, 243, 360, 437.

CANTO V

I. _The Plot_: (a continuation of Canto IV). The Knight fights in the lists
with Sansjoy and defeats him, but is prevented by Duessa's magic from
slaying him. Duessa descends to Erebus and obtains the aid of Night, who
conveys the wounded Saracen in her chariot to AEsculapius to be healed of
his wounds. The tortures of some of the souls in Erebus are described,
particularly the cause of AEsculapius' punishment. A roll of the prisoners
whom the dwarf discovers in Pride's dungeon is given. The Knight flees with
the dwarf from her house.

II. _The Allegory_: When the Christian Soldier is attacked by Joylessness,
he has a far more desperate struggle than that with Infidelity, and comes
out wounded though victorious. Joylessness when crushed by Holiness is
restored by Pagan Philosophy. The backsliding Christian is warned in time
by Prudence of the fearful consequences of sin, and hastens to turn his
back on Pride and the other sins. The soul is led to dread Pride, not by
Truth, but by its sufferings and other inferior motives.

25. THEIR TIMELY VOYCES, their voices keeping time with their harps.

27. OLD LOVES, famous love-affairs, the subject of the Minnesangers.

29. IN WOVEN MAILE, in chain armor.

32. ARABY, probably here the Orient in general.

33. FROM FURTHEST YND, from farthest India.

39. UNTO A PALED GREENE, a green inclosure (lists for a tournament)
surrounded by a palisade.

44. HIS. An old method of forming the possessive, based on a
misapprehension of the original Anglo-Saxon suffix _-es_, which was
shortened in middle English to _-is_, and finally to _s_.

45. BOTH THOSE, etc. Both Duessa and the shield are to go to the victor.

65. A GRYFON, a fabulous animal, part lion and part eagle. _Gryfon_ is
subject of _encountereth_ with _Dragon_ as object.

89. AND SLUGGISH GERMAN, etc. , and sluggish brother dost relax thy strength
to send his (Sansfoy's) foe after him, that he may overtake him. In ll.
86-88 Sansjoy addresses his brother, in ll. 89-90 himself. _German_ is any
blood relation.

100. The Knight supposed that Duessa's encouraging words were addressed to
him.

114. Spenser here, with fine dramatic effect, imitates Homer, who saves
Paris and AEneas by a similar device. _Iliad_, iii, 380, and v, 345.

159. TEARES. This mention of the man-eating crocodile's tears is based on
an old Latin proverb. Sir John Mandeville repeats the story.

172. GRIESLY NIGHT. According to mythology (Hesiod's _Theog_.
, 123), one of
the first things created, the daughter of Chaos, and mother of AEther (sky)
and Hemera (day); also of Deceit, Strife, Old Age, and Vengeance. See xxii
and xxvii.

202. ON GRONING BEARE, on a bier with groaning friends around.

204. O WHAT OF GODS, etc. , O what is it to be born of gods, if old
Aveugle's (the father of the three Saracens) sons are so ill treated.

219. AND GOOD SUCCESSES, etc. , and good results which follow their foes.

221. OR BREAKE THE CHAYNE, refers to Jove's proposition to fasten a golden
chain to the earth by which to test his strength. Homer's _Iliad_, viii,
19. Cf. Milton's _Paradise Lost_, ii, 1051.

225. BAD EXCHEAT, bad gain by exchange. _Escheat_ is an old legal term,
meaning any lands or goods which fall to the lord of a fief by forfeiture.
Cf. "rob Peter to pay Paul. "

229. SHALL WITH HIS OWNE BLOUD, etc. , shall pay the price of the blood that
he has spilt with his own.

263. Here Spenser imitates Homer's _Odyssey_, xvi, 163.

267. THE GHASTLY OWLE. The poet follows the Latin rather than the Greek
poets, who regard the owl as the bird of wisdom.

273. OF DEEP AVERNUS HOLE. Avernus in the poets is a cavern (in an ancient
crater), supposed to be the entrance to the infernal regions. Cf. Vergil's
_AEneid_, vi, 237. In Strabo's Geography it is a lake in Campania.

298. CERBERUS, the dog which guarded the lower regions. This stanza is an
imitation of Vergil's _AEneid_, vi, 417 _seq_. In Dante's _Inferno_ Vergil
appeases him by casting handfuls of earth into his maw.

xxxv. In this stanza we see the influence of Homer and Vergil. Ixion, the
king of Lapithae, was chained by order of Zeus to a fiery-winged wheel for
aspiring to the love of the goddess Hera (Juno). Sisyphus had to roll a
huge stone forever up a hill for betraying the designs of the gods.
Tantalus, for divulging the secrets of Zeus, was condemned to stand
tormented by thirst in a lake. Tityus, for an assault on Artemis, was
pinioned to the ground with two vultures plucking at his vitals. Typhoeus,
a hundred-headed giant, was slain by Zeus' thunderbolt, and buried under
AEtna. The gin on which he was tortured was probably the rack of the Middle
Ages. Cf. the bed of Procrustes. Theseus, for attempting to carry off
Persephone, was fixed to a rock in Tartarus. The "fifty sisters" are the
fifty Danaides, who, for slaying their husbands, were condemned to pour
water forever into a vessel full of holes.

322. SAD AESCULAPIUS, the god of medicine, slain by Zeus for arresting
death and diseases.

354. AND FATES EXPIRED, and the threads of life which the fates (Parcae) had
severed.

387. GREAT PAINES, AND GREATER PRAISE, etc. His praise, like his pain, is
to be eternal.

xlvii. This list of the thralls of Pride is in imitation of a similar one
in Chaucer's _Monk's Tale_, which was based on Boccaccio's _De Casibus
Illustrium Virorum_.

415. PROUD KING OF BABYLON, Nebuchadnezzar. See _Daniel_, iii and iv.

420. KING CROESUS, the last king of Lydia, who was overthrown by Cyrus in
B. C. 646. _Herodotus_, i, 26.

422. PROUD ANTIOCHUS, Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria, who captured
Jerusalem twice, and defiled God's altar. He died raving mad B. C. 164.
Josephus, _Antiquities of the Jews_, xiii, 5-9.

424. GREAT NIMROD, "the mighty hunter" (_Genesis_, x, 8), whose game,
according to Spenser, was man. Josephus tells us that through pride he
built the tower of Babel.

426. OLD NINUS, the legendary founder of Nineveh, and put to death by his
wife, Semiramis.

428. THAT MIGHTY MONARCH, Alexander the Great (B. C. 366-323), king of
Macedon. While consulting the oracle of Jupiter Ammon in the Libyan desert
he was saluted by the priests as "Ammons Sonne. " He died either of poison
(Plutarch) or of excessive drink (Diodorus).

437. GREAT ROMULUS, legendary founder of Rome (B. C. 753). See Livy, i, 16.

438. PROUD TARQUIN, Tarquinius Superbus, the last king of Rome. He was
banished B. C. 510.

438. TOO LORDLY LENTULUS, surnamed Sura, member of a haughty patrician
family, who conspired with Catiline, and was strangled B. C. 62.

439. STOUT SCIPIO, Cornelius Scipio Africanus (B. C. 287? -183? ), the
conqueror of Hannibal, and self-exiled from Rome. Livy speaks of his
inordinate pride, xxxviii, 50.

439. STUBBORNE HANNIBALL (B. C. 247-183), the great Carthaginian general,
who died by poison to avoid falling into the hands of the Romans.

440. AMBITIOUS SYLLA (B. C. 138-78), Cornelius Sulla, the Dictator, who died
a loathsome death.

440. STERNE MARIUS (B. C. 157-86), after being seven times consul, he was
obliged to take refuge from his rival Sulla amid the ruins of Carthage.

441. HIGH CAESAR, Caius Julius Caesar (B. C. 100-44), who was murdered by
Brutus and other conspirators.

441. GREAT POMPEY. Cn. Pompeius Magnus (B. C. 106-48). After his defeat at
Pharsalia, he fled to Egypt, where he was murdered.

441. FIERCE ANTONIUS, Marcus (B. C. 83-30), the great triumvir, who after
his defeat at Actium killed himself in Egypt.

444. THE BOLD SEMIRAMIS, the legendary queen of Assyria.

446. FAIRE STHENOBOEA, the wife of Proteus, who on account of her
unrequited love for Bellerophon, died by hemlock. Aristophanes' _Frogs_,
1049 _seq_.

448. HIGH MINDED CLEOPATRA (B. C. 69-30), the beautiful queen of Egypt, who
is said by Plutarch to have died in the manner mentioned.

QUESTIONS AND TOPICS

(Canto V)

1. How did Redcross spend the night before the fight with Sansjoy?

2. Study in detail the fine description of Duessa's descent to Erebus.

3. What elements of beauty are seen in the description of dawn and sunrise
in ii? and compare _Psalms_, xix, 5. 4. What arbitrary classification of
musicians does Spenser make in iii? 5. Who is the _far renowmed Queene_ in
v? 6. Describe the joust between the Knight and Sansjoy. 7. Where do you
learn of the laws governing such contests? 8. Observe the dramatic way in
which Duessa saves Sansjoy. 9. What dramatic stroke in xxvii? 10. Describe
Night and her team. 11. Give an account of her descent to Erebus with
Sansjoy. 12. What were some of the tortures of the damned? 13. What effect
is produced in xxx and how? 14. Point out some instances in which Spenser
has imitated Homer--Vergil.

15. Where does he follow the Latin rather than the Greek poets?

16. Why did AEsculapius hesitate to heal Sansjoy? 17. Whom did the dwarf see
in the dungeons of Pride? 18. Why did the Knight flee from the House of
Pride?

19. Examine the following grammatical forms: _maken_, l. 22; _woundes_, l.
400. 20. What _figure of speech_ is employed in xviii? 21. What
illustration is used in viii? 22. Find example of _balanced structure_ in
vii; _alliteration_ in viii, xv, xviii. 23. Scan l. 23. 24. Note nom. abs.
construction in xlv.

25. Paraphrase the involved constructions in xlii, xix, viii, xxxvi.

CANTO VI

I. _The Plot_: (Continuation of Canto III). Una is delivered from Sansloy
by a band of Satyrs. She remains with them as their teacher.