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The Faerie Queene Books #3,4
The Faerie Queene, Books Three and Four
These paired Arthurian legends suggest that erotic desire and the desire for companionship undergird national politics. The maiden Britomart, Queen Elizabeth's fictional ancestor, dons armor to search for a man whom she has seen in a crystal ball. While on this quest, she seeks to understand how one can be chaste while pursuing a sexual goal, in love with a man while passionately attached to a woman, a warrior princess yet a wife. As Spenser's most sensitively developed character, Britomart is capable of heroic deeds but also of teenage self-pity. Her experience is anatomized in the stories of other characters, where versions of love and friendship include physical gratification, torture, mutual aid, competition, spiritual ecstasy, self-sacrifice, genial teasing, jealousy, abduction, wise government, sedition, and the valiant defense of a pig shed.
480 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 2006
14 people are currently reading
149 people want to read
About the author
Edmund Spenser
1,390 books305 followersEdmund Spenser (c. 1552 - 1599) was an important English poet and Poet Laureate best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem celebrating, through fantastical allegory, the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I.
Though he is recognized as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, Spenser is also a controversial figure due to his zeal for the destruction of Irish culture and colonisation of Ireland.
Though he is recognized as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, Spenser is also a controversial figure due to his zeal for the destruction of Irish culture and colonisation of Ireland.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
February 26, 2022
“Yet these, and all that els had puissance,
Cannot with noble Britomart compare,
Aswell for glorie of great valiaunce,
As for pure chastitie and virtue rare,
That all her goodly deedes do well declare.”
No kidding, Spenser! Britomart is fabulous. And so are Books 3 and 4 in their exploration of the virtues of chastity and friendship, respectively. Admittedly, they have been the most challenging Faerie Queene books yet to read because there are so many more storylines and characters to keep track of, but I’ve been in Faerieland long enough now that I managed surprisingly well. Book 4, Cantos 4-6 are my favorite in the entire Faerie Queene thus far (I don’t need to say anything more than “Britomart and Artegall!”). Braggadochio is also back after Book 2 and as blusteringly, hilariously ridiculous as ever.
Cannot with noble Britomart compare,
Aswell for glorie of great valiaunce,
As for pure chastitie and virtue rare,
That all her goodly deedes do well declare.”
No kidding, Spenser! Britomart is fabulous. And so are Books 3 and 4 in their exploration of the virtues of chastity and friendship, respectively. Admittedly, they have been the most challenging Faerie Queene books yet to read because there are so many more storylines and characters to keep track of, but I’ve been in Faerieland long enough now that I managed surprisingly well. Book 4, Cantos 4-6 are my favorite in the entire Faerie Queene thus far (I don’t need to say anything more than “Britomart and Artegall!”). Braggadochio is also back after Book 2 and as blusteringly, hilariously ridiculous as ever.
April 15, 2024
Actually only read to page 47 but I didn't wanna mark it as dnf since I read it for a class.
November 24, 2019
The point of allegory isn’t to make a list of equations where “x = y.” Britomart isn’t simply Chastity. Rather, her pursuit of chastity should invoke in you a feeling of what chaste love is like.
The narrative: Britomart finds herself in Malacastia’s Castle. While she avoids seduction, she is wounded (for she let her armour down). As she leaves Merlin tells her the Arthurian story.
In Canto Three there is yet another genealogical telling of the Arthurian story. This is more for Britomart to understand Artegall’s lineage. There is a similar retelling in Book Two.
Cantos 6-8 tell of various dealings with Satyrane, Florimell, the Giantess, etc. This is probably the hardest part of the book, since I think Spenser momentarily lost control of his narrative. It does come back, though.
Some scenes are written with pure imagic power. The story arc concerning Malbecco, especially his sad end, is near perfect.
CS Lewis said to read Spenser was to grow in mental health. I think I have figured out why. If you read Spenser with pencil and notes, you will become smarter. Spenser is a brilliant poet, but he makes quite a few narratival mistakes. If you can keep track of what is going on, you will become a sharper reader.
Friendship is a stronger theme among the ancients and Renaissance than it is today. Friendship was essential for establishing a stable social order. Perhaps it is no accident that the theme of Justice in Book V follows logically from the social implications of Friendship in Book IV.
While Book III of the Faerie Queene was magnificent, it’s fairly obvious that Spenser had lost control of the narrative. We moved from False Duessa to various damsels in distress. Duessa, who had figured so prominently in every other book, was absent from Book III. We see her immediately in Book IV.
Britomart has just rescued Aromet from Busirane’s Castle at the end of Book III. This narrative begins with them horseback. The danger is that Britomart is still dressed like a male knight with an (unwed) damsel riding along. This opens them to gossip, something Duessa and Ate will exploit.
The Fay’s three sons challenge Campbell for the hand of his sister Canace (Canto III). In this Canto Campbell marries Cambice, following Canace’s mediation of the battle between Campbell and Triamond, the latter whom she weds. Spenser took an interesting scene from mythology on the fates and Triamond’s family. It seems the betrothals at the end of the canto, though, were quite forced. They are believable, to be sure, but some of the characters appear out of nowhere.
By the time of Canto 5, the ladies (and maybe some of the knights) are fighting for Florimell’s girdle (you need to think back to an early scene in Book 3). This girdle represents what virtue gives to chaste love (V.3.1).
Cantos 7 and 8 describe what happened to Aromet. Britomart was supposed to be watching her but fell asleep or something. In any case, Sir Scudamore tells the story of how he found her at the Temple of Venus. It’s interesting to note that the past few books have ended in some major Castle or Temple.
Remember Florimell? Probably not. Well, she’s back. The book ends with the marriage of the rivers. I’m not really sure what that was about.
Notes on some characters:
Sir Paridell is enslaved (unwittingly) to False Duessa.
The narrative: Britomart finds herself in Malacastia’s Castle. While she avoids seduction, she is wounded (for she let her armour down). As she leaves Merlin tells her the Arthurian story.
In Canto Three there is yet another genealogical telling of the Arthurian story. This is more for Britomart to understand Artegall’s lineage. There is a similar retelling in Book Two.
Cantos 6-8 tell of various dealings with Satyrane, Florimell, the Giantess, etc. This is probably the hardest part of the book, since I think Spenser momentarily lost control of his narrative. It does come back, though.
Some scenes are written with pure imagic power. The story arc concerning Malbecco, especially his sad end, is near perfect.
CS Lewis said to read Spenser was to grow in mental health. I think I have figured out why. If you read Spenser with pencil and notes, you will become smarter. Spenser is a brilliant poet, but he makes quite a few narratival mistakes. If you can keep track of what is going on, you will become a sharper reader.
Friendship is a stronger theme among the ancients and Renaissance than it is today. Friendship was essential for establishing a stable social order. Perhaps it is no accident that the theme of Justice in Book V follows logically from the social implications of Friendship in Book IV.
While Book III of the Faerie Queene was magnificent, it’s fairly obvious that Spenser had lost control of the narrative. We moved from False Duessa to various damsels in distress. Duessa, who had figured so prominently in every other book, was absent from Book III. We see her immediately in Book IV.
Britomart has just rescued Aromet from Busirane’s Castle at the end of Book III. This narrative begins with them horseback. The danger is that Britomart is still dressed like a male knight with an (unwed) damsel riding along. This opens them to gossip, something Duessa and Ate will exploit.
The Fay’s three sons challenge Campbell for the hand of his sister Canace (Canto III). In this Canto Campbell marries Cambice, following Canace’s mediation of the battle between Campbell and Triamond, the latter whom she weds. Spenser took an interesting scene from mythology on the fates and Triamond’s family. It seems the betrothals at the end of the canto, though, were quite forced. They are believable, to be sure, but some of the characters appear out of nowhere.
By the time of Canto 5, the ladies (and maybe some of the knights) are fighting for Florimell’s girdle (you need to think back to an early scene in Book 3). This girdle represents what virtue gives to chaste love (V.3.1).
Cantos 7 and 8 describe what happened to Aromet. Britomart was supposed to be watching her but fell asleep or something. In any case, Sir Scudamore tells the story of how he found her at the Temple of Venus. It’s interesting to note that the past few books have ended in some major Castle or Temple.
Remember Florimell? Probably not. Well, she’s back. The book ends with the marriage of the rivers. I’m not really sure what that was about.
Notes on some characters:
Sir Paridell is enslaved (unwittingly) to False Duessa.
December 15, 2017
we'd all die for Britomart and that's the truth!
October 30, 2016
Following are the major events and characters of Book 3:
Book 3 Cast:
Arthur, Timias, Guyon, Palmer, Florimell, Forrester, his two brothers, Britomart, Glauce, Redcrosse, Six knights of lechery, Malecasta, Artegall, King Ryence, Merlin, Angela, Marinell, Cymoent, Proteus, Belphoebe, Amoretta, Chrysogonee (golden-born), Venus, Cupid, Adonis, Psyche, Pleasure, Sir Scudamore, Satyrane, Witch, Churl, Hyena-like beast, Fisherman, Proteus, Panope, Argante, Ollyphant, Columbell, Squyre of Dames, Palladine, Look-alike or “Snowy” Florimell, Braggadocchio, Ferraugh, Paridell, Malbecco, Hellenore, Busirane.
Book 3 Summary:
I. Guyon challenges Britomart and is dehorsed by her; the two knights reconcile; Arthur, Guyon, and Britomart journey into the woods, where they see Florimell being chased by a wild man; Arthur and Guyon go after her; Britomart leaves the forest, stumbles upon the Joyous Castle, where she sees Redcrosse being assailed by the six knights of lechery; she defeats the knights, and she and Redcrosse spend the night in the castle, where Malecasta unsuccessfully attempts to seduce her; Britomart and Redcrosse leave the Joyous Castle.
II. The following day, Redcrosse asks Britomart to tell him about her quest, and she makes up a lie, telling him that she’s on a mission to avenge a knight named Artegall for sexually taking advantage of her; despite Redcrosse’s ignorance of her real background, Spenser begins narrating the story of Britomart she came to fall in love with Artegall and become the warrior woman that she is.
III. Glauce takes Britomart to Merlin’s cave; the wizard adumbrates the noble lineage Bradamante and Artegall will give rise to; Britomart dons Angela’s armor and takes her enchanted spear.
IV. Britomart’s lamentation by the seashore; Marinell challenges Britomart in battle, and the latter unhorses and kills Marinell; Cymoent hears news of her son’s defeat and rushes to his side, where she curses the misery of life; Arthur chases after Florimell; Timias, after the Forrester; Florimell eludes Arthur, and the prince spends the knight in the woods where he dreams of his beloved Faerie Queene; the morning arrives, and he prepares to set off and find her.
V. Arthur meets Florimell’s dwarf, and the two continue searching for her; Timias slays the Forester and his brothers, nearly dying in the process; Belphoebe finds him and tends to his wounds; Timias falls madly in love with and struggles to contain it.
VI. Spenser relates the story of Belphoebe and Amoretta’s conception, how their mother Chrysogonee was impregnated by a beam of light; Venus goes searching for her lost son, Cupid; Diana sends two of her ladies to search for Cupid; Diana’s ladies stumble on the newborn Belphoebe and Amoretta, delivered in the woods; they take the newborn girls and give Amoretta to Venus and Belphoebe to Diana; a description of the Garden of Adonis—Amoretta’s childhood home, Venus and Adonis’s residence, and Cupid and Psyche’s retreat.
VII. Florimell’s horse collapses, and encounters a witch’s cottage; the witch’s slothful son, the “churl,” falls in lust with her; he courts her with little success; Florimell escapes the cottage, and the witch sends a wild beast after her, after unsuccessfully attempting to exterminate his passion through magic; Florimell evades the beast by hopping on a little prow by the seashore; Satyrane attacks the beast, thinking he has devoured Florimell; He manages to tie him up, but then abandons him when he sees Palladine chasing Agrante, on whose horse the Squire of Dames is strapped; After a short battle, the Squire of Dames and Satyrane find themselves on the floor, while Palladine chases Agrante out of the scene on horseback; The Squire relates the story of Agrante’s lustful exploits and his years-long quest to satisfy his beloved Columbell’s perverse tests; In particular, he narrates a misogynistic story whose moral suggests that all women are whores.
VIII. The beast returns Florimell’s bloody girdle to his master, and she shows it to her son who nearly kills her in anger; The witch makes a look-alike Florimell through an alchemical process and introduces her to her son; Braggadocio steals the look-alike Florimell from the churl, and an unidentified knight steals her from Braggadocchio; The fisherman on the real Florimell’s boat attempts to rape her, but is eventually rescued by Proteus, who takes her to his submarine dwelling; Proteus tries to coax the real Florimell into sleeping with him, but she refuses, so he locks her up in his submarine dungeon; Satyrane and the Squire of Dames encounter Paridell, and Paridell tells them that he and various other Faerie knights are looking for the missing Florimell; Satyrane and the Squire agree to join the quest, but the latter suggests that they rest for the knight before taking off in the morning.
IX. Satyrane, the Squire of Dames, and Paridell are denied access to Malbecco’s castle and retreat to nearby hut when a storm comes; Britomart tries to seek shelter in the same hut and battles Paridell; She and the men are eventually admitted into the castle after nearly burning the entry gate; Britomart reveals her identity when removing her armor; Paridell and Hellenore flirt at dinner; Paridell narrates segments of the history of the Trojan War.
X. Hellenore and Paridell escape from Malbecco’s castle; Malbecco searches for his wife, encounters Braggadocchio, and is deceived into thinking the latter will help him find Hellenore; Braggadocchio steals Malbecco’s money; Paridell ditches Hellenore; Malbecco finds Hellenore living among the Satyrs and unsuccessfully tries to persuade her to return to him; Malbecco jumps off a cliff in desperation, but cannot even succeed in killing himself; he takes residence in a cliff-side cave, an emblem of vile jealousy.
XI. After leaving Malbecco’s castle, Satyrane and Britomart see the giant Ollyphant chasing after a young man; they pursue the giant, but he is too quick for them; Satyrane gets lefts behind and Britomart abandons the chase when she stumbles on the distressed Scudamore, who explains that his beloved Amoretta is being imprisoned by Busirane; Britomart adopts the quest, rides through a wall of fire, walks through a series of cryptic castle rooms, and prepares to fight.
XII. Britomart watches Cupid’s Masque at Busirane’s castle, saves Amoretta from her captor, and chains him up to a pillar; She escapes the castle with Amoretta, and, depending on what version of the poem you read (1590 or 1596), the latter either is or isn’t reunited with her beloved Scudamore.
Following are the major events and characters of Book 4:
Book 4 Cast:
I. The story of how Scudamore won Amoretta is related; Britomart and Amoretta encounter a castle; a knight battles for Amoretta but loses; Britomart reveals her feminine identity and becomes closer with Amoretta in consequence; Britomart and Amoretta encounter Paridell, Blandamour, Duessa, and Ate; Blandamour challenges Britomart to battle and loses; Scudamore is challenged by Paridell on Blandamour’s behalf and wins; Duessa and Ate anger Scudamore by telling him that Britomart has taken Amoretta as “his” lover; Scudamore curses Britomart for her breech of good faith.
II. Sir Ferraugh appears on the scene with the false Florimell; Blandamour is smitten by her and wins her after defeating Ferraugh in battle; Blandamour and Paridell fight over the false Florimell; The Squire of Dames shows up and stops their fight, shocked at the presence of the false Florimell, who he mistakes for the real one; Paridell, Blandamour, Ate, Duessa, the false Florimell, and the Squire of Dames head over to Satyrane’s tournament when they see Campbell, Triamond, Canacee, and Cambine; Spenser interrupts his narrative to relate their background story; He acknowledges Chaucer as a major source; Story of how Ate was raped and conceived Priamond, Diamond, and Triamond, and how she begged the fates to lengthen their life spans.
III. Campbell defeats Priamond, Diamond, and (nearly) Triamond, when the triplet’s sister Cambina comes to save the day; she offers Triamond and Campbell Nepenthe; the two reconcile; Campbell marries Cambina and Triamond marries Canacee.
IV. Satyrane’s three-day tournament related; Artegall nearly wins the tournament when Britomart unhorses him and consequently emerges as tourney victor.
V. The story of how Florimell found her girdle; the girdle awarded to the False Florimell, despite the fact that it doesn’t fit; the False Florimell chooses to have Braggadocchio take her; Scudamore takes refuge a storm in Care’s cave.
VI. Scudamore and Artegall encounter each other in the woods and realize that they both resent Britomart; They fight her when she happens to pass by, but soon after realize her identity; Artegall and Britomart become engaged, although they are forced to postpone their wedding until after Artegall finishes his quest; Britomart and Scudamore go looking for Amoretta, which has gone missing.
VII. The story of how Amoretta was taken prisoner by the savage man; AEmylia, another prisoner of the savage, tells the story of how she was taken by him; Amoretta escapes the savage’s cave and the latter chases her; Timias unsuccessfully tries to kill the savage; Belphoebe kills the savage and liberates AEmylia and the old had; she becomes extremely jealous when she sees Timias kissing Amoretta’s wounds; Timias retreats into the woods in dejection; Arthur spots him but is unable to recognize his old squire.
VIII. A turtle dove leads Belphoebe to the dejected Timias, and the two reconcile; Arthur, Amoretta, and AEmylia spend the night at Sclaunder’s dwelling; the following day, they encounter Corflambo chasing Placidas, who has the former’s dwarf; the story of Corflambo, Poeana, Amyas, and Placidas related; AEmylia begs Arthur to help liberate Amyas from his prison, and the prince agrees.
September 20, 2007
Read only Book IV. It's a very difficult read, because Spenser uses Chaucerian English rather than the English of his own period (the Renaissance). Book IV centers on the virtue friendship, but is only marginally successful in representing it. Ignoring modern sensibilities, the Faerie Queene is the product of conflicted cultural paradigms. Spenser is classically educated, thereby influenced by the Greco-Roman conception of friendship (friendship is paramount, because friendship is good for the state). The work itself is in the style of the romance, taken from the French, and, before that, Arabic traditions of chivalry. The romance favors romantic love over friendship. The tensions between these two conceptions, romantic and fraternal love, seem to derail Spenser, at times.
December 27, 2024
TEDIOUS. GET ME OUT OF HERE
February 8, 2024
I'm not really sure if I'm qualified to review this genre of literature, but all I can say is that Britomart is a magical character, especially coming from this time period. The fact that she is not just allowed, but in fact encouraged, to translate her real but still teenage, lovesick angst into actualized wrath is a beautiful sight, especially when imagined with the sound of waves crashing in the background. There are so many beautiful, intriguing, and disquieting images created in this story—I'm still organizing my thoughts.
March 27, 2018
You can see my overall thoughts on The Faerie Queene here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Book III – This book features Britomart, the English supermarket chain. Oh – sorry. That’s not right. Britomart is the renowned female knight whose powers outshine the other knights, being stronger, more brave and more skilled. (Not to mention more holy.) She has some exciting adventures, but there are a lot of diversions and other tales that she is not featured in. This book also features several long asides – the history of English (Canto 3), the history of Troy’s fall (Canto 9), and a spooky masque/procession (Canto 12). There’s also an odd section about Malbecco (Canto 9-10) who won’t let the knights sleep at his home. The knights do what any normal person would do and they burn down his house, steal his wife, seduce her, and abandon her in the woods to be raped by Satyrs. But apparently she’s ok with the last part. (Somehow Spenser presents this as a story of an evil woman.)
Book IV -- I only read a few of the cantos: 7, 10, 11 and 12. Canto 7 has the interesting Lust beast who rapes and then eats his victims. The ending cantos feature the rescue of Florimell, which Marinell achieved by whimpering, sighing and swooning a lot. (Many of the knights the Faerie Queene are pathetically ineffectual. I don’t know why the women tolerate them.) Canto 11 also features one of Spenser's long set pieces/pageants, this time featuring all the rivers of the world going to a wedding. I guess he found it interesting.
Book III – This book features Britomart, the English supermarket chain. Oh – sorry. That’s not right. Britomart is the renowned female knight whose powers outshine the other knights, being stronger, more brave and more skilled. (Not to mention more holy.) She has some exciting adventures, but there are a lot of diversions and other tales that she is not featured in. This book also features several long asides – the history of English (Canto 3), the history of Troy’s fall (Canto 9), and a spooky masque/procession (Canto 12). There’s also an odd section about Malbecco (Canto 9-10) who won’t let the knights sleep at his home. The knights do what any normal person would do and they burn down his house, steal his wife, seduce her, and abandon her in the woods to be raped by Satyrs. But apparently she’s ok with the last part. (Somehow Spenser presents this as a story of an evil woman.)
Book IV -- I only read a few of the cantos: 7, 10, 11 and 12. Canto 7 has the interesting Lust beast who rapes and then eats his victims. The ending cantos feature the rescue of Florimell, which Marinell achieved by whimpering, sighing and swooning a lot. (Many of the knights the Faerie Queene are pathetically ineffectual. I don’t know why the women tolerate them.) Canto 11 also features one of Spenser's long set pieces/pageants, this time featuring all the rivers of the world going to a wedding. I guess he found it interesting.
January 25, 2019
Britomart is probably one of the earliest feminist characters ever written, and she is AMAZING. I think Brienne of Tarth from GoT is definitely derived from Britomart's character. Even more, because this is the book of chastity, it obviously needs to explore the extreme opposites, which makes for a seriously weird, lopsided, fascinating read.
December 26, 2020
Excellent footnotes, particularly on sexuality. I love the list of issues addressed by recent Spenser scholarship in the intro. The idea to group Books 3 and 4 together is an excellent one, given the weird hiccup at the end of the third book. These two books are by far my favorite part of FQ, and this is a great edition.
February 5, 2019
I love when my professor makes us read sexist bs from the 16th century. Yay
September 25, 2023
ily britomart
November 1, 2023
as my professor said, bet you never expected this to turn into goat polyamory
(book 3 only)
(book 3 only)
November 18, 2024
Scudamour's description of the Temple of Venus was the utmost lovable canto of the entire book.
May 9, 2025
britomart ur the baddest bitch and no one can convince me otherwise
November 7, 2015
On its own merits, Books III and IV of Spenser's Faerie Queene deserve five stars, of course. However, the editing (footnotes) of this Hackett Publishing version of Books III and IV were overly burdensome and some were way over the top - and so the ranking loses three stars.
I grant that some of the footnotes were informative and appreciated. However, way too many of the footnotes contained lewd sexual references: one such note using the cun* word. Another note debating what Spenser meant by "perfect hole"; that being either a reference to a maiden's anatomical virginity or to her pure chastity (wholeness). Take your pick. To use a different literary example, these footnotes were along the lines of believing that every time Don Quixote set his lance or drew his sword, it was in order to penetrate someone sexually, and that if he struck Sancho Panza, it was because of repressed homosexual tendencies. Junk. And it's not that I don't understand what's going on here with such notation. It's a watered-down feminist aim to reset a paradigm - what was a heroic paradigm taken from the heroic age of Spenser - and make the poem more contemporary and appealing to modern readers. So we get a completely vertical read of the poem and the flow of the beautiful story (a horizontal read) is lost. Completely lost. The notes killed the heroic component of the poem and seemed especially out of place in a poem of VIRTUE; especially in a book of CHASTITY (Book III)! Lewd notes in a book of chastity and virtue. I don't see it. That sort of paradigm reset has given this heroic poem in Books III and IV a subtext of sex and sin. A subtext that overrode the story from too many lewd notes and a too vertical read.
Lastly, there are few good examples of true virtue in the world, and, one may say, even in literature. To degrade such a poem by such notating is a poor decision made by the publishers.
I grant that some of the footnotes were informative and appreciated. However, way too many of the footnotes contained lewd sexual references: one such note using the cun* word. Another note debating what Spenser meant by "perfect hole"; that being either a reference to a maiden's anatomical virginity or to her pure chastity (wholeness). Take your pick. To use a different literary example, these footnotes were along the lines of believing that every time Don Quixote set his lance or drew his sword, it was in order to penetrate someone sexually, and that if he struck Sancho Panza, it was because of repressed homosexual tendencies. Junk. And it's not that I don't understand what's going on here with such notation. It's a watered-down feminist aim to reset a paradigm - what was a heroic paradigm taken from the heroic age of Spenser - and make the poem more contemporary and appealing to modern readers. So we get a completely vertical read of the poem and the flow of the beautiful story (a horizontal read) is lost. Completely lost. The notes killed the heroic component of the poem and seemed especially out of place in a poem of VIRTUE; especially in a book of CHASTITY (Book III)! Lewd notes in a book of chastity and virtue. I don't see it. That sort of paradigm reset has given this heroic poem in Books III and IV a subtext of sex and sin. A subtext that overrode the story from too many lewd notes and a too vertical read.
Lastly, there are few good examples of true virtue in the world, and, one may say, even in literature. To degrade such a poem by such notating is a poor decision made by the publishers.
June 24, 2021
Oct 2019. Two books in a single volume, so this one will take longer. But excited to see how Spenser handles a female heroine.
Finished Book III, the plot of which is even looser and more digressive than Book II. Fascinating idea to have a Lady Knight as the third protagonist, and the opening canto is a shock. Overall I found Book III less compelling as a story. Was Spenser’s focus on RCK in Book I a one-off?
And finished Book IV, which continues the loosening and widening tendencies of Books II and III. The nominal heroes of Book IV (on the virtue of friendship) appear in only two or three cantos. I suppose this is what one must expect when reading romance. Taken by itself, Book I reads more like epic.
If I ever read this long poem a second time, I will approach it differently, focusing on symbol and allegory rather than plot. It's been a useful exercise as I think about teaching other kinds of fiction.
Highlights in Books III:
* Malecaste's "accidental" homosexual attraction to Britomart.
* The encounter with Merlin
* Timias and Belphebe (Episode I)
* The Gardins of Adonis, foster-home of Belphebe and Amoretta
* The Snowy Florimell
* Malbecco's second canto
* The masque of Busirane
Highlights in Books IV:
* Intertextual matters with Chaucer's Squire
* Invention and development of Priamond, Dyamond, and Triamond
* Britomart's defeat of Lust (and rescue of Amoretta and Aemylia)
* Timias and Belphebe (Episode II)
* The Temple of Venus (sort of)
Also, this volume has a new editor in the Hackett series. I learned my lesson and postponed the Introduction until I finished the main text. It is a solid introduction, which several good pieces of practical advice for reading. The footnotes to the main text are odd, though: helpful, but sometimes too helpful; informal in tone, and sometimes distracting; consistently advancing Freudian interpretations, which I tend to find implausible.
Finished Book III, the plot of which is even looser and more digressive than Book II. Fascinating idea to have a Lady Knight as the third protagonist, and the opening canto is a shock. Overall I found Book III less compelling as a story. Was Spenser’s focus on RCK in Book I a one-off?
And finished Book IV, which continues the loosening and widening tendencies of Books II and III. The nominal heroes of Book IV (on the virtue of friendship) appear in only two or three cantos. I suppose this is what one must expect when reading romance. Taken by itself, Book I reads more like epic.
If I ever read this long poem a second time, I will approach it differently, focusing on symbol and allegory rather than plot. It's been a useful exercise as I think about teaching other kinds of fiction.
Highlights in Books III:
* Malecaste's "accidental" homosexual attraction to Britomart.
* The encounter with Merlin
* Timias and Belphebe (Episode I)
* The Gardins of Adonis, foster-home of Belphebe and Amoretta
* The Snowy Florimell
* Malbecco's second canto
* The masque of Busirane
Highlights in Books IV:
* Intertextual matters with Chaucer's Squire
* Invention and development of Priamond, Dyamond, and Triamond
* Britomart's defeat of Lust (and rescue of Amoretta and Aemylia)
* Timias and Belphebe (Episode II)
* The Temple of Venus (sort of)
Also, this volume has a new editor in the Hackett series. I learned my lesson and postponed the Introduction until I finished the main text. It is a solid introduction, which several good pieces of practical advice for reading. The footnotes to the main text are odd, though: helpful, but sometimes too helpful; informal in tone, and sometimes distracting; consistently advancing Freudian interpretations, which I tend to find implausible.
February 21, 2008
Hackett made an interesting choice in publishing Books 3 and 4 together in an undergrad edition, but it works well. The notes in Book 3 are sometimes a bit heavy-handed and offer sometimes obvious information. Overall, the layout of the book compensates for the not-quite-up-to-snuff notes.
May 30, 2014
Of the books, this is perhaps my least favorite, though still a well-written piece of literature. It's a little too bad that Spenser wasn't able to meet my expectations for what I hoped would be Spenserian Queen Elizabeth Fan Fiction.
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October 19, 2009My favorite book.
May 18, 2011
Well, mostly, I read book 3, but yeah. I thought it was awesome too. Lots of issues with Britomart, but at the end of the day, she was a pretty cool lady.
November 4, 2013
Really enjoyed the Faerie Queene, Book Three. Will need to read it in its entirety eventually, but today is not that day.
February 17, 2015
I only read Book 3 for class, and let's be honest, Sparknotes was my best friend. But I like the tale and I appreciate the form. I did read it. I did.
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October 4, 2015Just book 3
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April 15, 2019boom!!!!!!!!!!!!
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