In The Faerie Queene some things have caught my interest. For one, how did the blind woman and the deaf woman come to know the church robber? I know that they are supposed to represent the Catholic Church and that the association of them with the robber is represented in that the people of the time thought the Catholic Church were robbing people of iternal life because the Catholic Church was supposed to be wrong. But where did these woman meet this man? Did he just happen to find two women who don't really live their home or land and decided to make friends? I know that Spenser does not write about things that typically happen, but I still wonder. Also when Duessa get kidnapped by the giant, does she really get kidnapped? She seems to go rather peacefully and it also seems that she is the one who suggests that the fighting stop and they go with him. And then when King Arthur saves them from the giant by killing it, Duessa seems to mourn the death of the giant. Was this Duessa's plan all the time? If it was, then she is pretty smart (evil, but smart). The giant would be a good way to kill Redcrosse without revealing the fact that she was a witch because she could say that it was the giant, not her, that actually killed him. Another question is where did King Arthur get a horn that would call the giant? Is it a horn that will call any giant in the area, or is it a specific horn for that particular giant? If it is a general giant calling horn, then it makes more sense. But if it is a specific horn, then why did King Arthur not kill the giant earlier. He seemed to know exactly what to do to kill the giant, so why did he wait until now. I know that this post will seem to be a little like rambling, but these are the questions that we did not talk about in class that I had. Wednesday, October 8, 2008
The Faerie Queene
In The Faerie Queene some things have caught my interest. For one, how did the blind woman and the deaf woman come to know the church robber? I know that they are supposed to represent the Catholic Church and that the association of them with the robber is represented in that the people of the time thought the Catholic Church were robbing people of iternal life because the Catholic Church was supposed to be wrong. But where did these woman meet this man? Did he just happen to find two women who don't really live their home or land and decided to make friends? I know that Spenser does not write about things that typically happen, but I still wonder. Also when Duessa get kidnapped by the giant, does she really get kidnapped? She seems to go rather peacefully and it also seems that she is the one who suggests that the fighting stop and they go with him. And then when King Arthur saves them from the giant by killing it, Duessa seems to mourn the death of the giant. Was this Duessa's plan all the time? If it was, then she is pretty smart (evil, but smart). The giant would be a good way to kill Redcrosse without revealing the fact that she was a witch because she could say that it was the giant, not her, that actually killed him. Another question is where did King Arthur get a horn that would call the giant? Is it a horn that will call any giant in the area, or is it a specific horn for that particular giant? If it is a general giant calling horn, then it makes more sense. But if it is a specific horn, then why did King Arthur not kill the giant earlier. He seemed to know exactly what to do to kill the giant, so why did he wait until now. I know that this post will seem to be a little like rambling, but these are the questions that we did not talk about in class that I had. 
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Isn't that just typical of a fantasy? There is always a conveniently placed cave filled with old armor to furnish unprotected questers. There is always a villain hanging out on a bridge and waiting for challenge when the narrative needs spicing. Fantasies are defined by coincidence.
Sometimes Spenser's writing seems a little crazy, but he's a storyteller, and I love that. I think he may get so caught up in the story that he forgets himself on occasion.
One of my favorite "Where'd that come from?" moments had to be with Arthur's diamond shield. Seriously. Where did that come from? I took an Arthurian Legends course last fall, and I don't remember anything about diamond armor. And while I'm sure we could read all sorts of things into it, I wouldn't be surprised if half the reason it's there is simply that it's epic and shiny.
(Getting off topic, but that's another thing I love about Spenser. He's so visual. He may stray from his own plot, but at least he takes the scenic route. I wonder if the advent of television has contributed to the lack of that kind of description in modern writing.)
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