SHUAIB ASGHAR
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
GOVT. RAZVIA ISLAMIA COLLEGE
GOVT. RAZVIA ISLAMIA COLLEGE
HAROONABAD, PAKISTAN
An allegory is a representation of an abstract or
spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of
one subject under the guise of another. It is a device in which characters or
events represent or symbolize ideas and concepts. Allegory has been used widely
throughout the history of art, and in all forms of artwork. A reason for this
is that allegory has an immense power of illustrating complex ideas and
concepts in a digestible, concrete way. In allegory a message is communicated
by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation. It may also
be defined as a story with a hidden moral lesson. Its purpose is to convey some
moral and religious truth in a delightful way. The readers are instructed and
delighted at one and the same time. In the 'Fairie Queene' there is a fusion of
three kinds of allegories.
- A moral or spiritual allegory dealing with
the action and interaction of virtue and vice.
- A religious allegory dealing with the
important religious events of the age.
- A
personal and historical allegory.
Moral And Spiritual Allegory
The good characters of
the book stand for the various virtues, while the bad characters symbolize the
corresponding vices. The Red Cross Knight represents Holiness and Lady Una
stands for Truth, Goodness and Wisdom. Her parents symbolize the Human race and
the Dragon who has imprisoned them stands for Evil. The mission of Holiness
(Red Cross Knight) is to help Truth (Lady Una) to fight Evil (Dragon) and thus
regain its rightful place in the human heart.
In the course of its
mission, Holiness has to meet many adventures and fight many evils. First of
all, it has to encounter a terrible monster which is Error. As long as Holiness
is helped by Truth, it can defeat any of the forces of Evil. Archimago, the
symbol of Hypocrisy succeeds in separating Holiness (Red Cross Knight) from
Truth (Lady Una). The Red Cross Knight takes Duessa representing Falsehood to
be his lady love and Lady Una wanders forlorn in search of her champion. Holiness,
when separated from Truth, becomes too weak to resist Falsehood. Thus the Red
Cross Knight is now guided by Duessa (Falsehood) and is like a puppet in her
hands.
Religious Allegory
This moral and
spiritual allegory mingles with the religious allegory of the book. The
different characters also stand for various religious events and dignitaries of
age. The reformation was the most important religious movement of the time and
in this epic Spenser has represented it allegorically. He is all for the
Reformed Church of England which is the only true church for him and against
Papacy and Catholic Church. The Red Cross Knight, for example, represents the
Manhood of England or the Reformed Church fighting against the corruption.
The parents of Una symbolize Humanity and the
foul Dragon who has captured them, stands for Pope of Rome. Archimago
represents the cunningness and hypocrisy of Papacy.
Political And Personal Allegory
With these two
allegories there mingles a third one--a political and personal allegory.
Spenser wrote his epic especially for the glory of Queen Elizabeth and his
courtiers. In Spenser's epic, she is Gloriana the Fairie Queene who sets
various adventures to her knights symbolizing the courtiers of the Queen of
England. There are countless other personal and historical references.
Criticism
A number of objections
have been raised against Spenser's use of allegory. The device is essentially a
technique of vision, but Spenser's use of it, instead of imparting clarity,
confuses the story and perplexes the readers. All is confused and obscure, nothing
is clear and comprehensible. Too many digressions, add further to the confusion
of the readers. They may impart variety to the epic but they make the action
loose rambling and discursive, and the story incoherent and meaningless. So the
didactic purpose of the book is not achieved.
Conclusion
As a matter of fact,
Spenser is not a poet turned reformer. He is more interested in his art than in
the teaching of morality. He used allegory merely because it was the fashion of
the day and a work without it was considered mean and low. It is not for the
allegory that we go to him but for the wonderful sensuous pictures of beauty
that abound in his epic.
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ReplyDeleteA historical or personal allegory deals with historical events or historical person.
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