238. OR OUGHT HAVE DONE, or have done something
to displease you.
239. THAT SHOULD AS DEATH, etc., that should
settle like death, etc.
248. AND CHOSE IN FAERY COURT. See Spenser’s
letter to Sir W. Raleigh, p. 6.
250. HER KINDLY SKILL, her natural power.
276. FIERCE ORIONS HOUND, Sirius, the Dog-star,
the brightest of the fixed stars. The constellation
Orion was named from a giant hunter who was beloved
by Aurora and slain by Diana.
279. AND NEREUS CROWNES WITH CUPS, and Nereus
drinks bumpers in his honor. Nereus was a sea-god,
son of Ocean and Earth.
282. FROM GROUND, from the land.
297. SANS LOY symbolizes the pagan lawlessness
in Ireland. There is also a wider reference to
the struggles between the Turks and the allied Christian
powers, which had been going on since the siege of
Vienna in 1529.
309. VAINLY CROSSED SHIELD, Archimago’s
false cross lacked the protecting power of St. George’s
charmed true cross.
321. LETHE LAKE, a lake or river of Hades, whose
water brought oblivion or forgetfulness to all who
drank of it.
322. Refers to the ancient custom of sacrificing
an enemy on the funeral altar to appease the shade
of the dead.
323. THE BLACKE INFERNALL FURIES, the Erinyes,
or goddesses of vengeance, who dwelt in Erebus.
They were robed in black, bloody garments befitting
their gloomy character.
325. In romance it was customary for the victor
to unlace the helmet of the knight whom he had unhorsed
before slaying him. Friends and relatives were
sometimes discovered by this precaution.
342. NE EVER WONT IN FIELD, etc., was never
accustomed to fight in the battle-field or in the
lists of the tournament.
xliii. Contrast Sansloy’s rude treatment
of Una with the chivalrous respect and courtesy always
shown by a true knight to woman.
(Canto III)
1. What moral reflections does the poet make
in the introductory stanza? Note the reference
to the Queen. 2. What do you learn of the laws,
customs, and sentiments of chivalry in this canto?
3. Give an account of Una’s meeting with
the Lion. 4. Explain the allegory of the incident
of the Lion. 5. Describe the character, appearance,
and actions of Corceca, and explain the allegory.
6. Note the use of the stars to indicate time.
7. Under what circumstances does Una meet Archimago?
8. Explain the allegory in ix. 9. Note the
Euphuistic balance in xxvii. 10. What figure do
you find in xxxi? Note the Homeric style. 11.
Describe the fight between Archimago and Sansloy,
and explain the double allegory. 12. What is the
moral interpretation of xli-xlii?
13. Explain the Latinisms in ll. 37 and 377.
14. How are the adjectives used in l. 57? 15.
Note change of pronouns in vii from third person to
first. 16. Explain tense of shold pas in
l. 83. 17. 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.
