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.
(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.
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.
