405. OF GLORIANE, Queen Elizabeth.
407. CLEOPOLIS IS RED, is called Cleopolis, i.e.
the city of Glory, or London.
425. MY DOLEFULL DISADVENTUROUS DEARE, my sad
misadventurous injury.
429. THAT HE MY CAPTIVE LANGUOR, the languishing
captivity of my parents.
432. MY LOYALTY, i.e. the loyalty of me
that rather death desire, etc.
441. THAT BROUGHT NOT BACKE, etc., (and
whence) the body full of evil was not brought back
dead.
(Canto VII)
1. Relate how the Knight fell into the hands
of the Giant. 2. Note the fine adaptation of
sound to sense in vii. 3. Who were the parents
and the foster-father of Orgoglio? 4. What are
the principal characteristics of the giants of romance
as seen in Orgoglio? cf. with the giants in Pilgrim’s
Progress. 5. In the description of the giant
do the last two lines (viii) add to or detract from
the impression? Why? 6. To whom does Spenser
ascribe the invention of artillery? 7. Explain
the allegory involved in the relations of Duessa and
Orgoglio. 8. How does Una act on hearing the news
of the Knight’s capture? 9. What part does
the Dwarf play? 10. Is Una just to herself in
ll. 200-201? 11. Is she over sentimental or ineffective—and
is the pathos of her grief kept within the limits of
the reader’s pleasure? 12. Express in your
own words the main thought in xxii. 13. Note the
skillful summary of events in xxvi, and observe that
this stanza is the Central Crisis and Pivotal
Point of the whole Book. The fortunes of the
Knight reach their lowest ebb and begin to turn.
The first half of the Book has been the complication
of the plot, the second half will be the resolution.
14. Give a description of Prince Arthur. 15.
What mysterious power was possessed by his shield?
Cf. the Holy Grail. 16. Observe carefully the
scene between Una and Arthur, noting the changes in
her mood. What light is thrown on her character?
What are her feelings toward the Knight? 17.
Explain the various threads of allegory in this Canto.
I. The Plot: Prince Arthur and Una are conducted
by the Dwarf to Orgoglio’s Castle. At the
blast of the Squire’s horn the Giant comes forth
attended by Duessa mounted on the seven-headed Beast.
In the battle which ensues Arthur wounds the Beast,
slays the Giant and captures Duessa. Prince Arthur
finds the Redcross Knight half starved in a foul dungeon
and releases him. Duessa is stripped of her gaudy
clothes and allowed to hide herself in the wilderness.
II. The Allegory: 1. Magnificence, the
sum of all the virtues, wins the victory over Carnal
Pride, and restores Holiness to its better half, Truth.
With the overthrow of Pride, Falsehood, which is the
ally of that vice, is stripped of its outward show
and exposed in all its hideous deformity.
