The Faerie Queene

Book 1

The speaker of the allegorical epic identifies themselves right away when they announce, “Lo I the man, whose Muse whilome did maske” (1.p.1.1). The speaker is a male poet, and while he may not be Edmund Spenser, he has much in common with the author. At one time, the muse masked him in “lowly Shepheards weeds” (1.p.1.2)—a reference to Spenser’s The Shepheardes Calender. Now the speaker asks his muse to help him “sing of Knights and Ladies gentle deeds” (1.p.1.5). The speaker writes their poem to spotlight the adventures of men and women. To do so, the speaker adopts a supplicating tone. He humbly asks his muse, “O helpe thou my weake wit, and sharpen my dull tong” (1.p.2.9).

The speaker introduces the first knight with imagery. He uses specific words to create a picture of the knight’s horse and shield, and the image of the bloody cross loops in the theme of Christianity and goodness. The knight is virtuous in part because he’s a Christian. The knight is on a mission from Gloriana, the “greatest Glorious Queene of Faerie land” (1.1.3.3). The speaker uses