The allegorical significance of the fight between the Monster of Error and the Red Cross Knight

Discuss the allegorical significance of the fight between the Monster of Error and the Red Cross Knight 

 Introduction: Fairy Queen is famous epic of Edmund Spenser.  In the epic, the Epic poet craftily presents The Renaissance and Reformation elements. Though the use of the elements, the epic poet presents the different type of allegory.  As a result in the epic poem, the epic poet has presented religious, political and spiritual allegory. The major themes of Faerie Queene are love, religion, politics, morality and ethics, Justice and judgment, appearances and loyalty.

The fight between Red Cross Knight and Monster Error

Edmund Spenser begins his epic with the adventures of the Knight of the Red Cross, who was deputéd by the Fairy Queen to relieve the distress of Lady Una, whose parents dwelt in perpetual dread of a fierce Dragon that had laid waste their whole kingdom and

threatened them with death and destruction. The Knight of the Red Cross accompanied by Lady Una, proceeded his journey\to accomplish the task entrusted to him. As he was going through a

wood, he found himself before a cave. This was the cave of monster Error, represented as a horrible creature, with the face of a woman

and the bhind part a serpept.After much terrible fighting, the monster was killed by the Knight, as we find in Book-I of The Faerie Queene:-

   "Halfe furious unto his foe he came

   Resolved in mind all suddenly win."

The fight between the Knight and the monster proved to be the most fierce one. At one point in the course of his fighting the Knight found himself in the tight grip of the monster's huge tail. At this time

Lady Una shouted to the Knight to show his bravery She urged him to have faith in himself and in Jesus Christ and to tight bravel

the Knight fought with redoubted vigor and courage with the lady's words. He was able to realize  himselt trom the grip off monster's huge tail.

The allegorical significance of the fight between the Monster of Error and the Red Cross Knight are of following :-

Spiritual And Moral Conception

The mentioned fight has spiritual and moral    significance also. Behind these bare facts, there are spiritual and moral Knight who is appointed by the_ Fairy Queen to assist Lady Una in Holiness.Lady Una stands for Truth, Goodness and Wisdom and her par symbolise Humanity held by Evil represented by the foul Dragon. The mission of Holiness is to champion the cause of truth and regain the right ofkaman race, held in subjection by the mighty force of evil. Spenser wrote in his poems :-

"This is the wandring wood, this Errours den,

A monster vile, whom God and man does hate:

Therefore I read beware. Fly fly 

 this is no place for living men.;"

   

Sign Of Political Issues

Again, religious as well as political issues of the day are intermingled in the allegory. The Knight of the Red Cross is St. George or the Reformed Church of England or England as a militant spiritual force, fighting corruption, pride and manifold evils of

Papacy, Pagąnjsm and Catholism. Una is truth as embodied in the dočtrines of the National English Church.

The Knight of the Red Cross is St. George Church of England or England as a militant spirituol force, fighting corruption, pride, and manifold evils of Papacy,Poganism, and Catholicism. Una is the truth as embodied in the doctrines of the National English Church.

The Conflict Between Protestantism And Catholicism

The fight between the knight and the monster Error actuolly reflects the conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism of England. When the monster vomits, some papers and books come out. These papers and books reflect the bitchy pamphlets directed against Queen Elizoabeth by the Roman Catholics, As Spenser says-

    "But on his brest a bloudie Crosse he bore,

The deare remembrance of his dying Lord,

For whose sweete sake that glorious badge he wore,

And dead as living ever him ador'd:"

Reference - Study guide, Lecture series, PRC foundation and text book.

This note is prepared by MD. Nafiz karim.( Founder of Writers360 Blog)