assigned blog pg 728 stanza 37 canto 1

“Then choosing out a few words most horrible
(let none them read), thereof did verses frame,
With which and other spelles like terrible,
He bade awake blacke Plutoes grisly Dame,
And cursed heaven, and spake reproachful shame
Of highest God, the lord of life and light
A bold bad man, that dared to call by name
Great Gorgon, prince of darkness and dead night,
At which Cocytus quakes and Styx is put to flight.”

I chose this stanza not just because it portrays a pivotal part of the story line of The Faerie Queen, but because I think it reveals one of the most interesting characteristics of this text, the existence of both allegory as well as mythical allusions.

On a literal level, this stanza tells about the cursing of the knight by the man whom they meet in the forest. Through a spell, the old man hopes to awaken spirits that will trouble the knight’s dreams. As he speaks this spell, he calls to Gorgon, the originator of all the “Gods,” and he also curses heaven and the Christian God who is referred to as “the Lord of light and life.” A word by word, or perhaps phrase by phrase, translation of this stanza would read as follows:

Then he chose out the most horrible words in existance
(which I won’t reproduce here)
And with these words and some other terrible spells
He tried to awaken Proserpine, the patron of witchcraftand cursed heaven and God, the lord of life and light.
He was a bold and bad man since he could call
Gorgon, the first and greatest of all gods (and the opposite of the lord of light and light)
Who is so powerful that the rivers tremble at his presence.

One thing I found interesting about this portion of the text is that Spenser not only points to both Christian images and Mythical representations, but that he also seems to affirm the existence of both. As a reader of this text, I expected any mythical mentioning to either be argued against or destroyed by the Christian God or another heavenly creature. Instead, mythical and evil creatures are given the power to influence and control outcomes in the story. I found it amazing that Spenser, in a single stanza affirmed the reality of a Christian God, but instead of placing Satan in the usual role of “prince of darkness” Gorgon was used in this role, creating an odd contrast between a supposedly all-powerful God, and the supposedly all powerful progenitor of God(s). Spenser succeeds in making this stanza a point of foreshadowing and conflict. An obvious conflict exists between good and evil, illuminated by the contrast between the “Lord of life and light” and the “Prince of darknesse and dead night.” This stanza is also the point at which mythical spirits are first called into the story. If the old man succeeds in calling forth the spirits, the rest of the story will undoubtedly be altered.

Spenser uses a few literary devises to strengthen the power of this particular stanza. This stanza is meant to affect the reader by fully demonstrating how powerful the spirits that are being called forth are and to make the scene seem ominous. First he invokes hyperbole by saying the old man utters “words most horrible.” Next, Spenser refers to Proserpine, not by name, but as “blacke Plutoes grisly Dame” Instead of calling Prosperpine by name, Spenser alludes to Pluto, the God of the underworld who captured Proserpine to live in the underworld with him. The image of “blacke Pluto” causes the reader to imagine an evil villain of the underworld. The word “grisly” calls forth an image, not of a person, but of a beast. To do so urges the reader to regard Proserpine as a dirtied and savage animal of the underworld, which as one might imagine, would be a quite frightening image for the eighteenth century reader to call to mind. Spenser also uses Metonymy when he says “He…cursed heaven.” While the man did not literally curse the heavens, clouds, sun, light, and air, he cursed all heavenly beings. So, as he calls to the underworld, he is portrayed as an even more despicable character because he commits a sacrilege by speaking against the Christian God. A final effective use of language is the personification of the rivers Styx and Cocytus which “shake” and are “put to flight.” This specific personification has an interesting effect because it makes the reader feel how truly powerful Gorgon is. Not only is he the Prince of darkness, but he is so powerful that he can cause inanimate objects to shiver in fear.