Literature

Please make it 300 wards!! Ne let his fairest Cynthia refuse, In mirrours more then one her selfe to see, But either Gloriana let her chuse, Or in Belphoebe fashioned to bee:In th'one her rule, in th'other her rare chastitee. (FQ 3.proem.5) Readers of the full Faerie Queene have seen both Gloriana and Belphoebe before: Arthur describes his dream vision of Gloriana (which has caused him to fall in love with her) in 1.9.8-16; in 2.9.3-5 Guyon explains to Arthur (the Briton Prince) why his shield features a portrait of Gloriana and describes her. Belphoebe makes her first appearance in book 2, when the cowardly would-be knight Braggadocchio and his crude squire Trompart run into her in 2.3.21-42. Read over these passages before you begin Book 3. Choose either Gloriana or Belphoebe and think about how Spenser's portrait of her resembles, builds upon, differs from the physical portraits of Elizabeth and the descriptions of her in courtier poems that we've seen. What aspects of Elizabeth's carefully fashioned image does your chosen character represent or display? What ideal of queenship or womanhood does she embody? What reflections on the queen's role or power does that character offer? Begin your response with a topic sentence that states the point you will argue. Use at least two pieces of evidence, drawn from texts and/or portraits. Explain how these two pieces of evidence lead you to your argument. Then develop that argument. Ask yourself "so what?" Then ask "so what?" of the answer. Then ask "so what?" a third time. By the third answer, you should have arrived at a conclusion that you wouldn't have anticipated when you began. Length: approximately 300 words, not including quotations. **NB: The Faerie Queene is an exceptionally difficult poem at first; reading it aloud can help! The England page now includes a number of helpful links and documents for studying Spenser. You may find the entries in the Spenser Encyclopedia on Belphoebe and Gloriana particularly useful, as well as the summaries of their appearances in the detailed plot summary