Scenes of desire in "The Faerie Queene".
Item
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Title
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Scenes of desire in "The Faerie Queene".
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Identifier
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AAI9618053
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identifier
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9618053
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Creator
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Corradetti, Arthur Robert.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Patrick Cullen
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Date
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1996
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Literature, English
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Abstract
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This study of The Faerie Queene focuses on "scenes of desire," defined as moments in which one allegorical figure first sees and desires another. The scenes of desire discussed are Arthur's with Gloriana in I.ix, Redcross's with the false Una in I.i, Britomart's with Artegall in III.ii, and Calidore's with Pastorella in VI.ix. As essentially and intensively originary moments, on a literal and tropic level, these scenes of desire inform one's reading of the larger designs of Spenser's allegory.;The paradigmatic scene of desire is Arthur's with Gloriana. The erotic Arthur's first feeling desire is a figure of the masculine impulse to the creation of the poem, an alter image of the poet. Spenser imagines an Arthur who is both originary to his own private poem--Spenser's and Arthur's, as it were--and proleptic of the Tudor dynasty.;Against this paradigm the other scenes of desire may be measured and interpreted. An obvious parody, Redcross's scene of desire with the false Una anticipates the Arthurian paradigm, and the fictive space opened up by Spenser between the image of the false Una in I.i and that of the real Una in I.ix marks the gap between Redcross's failing faith and the apocalyptic promise of his destiny. On the other hand, Britomart's scene of desire with Artegall offers an alternative to the Arthurian impulse to the creation of the poem. Britomart's magical globe becomes the figurative womb from which she can imagine the birth of the English nation. Finally, Calidore's scene of desire with Pastorella turns the Spenserian gaze on the poet himself. It reprises an originary moment in Spenser's career, the vision of Eliza in The Shepheardes Calender, and the figure of Pastorella fulfills the epic promise Spenser wrote into his own poetic career.;In sum, the study of these scenes of desire opens up important new connections among Arthur, Britomart, and Calidore. As they mark convergences of multiple poetic features publicly shared, scenes of desire also mark thresholds across which the poet ultimately writes his personal place in history.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
