Annotated Bibliography
Ariosto, Ludvico. Orlando Furioso. Trans. Sir John Harrington. 1591. Oxford, England: Oxford
University Press, 1972. Print.
Orlando Furioso was first published in 1516 in Italy, and it eventually had a significant influence
on many writers during the English Renaissance, including Spenser. Ariosto was arguably the
first writer to use the genre of romance, rather than epic, and the form of The Faerie Queene
seems very much to be modeled after Orlando Furioso. Spenser also borrowed many plot
elements from Arioso, and used these elements to shape his allegories. By examining the sections
of Orlando Furioso from which Spenser borrowed characters, situation, etc, and comparing them
to the passages that they influenced in The Faerie Queene, I will be able to see which elements of
Ariosto’s Spenser borrows completely, and which elements he changes to varying degrees in
order to better convey his attitudes about the controversies of his time.
Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Ed. John T McNeill. Vols. I and II.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Westminster Press, 1960. Print.
This is the most important work that John Calvin published, and it establishes his basic beliefs
regarding the Christian religion, which eventually became the basis for the religion of Calvinism.
Calvinistic thought was very prevalent during Spenser’s time, and there are several Calvinistic
elements present in The Faerie Queene, which show that, while Spenser may not have been
Calvinist himself, he certainly was influenced by the beliefs and ideals of that religion. By
gaining a greater understanding of Calvinism itself, I will be able to better uncover and analyze
the Calvinistic aspects of Spenser’s poem.
Fox, Alistair. The English Renaissance: Identity and Representation in Elizabethan England.
Oxford, England: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 1997. Print.
Chapter Five of this book will be very relevant for my paper. Fox spends the chapter discussing
the genres of epic and romance; how they are related to, yet distinct from, each other; and what
Spenser’s reasons may have been for choosing to write a romance rather than an epic. Fox also
discusses the parallels between Spenser’s poem and Ariosto’s, as well as the changes Spenser
makes to the borrowed material from Orlando Furioso, and the significance of these changes.
, Foxe, John. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. http://www.ccel.org/f/foxe/martyrs/home.html . Accessed
17 November. Web. http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/johnfoxe/transcript.html images
Published during the period in which Spenser was writing, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs records the
history of Catholic violence against Protestants, listing the names of Protestants who were
tortured and killed for their faith, and also including dozens of detailed woodcuts that display the
graphic violence that was inflicted upon these Protestant martyrs. Spenser most likely would have
read this text, and may be responding to it with his covert suggestions that violence be inflicted
on Catholics as well, such as in his prose writing A View of the Present State of Ireland, and in
certain allegorical episodes in The Faerie Queene.
Frye, Northrop. “The Structure of Imagery in The Faerie Queene”. Essential Articles for the
Study of Edmund Spenser. Ed. A.C. Hamilton. Hamden, Connecticut: Archon Books,
1972. Print.
In this article, Frye points out that Book One is the only book of the poem that deals extensively
with Christian imagery, and he also argues that, contrary to what most scholars (and perhaps
Spenser himself) would say, holiness is not the “supreme virtue” of Book One. According to
Frye, holiness is God’s gift to man, but Book One is not about this aspect; rather, it is about
RedCrosse’s endeavors to succeed on his Christ-like quest. I’m not sure that I agree with this
argument, but it has certainly inspired my interest, and may be useful to me in the future.
Gless, Darryl J. Interpretation and Theology in Spenser. Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University Press, 1994. Print.
Gless’ book begins with the premise that the text of a poem contains its true meaning, and that the
poet intended to place this meaning within the text. Gless applies this idea to Spenser, examining
how the religious practices and beliefs of the time may have influenced him, and the significance
that this has on the poem as a whole. This book has given me further ideas that I shall take into
account when analyzing Spenser’s allegories, and how they have been affected by the religious
events of his time period.
MacLure, Millar. “Nature and Art in The Faerie Queene”. Essential Articles for the Study of
Edmund Spenser. Ed. A.C. Hamilton. Hamden, Connecticut: Archon Books, 1972. Print.
MacLure differentiates between the concepts of nature and art, both of which are present in The
Faerie Queene, and argues that Spenser seems to find the natural to be good, and the unnatural to
be evil. I’m not sure yet how useful this article will prove to be, but it did catch my attention.
Ariosto, Ludvico. Orlando Furioso. Trans. Sir John Harrington. 1591. Oxford, England: Oxford
University Press, 1972. Print.
Orlando Furioso was first published in 1516 in Italy, and it eventually had a significant influence
on many writers during the English Renaissance, including Spenser. Ariosto was arguably the
first writer to use the genre of romance, rather than epic, and the form of The Faerie Queene
seems very much to be modeled after Orlando Furioso. Spenser also borrowed many plot
elements from Arioso, and used these elements to shape his allegories. By examining the sections
of Orlando Furioso from which Spenser borrowed characters, situation, etc, and comparing them
to the passages that they influenced in The Faerie Queene, I will be able to see which elements of
Ariosto’s Spenser borrows completely, and which elements he changes to varying degrees in
order to better convey his attitudes about the controversies of his time.
Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Ed. John T McNeill. Vols. I and II.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Westminster Press, 1960. Print.
This is the most important work that John Calvin published, and it establishes his basic beliefs
regarding the Christian religion, which eventually became the basis for the religion of Calvinism.
Calvinistic thought was very prevalent during Spenser’s time, and there are several Calvinistic
elements present in The Faerie Queene, which show that, while Spenser may not have been
Calvinist himself, he certainly was influenced by the beliefs and ideals of that religion. By
gaining a greater understanding of Calvinism itself, I will be able to better uncover and analyze
the Calvinistic aspects of Spenser’s poem.
Fox, Alistair. The English Renaissance: Identity and Representation in Elizabethan England.
Oxford, England: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 1997. Print.
Chapter Five of this book will be very relevant for my paper. Fox spends the chapter discussing
the genres of epic and romance; how they are related to, yet distinct from, each other; and what
Spenser’s reasons may have been for choosing to write a romance rather than an epic. Fox also
discusses the parallels between Spenser’s poem and Ariosto’s, as well as the changes Spenser
makes to the borrowed material from Orlando Furioso, and the significance of these changes.
, Foxe, John. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. http://www.ccel.org/f/foxe/martyrs/home.html . Accessed
17 November. Web. http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/johnfoxe/transcript.html images
Published during the period in which Spenser was writing, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs records the
history of Catholic violence against Protestants, listing the names of Protestants who were
tortured and killed for their faith, and also including dozens of detailed woodcuts that display the
graphic violence that was inflicted upon these Protestant martyrs. Spenser most likely would have
read this text, and may be responding to it with his covert suggestions that violence be inflicted
on Catholics as well, such as in his prose writing A View of the Present State of Ireland, and in
certain allegorical episodes in The Faerie Queene.
Frye, Northrop. “The Structure of Imagery in The Faerie Queene”. Essential Articles for the
Study of Edmund Spenser. Ed. A.C. Hamilton. Hamden, Connecticut: Archon Books,
1972. Print.
In this article, Frye points out that Book One is the only book of the poem that deals extensively
with Christian imagery, and he also argues that, contrary to what most scholars (and perhaps
Spenser himself) would say, holiness is not the “supreme virtue” of Book One. According to
Frye, holiness is God’s gift to man, but Book One is not about this aspect; rather, it is about
RedCrosse’s endeavors to succeed on his Christ-like quest. I’m not sure that I agree with this
argument, but it has certainly inspired my interest, and may be useful to me in the future.
Gless, Darryl J. Interpretation and Theology in Spenser. Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University Press, 1994. Print.
Gless’ book begins with the premise that the text of a poem contains its true meaning, and that the
poet intended to place this meaning within the text. Gless applies this idea to Spenser, examining
how the religious practices and beliefs of the time may have influenced him, and the significance
that this has on the poem as a whole. This book has given me further ideas that I shall take into
account when analyzing Spenser’s allegories, and how they have been affected by the religious
events of his time period.
MacLure, Millar. “Nature and Art in The Faerie Queene”. Essential Articles for the Study of
Edmund Spenser. Ed. A.C. Hamilton. Hamden, Connecticut: Archon Books, 1972. Print.
MacLure differentiates between the concepts of nature and art, both of which are present in The
Faerie Queene, and argues that Spenser seems to find the natural to be good, and the unnatural to
be evil. I’m not sure yet how useful this article will prove to be, but it did catch my attention.
