Good vs. Evil in Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser Essays

knew as red” basically clarifies he has a new outlook of the color red, which meaning emotions.

Beowulf a New Telling by Robert Nye was very interesting but not altogether satisfactory and one of the very interesting parts was the memory that stirred in Grendel’s heart but one of the unsatisfactory parts was the ending and the conclusion I can draw about the features of the work is that Beowulf a New Telling by Robert Nye is a thrilling tale about Beowulf who is trying to rid the land of the Danes and the land of the Geats of evil. There were also many relationships between light and darkness (good and evil) in people but the main one was in Beowulf. For example, in chapter 6 on page 40, Beowulf has elements of lightness when he says, “light holds you, Grendel. Light has you in its power. You, who have shunned the sun, meet me, once stung by bees that drank the sun. There is honey in my veins, Grendel, a liquid sunlight that can kill you quite.” This contrasts with his elements of bad in chapter 11 on page 76 when he says “By my own bad, please don’t think of me as some saint. That would make me as monstrous as Grendel, though in the other direction. Majesty of all the Danes, sweet Wealtheow, you see before you a hero who has come through many kinds of high adventures only to foul of his own weakness.”

Envy is a sin that poisons the sinner and is self-destructive in nature. The common perception of envy is that it is an emotion that, much like jealousy, that comes from a desire to possess something that someone else has. However, envy goes a step further and causes an individual to not only desire what someone else has, but to also wish that the other person did not have it at all. Spenser uses the conventional view of envy stated above in conjunction with some unconventional imagery in order to elaborate on the nature and implications of being an envious person. In doing this Spenser is able to teach to reader an aspect of envy that they may not already know or understand. In his portrayal of envy in book one of The Faerie Queene, Spenser is trying to convey to his readers that people who are envious are trapped in and endless cycle of envy that leads to nothing but unhappiness and misery. Spenser’s interpretation of envy, like the other deadly sins in the house of pride, can be broken down into 4 images: the animal that he rides, his appearance, how he behaves, and the ailment he has. This paper will use the first three of these images to show how Spenser’s depiction of Envy is meant to teach the reader that the sin of envy can only lead to perpetual unhappiness and misery.

In the epic poem Beowulf, there is an obvious distinction between good and evil. The hero and his foes play roles that are commonly associated with Anglo-Saxon literature. The lines are clearly drawn and expressed in the poem. As the story moves, the reader cannot mistake the roles being played, based on the characterizations in the epic, one recognizes each character for their purpose and place.

Additionally, Davis’s monograph explores detailed information regarding the shift of many people at the time from Catholicism to Protestantism, which is extremely important to the

The importance of the theme of good and evil is an important part of the story or in this case an epic poem. The hero is facing a big threat and needs to save the world. In this case it would be Beowulf vs. Grendel."I had a fixed purpose when I put to sea. As I sat in the boat with my band of men, I meant to perform to the uttermost what your people wanted or perish in the attempt,in

The Protestant Reformation period took place from the 1500s to the 1600s. This reformation was a change in the Roman Catholic Church. It happened due to some priests' and believers' opinions that contradicted a few of the Catholic Church's ideals and practices. It separated the former Catholic religion into branches; including Lutheranism, Anglicanism, Calvinism, and Anabaptism, each branch having different, although very similar, beliefs. Lutheranism, for example, is very different from Calvinism. These newly created branches changed Church unity forever and they have survived and grown for centuries.

Protestants were the majority, being tenants of land and outnumbering the Catholics, causing religious tension

The protestant reformation happened at the moment that it did because the Catholic Church was very a powerful force in Europe. It controlled people lives both spiritually and temporally. The church had so much power that it maintained political control over a large portion of Italy. The fact that the church held so much control over countries and governments became a point of contention among European countries such as the Holy Roman Empire, Italian city-states outside of Rome, England, France and Spain. The power of the rulers of these areas had greatly increased in the 14th century and they were eager to take the chances offered by a Reformation to weaken the grip of the Catholic Church in Europe and also to develop their own powers across the European continent. For quite some time the Catholic Church had been an institution rampant with internal struggles. Such as the Avignon Papacy from 1309 to 1377 when seven popes opted to live in Avignon, France and not reside in Rome which was and is the traditional home of the Papacy. The Pope and other high ranking church officials often lived opulent lifestyles rather than a more austere lifestyle that should befit a spiritual leader. Many church leaders and Popes maintained political powers. They led armies, waged wars and made many political decisions. Church offices were sold, and many Popes and bishops practiced nepotism to fill church offices. With all of these worldly issues for the Pope

Good and evil are symbolized by light and darkness in the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare. When there is peace and good, Shakespeare mentions light; whether if it is the sun shining brightly or merely a candle giving light. On the other hand, when there is evil and disorder, he mentions darkness; a shadow or a horrible thunderstorm. Witches are known for evil, chaos, and conflict. Since Witches are known to be evil, whenever they appear, the weather is usually horrible. Shakespeare utilizes light and darkness in order to portray when good or evil will take place.

The Protestant Reformation was a time period that changed Christianity. During this era, the Pope was considered the ultimate authority and not the king. Life revolved around the church. After the movement, kings became the ultimate source of power once again. Without this change, the Catholic Church might still be in control today.

By the late 1500s, Christian denominations had been popping up all over Europe. This was in response to the reports of indulgences (selling of freedom from purgatory), clerical immorality, abuse of money, along with many other bad actions that were rampant among the Church. It was these problems that Luther and others rebelled and created their own religions. With the rising of these Reformation movements, the Church needed to make some reforms itself. These reforms took the form of educating the clergy, opening monasteries, the Inquisition, and the organizing of councils. In fact, even though Protestant attacks brought these reforms, many of these reforms were needed anyway. The problems in the Church were so bad that the Church would not

The first picture shows a church that is full of paintings and sculptures, this is a photo of the Catholic Church. In the Catholic Church they worshiped relics and used many statues and other pieces of art. Along with the use of relics, the Catholic Church used the bible to teach and preach about God, whereas the protestant Church did not. The second picture is of a church that is mostly empty, this shows the protestant church, because they did not use relics and they focused on their relations with god.

Edmund Spenser’s epic poem The Faerie Queene is well known as an allegorical work, and the poem is typically read in relation to the political and religious context of the time. The term allegory tends to be loosely defined, rendering a whole work an extended metaphor, or even implying “any writing in verse or prose that has a double meaning”(Cuddon 20). In true Spenserian style, with everything having double meanings, both uses of the term allegory are applicable to his writing.

Redcrosse is first introduced to evil when fighting the dragon, Error. When fighting the dragon, Spenser writes, "Her vomit full of bookes and papers was (177)." These papers represent Roman Catholic propaganda that was put out in Spenser's time, against Queen Elizabeth. This shows the allegory Spencer was trying to put forth in writing this poem. After defeating the dragon, Redcrosse and Una travel looking for the right path, when it starts to get dark and they find a place to stay, with a hermit in his inn. When they fall asleep, we find out who this hermit is, Archimago, an evil sorcerer. He conjures up two spirits to trouble Redcrosse. One of the spirits goes into his dreams and makes him dream of love and lust, when he awakes; he is lying next to the other spirit who is disguised as Una, who asks for a kiss from him. He turns it down, and falls back asleep. Then Archimago takes the spirit disguised as Una and lays it in a bed, and takes the other spirit and disguises it as a young man. Redcrosse awakes and sees this and is furious and decides to leave without her. The mission Archimago was out to accomplish had worked and he had separated holiness and faith. Now without faith, Redcrosse goes out and is all on his own. He travels on until he meets another knight, Sansfoy,