An Analysis of Selected Stanzas From Book II, Canto VII of Spenser’s Faerie Queene 1 :: Faerie Queene

An Analysis of Selected Stanzas From Book II, Canto VII of Spensers Faerie Queene 1 IHer face right wondrous faire did takeme to beeThat her broad beauties beam broad brightness threwThrough the dismal shade, that totally men might it chequerYet was not that same her owne native hew,But wrought by wile and counterfetted shew,Thereby more lovers unto her to callNathlesse most heavenly faire in deed and vewShe by creation was, till that she did fallThenceforth she seek for help, to cloke her crime withall. Philotime, at first glance, seems an aristocratic Acrasia. Both employ art to improve upon their natural beauty captivate men with their looksin each sense of the word and lounge in luxury and ease. We also see a common insatiability Thereby more lovers unto her to call (my italics), though Philotimes desires never descendor at least are never seen to descend into the sexual realm of Acrasias. But here the similarities end. Philotime, like Acrasia, isto scratch a wordb edecked with seemingness. She sits as in glistering glory and wondrous faire did seem to bee, (my italics). Clearly she is not all as she would seem2 and is making drug abuse of ornament to augment her beauty but where Acrasia was possessed of only a surface beauty, Spenser, most importantly, brings a decided grandeur to Philotime, by study the source of her fairness to creation. Indeed, to further strengthen this allusion, Philotime seems to possess many of the qualities of Eve. Her beauty, though artificially maintained, for it vanished with her Luciferian fall, was nevertheless divinely ordained. Any artificiality we see in Philotime is employ to help satisfy a greed and a vanity that feeds upon the heed of men. Accordingly, as we have said, her artfulness brings not simply lovers but more lovers. wish well Mammon, the god of riches, it is quantity that counts, not quality. Notice, also, that Philotime lives in dim shade. Indeed, dimmer than dim she lives in a cave. The light her looks beam, strangely, unnaturally, throw light not on others, but on herself. Here then is another indication of the beyond doubt(predicate) vanity of Philotime. If we might turn for a moment to Sir Guyon, still rest in the wings, and doubtless still feasting his eyes. We should remember that our noble nickname represents no narrow Temperance, but a universal Temperance, one which addresses all temptationsand not only those of the senses.