Among the many layers of allegorical content within Edmund Spencer’s The Faerie Queene, there is a particular and striking emphasis placed on the two stanzas describing the character of Una, the Redcrosse Knight’s companion. They are the fourth and fifth stanzas of the first book, possessing also a locational importance as they are a part of the introductory material for the rest of the work. Una’s character is widely known to be the representation of truth, or of the one true faith. In the New Testament of the Bible, Jesus Christ is known for saying “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me,” implying that He is the one and only way to salvation—the one and only truth (John 14:6). Thus, it appears that not only is Una a representation of truth, but is also a symbol of the Christ figure himself. To communicate this, Spencer invokes reverent emotion within these stanzas through his use of symbolic imagery and epic tone, which ultimately underscores the Christ-like divinity of Una’s character.
Just before the opening of the fourth stanza, the tone of the preceding text is harsh and rugged as it speaks of the knight’s foe, “a Dragon horrible and stearne” (Spencer, Book I, Canto I, Stanza III). The contrast between this and the soft, gentle start of Una’s depiction in the following stanza is the first sign of an emotional pull toward her divinity, “A lovely Ladie rode him faire beside” (Stanza IV). The antithesis of the “Dragon”, or Satan as it implies, is Christ. Therefore, such a sudden change in tone at this moment draws the reader’s attention to Christ and his goodness, and leads them to a reverent state of mind for the following seventeen lines.
As Spencer continues with the description, he includes and highlights several biblically significant symbols. The first is the “lowly Asse” on which Una rides alongside the knight. This is a direct reference to Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem before his crucifixion, in which he too rode on the humble place of the donkey’s back–an act which declared to the Jews that he was the true Messiah. The diction in this section emphasizes her purity and gentleness, along with her legitimacy, which again evokes emotion from Spencer’s contemporary readers as they would relate this innocent character to their savior, Christ. This stanza also portrays Una as mournful, “as one that inly mournd: so was she sad” (IV). This seems to reference Christ’s sentiments just before his crucifixion, during which he mourned the eminent verdict, and bore significant heaviness on his shoulders because of the painful cup before him.
Additionally, there is the symbol of the lamb. She is portrayed as leading a lamb on a leash beside her; “By her in a line a milke white lambe she lad” (IV). One of the strongest biblical references to Christ is the pure, white lamb, which represents the perfect sacrifice in atonement for sins because of its spotlessness and innocence. There is an Old Testament prophecy about Jesus that explains, “like a lamb led to the slaughter, he openened not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). Jesus, when he was crucified, became the pure white sacrificial lamb. The fact that the lamb is walking beside Una and that it matches her divine and pure color demonstrates that they are equal, and mirror one another. This, too, is a depiction of Christ just before his execution, an image which again appears intended to evoke emotion within the reader, remembering the pains that he endured through his unjust death.
The fifth stanza centers on defining the royal status of Una and the greatness of the kingdom from which she came: “and by decent of royal linage came…their scepters streatcht from East to Westerne shore” (V). After portraying the truth, innocence and sentiment of Christ before death, here Spencer balances the emotion with that of a reverent recognition of his power through the character of Una. Not only is Christ the one and only way and truth, humble and innocent, but he is also powerful, sovereign with a kingdom whose rule reaches every corner of the world. Through this symbolic and sentimental depiction of Una, Spencer reaches the heart of the matter of the Christian faith, as well as that of his reader—truth is found in Christ alone, he is the one and only way.
October 1, 2018
Works Cited:
Spencer, Edmund. “The Faerie Queene: Book I, Canto I.”Edited by Stephen Greenblatt. The
Norton Anthology of English Literature, 9th Ed. Vol. B. W.W Norton & Company, New York, 2012.
Ryrie Study Bible. Isaiah; John. King James Version, Moody Publishers, 1994.