nf0058: is [0.2] on [0.2] allegory [0.6] not just [0.4] allegory in The Faerie 
Queene [0.3] but [0.3] allegory [0.3] and symbolism in general and one of the 
things i'm [0.4] trying [0.5] to get you to see [0.7] is [0.4] that allegory in 
The Faerie Queene [0.3] isn't just a sort of [0.6] special thing [0.3] that 
only creatures from the planet [0.4] Zog and [0.3] specialists in [0.3] 
Reformation theology [0.3] know about we don't just descend from on high and 
say [0.3] oh by the way [0.2] this bit means this thing [0.2] and that bit 
means that thing and this thing over there means the other thing [0.6] and [0.
2] you know this specific bit in the Bible or this specific historical event [0.
4] is what's being alluded to here [0.4] i mean [0.2] these are definitely 
things that you need to know [0.3] if you don't [0.2] know about them [0.3] 
then we need to point your noses in these directions [1.0] so that you can find 
out [0.9] but [0.3] er [0.2] when we tell you [0.4] all these useful pieces of 
[0.9] background information [1.8] what we like to feel we're doing [1.0] is [0.
2] clearing away [0.3] a barrier of [0.3] ignorance [1.0] that lay between you 
and the text or perhaps not actual [0.3] ignorance of [0.3] events [0.3] but [0.
2] 
unawareness that those particular events that you did know about [0.3] like for 
example [0.4] the [0.4] changing [0.2] religion of England between Roman 
Catholicism and Protestantism and back again and then back the other way [0.6] 
in the sixteenth century would be relevant to this passage [0.4] or [0.2] 
something like er the Spanish Armada [0.4] of fifteen-eighty-eight [0.2] 
Spain's unsuccessful attempt to [0.3] invade these shores [0.2] and reclaim all 
[0.2] the lost souls for Catholicism [1.8] the idea [0.3] is to say oh by the 
way [0.2] do you see how this fits here [0.2] do you see how Spenser is 
thinking about that bit there [1.4] so as i say what we're trying to do [0.3] 
is remove [0.2] a barrier [0.3] of [0.2] ignorance [0.4] or [0.3] unawareness 
that the things you did know [0.2] were actually helpful at this point [1.4] 
what we do not wish to do [0.6] by [0.3] all this saying oh yes well of course 
Duessa both means the whore of Babylon look at her in Revelation and she means 
Mary Queen of Scots the [0.3] rival Catholic claimant to the throne whom [0.5] 
Elizabeth had very [0.3] er reluctantly had had to have [0.4] 
beheaded [0.5] al-, [0.2] and you know it also means the Roman Catholic Church 
in general [0.3] as opposed [0.2] to the Protestant religion [0.6] and you then 
think oh great [0.2] got that [0.2] that's Duessa hurray [0.2] finish [1.6] we 
don't want you to then feel [0.2] that we have actually erected another [0.2] 
wall [0.3] another [0.2] barrier [0.2] between you and the text [0.3] so that 
first there was a barrier [1.0] between you and the text considering [0.3] 
consisting of ignorance [0.5] and then [0.2] we stick up another [0.3] barrier 
[0.6] consisting of knowledge and then you think oh God yes i couldn't have 
worked that out for myself i'm not clever enough or i don't know enough or [0.
3] i'm frankly not that interested in Renaissance politics and history [0.4] 
and then say oh right [0.2] this is what i want to know [0.2] this is what the 
lecturers have told me [1.5] so this is the stuff i need to know [0.2] this is 
the answer to the text [0.3] and this is what i have to give the lecturers back 
in my essays [0.3] and in my exams [1.5] that way [0.9] some very very dismal 
work [0.4] lies [0.6] and perhaps far more to the point some very very 
dismal reading experiences [0.7] what we're trying to do [0.2] is clear the way 
for you [0.3] plough the road [0.3] so that you can then roll up your sleeves 
and get back into that text and get things [0.3] out of that text [0.3] for [0.
2] yourself [0.8] it's to help you [0.2] with your reading [1.1] so i'm going 
to start off [0.3] by just going through a few [0.2] basic [0.2] reading [0.3] 
techniques [0.3] and critical terms [0.3] that [0.2] will crop up and that may 
come in useful [0.4] and just to remind you [0.3] that The Faerie Queene [0.4] 
is doing something that lots and lots of poems and plays and novels and films 
[0.2] and [0.3] advertisements and political slogans and football shirts do [0.
3] it's just doing it [0.2] rather more often and rather more vehemently [1.6] 
so [0.2] just to get you feeling [0.3] that Spenser was an author [0.6] like 
any other author [0.4] and The Faerie Queene is a work like any other work [0.
3] i want to go through [0.2] some literal terms that could be useful when 
you're [0.3] reading this or anything else [1.6] and this will gradually lead 
us into [0.5] allegory and symbolism and special things that happen there [0.8] 
well to start 
with [0.7] most [0.2] literature [0.6] deals [0.3] with literal [0.2] 
description [0.6] simply saying [0.2] what [0.2] something [0.2] is like [1.3] 
er and saying that it's like it in [0.7] very literal [0.3] terms you know [0.
2] she had long blond hair [1.1] er [1.8] the house was made [0.2] of grey 
granite [0.6] literal description [1.9] then [0.2] we start getting figurative 
language [6.1] now figurative language [0.3] is also known as imagery [3.3] or 
figures of speech [3.7] figures of [0.2] speech [3.9] right [1.0] figures of 
speech [0.5] now this is where you say things [0.3] that [0.4] are striking [0.
5] but are not literally [0.3] true [1.5] and a lot of people make a mistake of 
talking about imagery [0.2] whenever they find anything that's particularly [0.
2] vivid or interesting [0.2] and it really doesn't work that way [1.9] so i'll 
just rub this off now [1.5] and we'll start [0.7] with some examples of very 
simple examples of figures of speech [2.7] now [0.3] if something is said to 
resemble something that it doesn't really resemble very closely [0.6] that is 
simile [0.4] like [0.4] as if [0.5] as it were [0.4] so have i seen two swans 
or something like that [0.3] and that's simile [4.9] and 
the standard one i always quote here [0.3] is [0.3] er [0.2] Robert Burns' 
famous line [0.2] my love is like a red red rose [0.3] very few people would 
really be attracted to a girl [0.3] if [0.2] she was covered with thorns green 
leaves and petals [0.9] but we all know that what he's alluding to [0.3] is [0.
2] her sweetness her softness and maybe you know the loveliness of her blush [1.
5] but she isn't really very like a rose [0.3] it's a simile [1.7] er [0.7] 
then [0.9] we get [0.9] metaphor [3.6] and most other figures of speech are 
branches of metaphor one way or the other [4.2] and metaphor [0.4] is when you 
say something [0.3] is [0.7] or does [0.2] something [0.3] that it isn't real 
[0.5] in real life [0.5] for example [0.5] er if you say [0.2] my heart is on 
fire [1.1] that's a metaphor [0.2] i hope [1.0] love laughs at locksmiths [0.3] 
er that's a metaphor because of course [0.2] there isn't really such a thing as 
love who is a person that can laugh [0.3] so that's a [0.2] personification of 
love so that comes in under the heading of metaphor [0.9] my cat is a demon i 
don't know why i put dow-, that 
down as a [0.4] metaphor you [0.5] only got to look at me to see that that's 
true but never mind [1.1] er [0.2] my son is a pickle [0.9] well let's hope 
that's just a metaphor [0.5] and somebody hasn't been after him [1.1] right [0.
6] and there are many branches including personification which i've already 
mentioned [0.2] love [0.2] laughs at locksmiths [0.2] the idea that if you 
really love somebody [0.2] you can always get at her [0.2] however hard her 
husband is trying to keep you out of the house [1.0] and you know that's the 
sort of thing [0.6] that metaphor does [1.7] er now something [0.6] we have 
here to think about [0.3] is two other words [0.4] and you will often find this 
being thrown at you [0.5] by critics [0.8] so we might as well get it right [1.
7] vehicle [2.1] and tenor [7.0] and i could imagine a lot of times when if 
you're talking about allegory in Spenser or anybody else it's useful to know 
these words [0.8] vehicle [0.8] is [0.5] the thing [0.3] you are given [0.2] 
it's [0.2] the image [0.8] and the tenor [0.3] is what [0.3] it is talking [0.
3] about [0.8] so if i say [0.3] my cat [0.2] is a demon [1.4] 
the idea of the cat [0.3] being a demon [0.3] is the vehicle [0.5] and the 
meaning [0.3] the tenor [0.4] is [0.3] the idea that my cat has a very bad 
temper [4.6] right [0.8] so much for these words [1.2] and thus [0.3] in [1.0] 
er [0.7] Spenser [0.2] you could say for example [0.3] that [0.2] [sniff] [0.2] 
you know Duessa riding along in her [0.4] bright red dress on her seven-headed 
beast [0.3] is [0.2] the vehicle [0.5] and that Roman Catholicism [0.5] or [0.
2] evil [0.3] or [0.2] doubleness or whatever else you want to say she 
represents at the time is the tenor [0.2] that's what's really going on [2.8] 
right now here are some other words coming up [2.5] type and antitype [4.4] now 
[1.1] you have to remember [0.2] that we're studying [1.4] works written by 
people [0.4] who believed [0.3] that God himself [1.0] used [0.3] allegory [2.
3] the idea is [0.4] that in the Old [0.2] Testament [0.4] that's the first 
part of the Bible [0.2] the part that the Jews believe [0.7] right [1.0] in the 
Old Testament [0.8] everything important that happens [0.5] is not only 
literally true in itself [0.8] but [0.2] so arranged [0.3] that [0.3] it is [0.
5] a type [0.5] by which they meant [0.6] a foretelling [0.5] an indication [0.
8] a symbol [0.7] of something that was going to happen [0.4] in [0.3] the New 
Testament [0.3] that's what starts with the Gospels [0.2] Matthew Mark Luke and 
John [0.3] and it tells the story of Jesus [0.3] and of his apostles after him 
[0.5] in the Acts of the Apostles and [0.3] the various Epistles of Paul and 
other saints [0.8] and [0.4] it is this [0.2] together with the Old Testament 
[0.2] that Christians [0.2] believe [1.7] and [0.9] one example i can give you 
of type [0.4] and [0.3] antitype [0.6] it's just one thing but it shows you the 
way [0.3] er this sort of biblical 
critical mind worked [0.3] and you can also find it very useful when you're 
reading Milton [1.5] is [0.3] that when [0.6] in the Old Testament it describes 
how [0.2] Moses and his followers [0.2] spent [0.3] forty [0.2] years [0.7] in 
the desert [0.2] after they came out of Egypt [0.2] looking for [0.2] the 
promised [0.2] land [1.3] right which was of course [0.3] Israel and Judea [2.
5] the antitype [1.1] to this [0.6] the thing that this was a symbol of [1.0] 
was the forty days [0.3] that Jesus [0.2] spent in the wilderness [0.4] being 
tempted [0.3] by the Devil [0.5] before [0.2] he took on [0.2] his mission to 
save humanity [1.1] so there is a type [0.4] and an antitype [0.3] and these 
are words that you'll often find thrown at you [0.2] in critical books [1.8] er 
[4.1] another word [0.3] er that you might find [3.8] which i find enormous fun 
[7.3] is [0.4] if i can get it on [0.4] yep here it comes [0.6] euhemerism [0.
9] E-U- [0.2] H- [0.5] E-M-E-R-I-S-M [0.5] euhemerism [0.3] and you will 
sometimes find a critic toss he'll say oh yes this is a euhemeristic reading [1.
3] and this is called after the Greek critic Euhemerus [1.0] er a man for whom 
i have enormous respect [0.7] who looked [0.5] at [0.5] the [0.3] pagan [0.2] 
myths [0.4] and legends of the gods and heroes around him [0.9] 
and i don't think he was the first one to do this but [0.4] he was the one to 
get i-, get it named after him [0.3] what he did was [0.4] he thought of this 
interpretive [0.4] system [1.8] which he felt was desperately needed in order 
to explain [0.6] a curious anomaly [0.6] about myths of the gods and heroes [0.
5] and the curious anomaly was this [0.8] that we are supposed to venerate the 
heroes and worship the gods [1.0] which might suggest a certain amount of 
respect [0.4] and yet their behaviour [0.3] is very often deeply [0.2] deeply 
immoral [0.8] when judged by human standards [0.9] and in fact [0.3] er there 
have been a lot of people throughout history including Pythagoras and Plato [0.
8] who [0.2] made perhaps what anthropologists would consider the terrible 
mistake [0.3] of believing [0.2] that a god [0.2] necessarily has to be 
respectable by human terms [0.5] the fact is [0.2] many of the ancient myths 
that you should be coming across in your classical reading [0.3] show that no 
such thing [0.3] is the case [0.3] and that perhaps ultimately an attempt [0.5] 
by [0.4] er a Greek worshipper [0.5] of the Olympian gods [0.4] to [0.3] 
condemn [0.4] Aphrodite goddess of love because she's an adulteress [0.3] or [0.
2] Ares [0.2] god of war [0.2] because he's a bully [0.5] is [0.2] totally 
irrelevant and deeply impertinent not to say blasphemous [1.1] if Aphrodite 
alias Venus sleeps around then she's doing what she does best [0.3] this is 
what is in her nature to do [0.7] and if a god and [0.2] personification of war 
[0.4] er [0.2] isn't a violent aggressive bully then he's obviously sleeping on 
the job [1.3] but this idea [0.2] that gods [0.2] personify the essence [0.6] 
of universal phenomena [0.4] is one way of looking at religion [0.5] and the 
idea [0.3] that God [0.2] should not only [0.2] demand [0.2] high moral 
standards from his or her worshippers [0.3] but also [0.5] be a moral being [1.
1] himself or herself [0.6] that is a very different idea [0.2] and what we see 
[0.3] with Judaism [0.2] Christianity [0.2] Islam [0.7] and [0.2] with a lot of 
high-minded pagan Greeks and Romans themselves [0.4] is [0.2] the clash of 
these two different ideas [0.8] and so [0.2] Euhemerus [0.8] like others before 
and after him [0.3] came up with the idea [0.4] that the real truth was [0.5] 
not so much about morality as about [0.2] power [1.7] that the originals of the 
pagan gods [0.3] had not been gods [0.3] but they had been human beings and on 
the whole [0.2] 
very badly behaved human beings who had behaved in very violent ways [0.8] and 
[0.2] that people had then [0.4] er [0.4] told legends about them or been 
forced by their power to worship them as if they were gods [0.2] and that was 
how the story started [0.3] Aphrodite for example [0.2] had begun her career [0.
2] as a highly successful prostitute [0.6] somehow [0.2] it all makes a hideous 
amount of sense [0.8] and so very often [0.2] you'll find [0.3] er [0.2] 
stories and interpretations [0.3] where [0.2] people will go around to say well 
there must originally have been a human being [0.4] who [0.2] behaved in a 
particular way and then the stories got enlarged and distorted [0.2] and that's 
how [0.2] ideas about how Jupiter turned himself into a bull and raped Europa 
started [0.2] something like that [2.2] thus for example [0.3] er [0.2] Actaeon 
a [0.2] very popular figure [0.3] in [0.2] Renaissance poetry [0.3] er [0.2] a 
young man who went out hunting one day [0.4] accidentally [0.2] saw [0.3] the 
goddess Diana [0.3] bathing [1.0] and was thereupon turned into a stag and torn 
to pieces by his own hounds [0.4] can turn [0.2] into a little moral story [0.
2] about a young man who was so [0.9] 
fond of hunting [0.2] that he spent more on it than he could afford and his 
hounds [0.2] to use [0.2] a common metaphor [0.2] ate him out of house and home 
[2.3] er [0.2] something else that you'll come across and this is very useful 
indeed do keep your eye open for this in Spenser [2.2] is pathetic fallacy [8.
3] a fallacy of course [0.3] means something [0.4] that isn't true [1.2] and 
pathetic means to do [0.2] with [0.2] feelings [0.7] and pathetic fallacy [0.2] 
is the convention [0.2] whereby [0.2] the weather [0.3] the landscape [0.2] the 
whole environment around you [0.3] matches [0.2] your mood [2.0] now [0.3] er 
[0.7] in an [0.2] allegory [1.9] where [0.3] er everything can be seen as 
symbolic [0.6] pathetic fallacy can be very important indeed so watch for 
weather [0.6] er [0.2] note that in Spenser [0.3] the weather is always there 
[0.4] er in connection [0.3] with [0.3] er moral developments with some sort of 
er [0.9] er turn or twist in the plot [0.3] if he needs his characters to get 
lost in a wood it will rain [0.4] otherwise it won't [0.5] you know [0.2] 
there's there's no sense of [0.3] giving us the sort of naturalistic randomness 
[0.3] of English weather [0.3] that 
you might get [0.2] or expect to get [0.3] in [0.2] realistic plays poems or 
novels [0.3] but there again [0.2] how random is the weather [0.4] in [0.2] 
most English plays poems or novels anyway [0.2] how [0.2] random is the 
landscape i mean [0.3] those of you [0.2] who have read Thomas Hardy [0.3] will 
know the way [0.3] that [0.2] he will construct landscapes that [0.3] er [0.6] 
illustrate and reflect the mood of his characters [0.3] thus in Tess of the 
d'Urbervilles [0.3] when our heroine [0.3] is having [0.2] a happy [0.4] love 
affair [0.3] she does it in a lush green landscape full of cows and flowers [0.
9] when [0.2] she has been cast aside and is miserable [0.2] she goes to a 
place with the wonderfully [0.2] symbolic name [0.2] of Flintcomb-Ash [0.2] you 
know [0.2] everything is just [0.3] debris [0.3] hard [0.2] sterile [0.6] and 
er [0.2] she has a very miserable hard job [1.0] even that most ruthlessly [0.
2] realistic of writers [0.2] Jane Austen [0.2] will flirt with pathetic 
fallacy [0.4] er [0.2] notice the way [0.2] that in Emma [0.3] the weather [0.
3] always seems to subtly [0.2] not only [0.2] affect [0.3] but reflect [0.2] 
the mood of the characters [2.9] and as i said all these things [0.2] have to 
be thought of and 
these are things that occur all over the place it isn't just something that 
Spenser does [3.0] finally [1.4] what are we going to do about symbolism [1.2] 
symbolism is a is a word i think that many people find fraught with perils [2.
7] and again it's a word that will often crop up [0.5] in [0.3] discussions of 
Renaissance poetry not just in Spenser [1.2] let me see can i get can i get 
them all on [3.1] probably not [0.5] let's try again [0.3] s-, now the point 
about symbolism is [0.4] it's when something [1.4] represents [1.1] a part [0.
8] of a larger whole [2.3] and probably [0.3] er the best recognized symbol [0.
3] in our culture [0.4] would be [0.3] the cross [0.3] which is both [0.3] the 
cross upon which Christ was crucified and which also [0.5] er represents [0.3] 
Christianity [0.2] right [0.3] so something is [0.2] symbolic [0.6] when [0.5] 
it has [0.3] its own value [0.3] but it also has other values that go beyond [1.
3] and [0.2] something that i want to [0.4] impress on you very strongly [0.3] 
is that [0.3] all the things i've talked about so far [0.5] from the most 
literal description [0.2] to the most fanciful metaphor simile [0.3] or 
personification [0.3] can be symbolic [0.3] 
anything can be sym-, [0.3] a symbol [0.4] if it sort of [0.4] goes beyond its 
own self [0.3] if it [0.2] links up with another meaning [1.8] right in fact 
originally [0.3] er [0.2] the symbol comes from the Greek word [0.4] which [0.
2] meant [0.2] a tally [0.8] where [0.2] er if you [0.2] if you owed somebody 
money [0.9] and er was sending it to them and you wanted to make sure it went 
to the right person [0.5] you sent the money along [0.3] with half a stick [1.
0] and the person who was going to receive it had the other half of the stick 
[1.6] and when the person arriving with the money [0.2] handed it over to the 
other guy he would first test his stick to make sure that the [0.3] that the [0.
2] broken bits of his stick [0.3] fitted [0.2] the broken bits of the other 
guy's stick [0.3] and that was when the symbol [0.2] came together [1.1] so it 
is something which fits in [0.4] makes a meaning [0.2] with something else [1.
0] and it can be anything you like really [0.5] i mean in drama it can even be 
a bit of scenery or a prop you know it doesn't have to be words [1.7] right [1.
5] 
now then [2.0] now i can give you just a few examples from The Faerie Queene [0.
9] of some of the things that i've been looking at [0.5] and i would like to do 
that [0.4] er [0.4] so that [0.2] i can just remind you [0.2] it isn't just a 
question of looking up your lecture notes [0.3] but that it's a [0.2] a 
question of fine detail too [0.4] because all the lecture notes do [0.2] is 
give you the course outline [0.3] of [0.3] you know what [0.2] tells what story 
[0.4] but [0.2] we want [0.2] you also [0.2] to be able to [0.2] read in [0.2] 
the detail [0.3] for yourselves [0.3] because if The Faerie Queene [0.2] were 
no more [0.3] than what the useful lecture summaries make it [0.3] it would 
neither have been worth writing [0.5] nor reading [0.7] it would not be on this 
syllabus [1.3] so remember [0.3] go for the details [1.3] now [0.3] er [0.2] if 
i look at [0.2] the first book of The Faerie Queene [0.6] i'm looking at canto 
two it really doesn't matter what i'm reading [0.7] it really doesn't matter [1.
0] just listen to me [1.4] i don't want paper rustling [1.5] er here's a just 
an example of er literal description [0.6] as we've seen already [0.8] er [0.3] 
you know of 
Duessa [0.2] a goodly lady clad in scarlot red [0.3] purfled with gold and 
pearle of rich assay [0.4] and [0.2] oh [0.3] tiny simile but not really just 
like a Persian mitre [0.2] on her hed she wore [0.2] with crownes and owches 
garnished [0.2] the which her lauish louers to her gaue [0.5] so the fact that 
[0.2] we're told [0.2] on the literal level this lady had lavish lovers so we 
know she's no better than she should be [0.2] right [2.1] now [0.6] when [0.2] 
Redcrosse [0.4] decides to fight [0.2] her escort [1.0] there's a simile [0.9] 
Redcrosse [0.5] and the escort [0.2] are [0.2] described [0.2] in terms of [0.
3] animals [0.8] as when two rams [0.2] stird with ambitious pride [0.3] fight 
for the rule of the rich fleeced flocke [0.3] their horned fronts so fierce on 
either side do meete [0.3] that with the terrour of the shocke astonied both [0.
2] stand sencelesse as a blocke [0.3] forgetfull [0.2] of the hanging [0.2] 
victory [0.7] so [0.2] in other words they're both rushing at it eyes shut [0.
2] heads down [0.2] and you're meant to think not just oh yes aren't they like 
rams [0.4] er [0.2] but also [0.2] aren't they being stupid [0.3] you 
know [0.2] literally bashing their heads together [0.4] over this utterly 
worthless woman [2.2] er [0.4] now in [0.5] in the third book [0.4] canto 
eleven [0.2] there's a nice little [0.2] simile here [0.6] of [0.4] the 
tapestry [1.7] which [0.3] we find [0.5] er [0.6] decorating [0.7] the [0.2] 
the [0.7] chamber of Busyrane [2.1] for round about the wals yclothed were with 
goodly [0.2] arras [0.2] and remember goodly here just means beautiful it 
doesn't imply [0.3] any sort of moral worth [0.2] goodly arras of great maiesty 
[0.3] wouen with gold and silke so close and nere [0.3] that the rich metall [0.
2] lurked [0.3] priuily [0.4] as feigning to be hid from enuious eye [0.3] 
interesting personification of the metal there [0.2] the gold is trying to [0.
3] lurk [0.2] to hide away [0.2] even the tapestry is sneaky [0.8] yet here and 
there and euerywhere vnwares it shewd it selfe and shone [0.3] vnwillingly [0.
2] like a discolourd snake [0.4] whose hidden snares through the greene gras 
his long bright burnisht backe declares [0.3] and notice there [0.3] how 
suddenly [0.2] the metal [0.2] has turned into the snake it's like a snake it's 
coming alive [0.2] it's treacherous it's going to get 
you [0.2] oh and notice too [0.2] how brilliantly there [0.2] Spenser has used 
the alexandrine [0.5] you know the long [0.3] final line of the stanza [0.7] 
through the greene gras his long bright burnisht backe declares [1.7] so a nice 
usage there [0.2] of imagery [0.3] and of sound to get the effect [1.1] and 
that's about [0.3] creating atmosphere [0.2] not just a one to one 
correspondence of something [0.2] and this is what we want you to do [0.2] look 
at atmosphere look for subtleties [2.8] er [0.2] and very often there might be 
an implied moral judgement too [0.5] now the original ending of the third book 
of The Faerie Queene [0.5] er it's where Scudamour and Amoret come together [0.
6] lightly he clipt her twixt his armes twaine [0.3] and streightly did embrace 
her body bright [0.3] her body [0.2] late the prison of sad paine [0.2] now the 
sweet lodge of loue and deare delight [0.4] but she faire lady [0.3] ouercommen 
quight of huge affection [0.3] did in pleasure melt [0.3] and in sweete 
rauishment [0.3] pourd out her spright [0.5] and there might be a suggestion 
here [0.3] that [0.2] it might be all right because they 
are actually married [0.2] but is perhaps their love [0.3] a s-, slightly [0.2] 
excessive [0.3] or is it just warning [0.3] that love itself is a very powerful 
thing [0.2] it can actually dissolve two human beings and turn them into one [0.
3] they go on to be compared to the hermaphrodite [0.3] which could as i've 
showed you l-, [0.2] last time i talked to you [0.3] be a sign of the danger 
giving yourself up to excessive passion [1.8] so it's reminding you how very 
powerful sexual attraction is [1.4] and [0.2] here again [0.2] there's a 
suggestion of [0.5] judgement [0.8] atmosphere [0.3] in the description of how 
[0.3] Florimell [0.6] er [0.2] runs away [2.2] Florimell is frightened she's 
always running away [0.3] er she's running towards [0.2] the man she loves 
Marinell [0.3] and away [0.3] from every other man she sees [0.2] er in the 
fear that he's going to attack her and mostly the poor thing is right [1.1] so 
[0.6] here she goes on one of her runs [0.7] like as an hynd forth singled from 
the heard [0.3] that hath escaped from a rauenous beast [0.3] yet flyes away of 
her owne feet affeard [0.3] and euery leafe that shaketh with the least murmure 
of 
winde [0.3] her terror hath encreast [0.3] so fled faire Florimell from her 
vaine [0.3] feare [0.5] long after she from perill was releast [0.3] so she's 
being compar-, cared [0.3] to a panicking animal [0.3] and then we're told [0.
2] hey it was vain [0.2] there was nothing to run away from [0.2] you should 
stop [0.2] but no [0.3] again [0.3] er [0.2] like the knights when they're 
fighting [0.2] the girl when she's running away [0.3] is like an animal she's 
out of control [0.7] each shade she saw [0.2] and each noyse she did heare [0.
2] did seeme to be the same [0.3] which she escapt whyleare [0.7] all the same 
euening she in flying spent [0.3] and all that night her course continewed [0.
3] nor did she let dull sleepe once to relent nor wearinesse to slacke her hast 
[0.5] but fled euer alike [0.4] as if her former dred were hard behind [0.4] 
were hard behind [0.2] her readie to arrest [0.5] and her white palfrey [0.3] 
hauing conquered the maistring raines out of her weary wrest [0.3] perforce her 
carried [0.3] where euer he thought best [0.4] so her palfrey her riding horse 
[0.4] has er [0.7] has er [1.1] got away out of her control [0.4] conquered the 
maistring reins 
out of her weary wrest [0.3] her wrist [0.2] she cannot control her horse [1.1] 
and again [0.3] this is typical [0.3] that Spenser will often show [0.4] er [0.
2] the accoutrements of a character [0.3] the horse [0.3] the armour [0.2] the 
garments are telling you something about them [0.3] and here [0.3] er [0.2] you 
know this [0.2] horse [0.3] which is [0.2] er [0.3] bolting [0.8] is very much 
a picture [0.3] of [0.3] Florimell [0.2] and in fact you could actually argue 
here [0.3] er [0.2] that perhaps you know er [0.2] the vehicle [0.3] er you 
know the girl [0.5] er [0.4] riding an out of control horse [0.4] and the tenor 
[0.2] which is to tell us about the girl's [0.2] mindless [0.3] terror [0.5] we 
might in fact see that they were very slightly [0.4] er in tension here [0.2] 
in opposition in friction [0.3] because if you're looking at that scene [0.2] 
completely realistically [0.3] it's the girl who's frightened of being raped [0.
3] not the horse [0.3] and you might feel that after hours and hours and hours 
of galloping [0.2] if the horse [0.2] was actually able to gain control of the 
situation [0.2] it would probably want to slow down [0.5] not keep on galloping 
but there you are [0.2] the horse here [0.3] is being 
used [0.2] to express [0.2] Florimell's out of control passions [1.6] but just 
to remind you here [0.4] that er [0.4] this sort of [0.6] simile this sort of 
comparing one thing with another background with mood [0.4] goes on all the 
time [0.4] i've got a nice little poem [0.3] written in the twentieth century 
[0.2] by Robert Frost [0.3] called [0.3] Birches [1.0] er [0.4] where [0.2] he 
[0.2] uses [0.2] a very [0.3] powerful [0.2] simile [0.2] to describe [0.3] how 
[0.2] wandering [0.3] er [0.3] in a wood can be like [0.3] living your life 
generally [0.5] and [0.2] where [0.2] you are meant to stop and think and say 
oh yes [0.2] this bit fits with this bit oh yeah and that bit fits with that 
bit [1.1] er he doesn't kind of er [0.4] dot all the [0.3] Is or cross all the 
Ts for you [1.9] it's when i'm weary of consideration [0.7] and life is too 
much like a pathless wood [0.5] where your face [0.2] burns and tickles with 
the cobwebs broken across it [1.0] and one eye is weeping from a twig's having 
lashed across it open [1.1] i'd like to get away from Earth awhile and then [0.
3] come back to it and begin over [0.6] and he doesn't actually tell you in 
detail [0.2] what it is that makes his life so [0.8] hostile 
sometimes but [0.2] i think we can all think of ourselves [0.5] have there been 
occasions when [0.2] you feel your face has burned and tickled [0.2] with a 
cobweb [0.2] broken across it [0.2] a cobweb [0.3] in itself [0.3] isn't [0.3] 
a very strong [0.3] barrier [1.3] it's nothing [0.7] but it can burn and tickle 
you [0.2] it's the kind of [0.2] little detail [0.3] of your life [0.3] that 
embarrasses you [0.2] makes you blush oh God i wish i hadn't done that [0.2] it 
isn't important but [0.7] ooh it irritates ooh it irks [0.8] and of course one 
eye is weeping from a twig's having lashed across it open well what [0.3] 
vulnerability happened here what injustice [0.2] what mistake did you make by 
leaving yourself open [1.0] and he gives you the feeling [0.3] in terms of 
walking through a wood [0.3] but you can [0.4] relate it [0.3] to [0.3] your 
own or imaginary life experiences [2.3] 
and again [0.3] a few i'm going to give you a few examples now [0.3] of [0.3] 
er stories [1.1] where you can find allegory working in [0.2] do-, [0.6] 
popular culture [0.2] we are expected [0.2] to be able [0.2] to understand this 
[0.9] and of course [0.3] allegory itself [0.2] is best understood as a [0.2] 
continued [0.2] metaphor [0.4] er [0.3] where [0.2] one story is told [0.3] and 
it has its own meaning but it also has [0.2] another meaning [0.3] or other 
meanings on top [1.6] and er [3.0] going to going to explore a few [1.0] 
documents shall we say [1.2] which have [0.3] er [1.3] which have allegorical 
significance [2.8] er [0.6] right [1.3] to start with then [0.8] the climax [2.
0] the c-, i know let's turn this off [0.5] the climax of [1.5] book one [0.4] 
of the The Faerie Queene [1.9] is a fight [7.9] 
nf0058: and here [0.9] we have [1.0] the young knight [16.1] the young knight 
is going out to battle evil [9.9] he's going to face his most feared enemy [5.
3] and he's going to take his light sabre though he's been told to leave it 
behind [3.9] typical behaviour [0.3] the knights are always getting too gung-ho 
in Spenser too [12.1] oh did Spenser neglect to ne-, mention that the name of 
er Redcrosse's dwarf was R-two-D-two [6.4] well well okay we've got into the 
dark cavern [2.6] not unlike the Wood of Errour i think [4.2] and he's about to 
encounter his worst nightmare [9.7] he thinks it's the dragon but it's not the 
dragon [3.2] interesting that the foe is so often seen as reptilian remember 
the serpent in Paradise [11.6] here we are [0.2] Darth Vader embodiment of evil 
[1.4] or so we think [8.2] he was told to leave it at home [12.0] he thinks 
he's won [18.8] oh-oh he's killed himself [2.3] should have listened [11.0] 
nf0058: right [0.5] now i think we see here a lot of things happening [0.5] 
which are very very like er [0.7] Redcrosse's first encounter [0.7] with Errour 
[0.4] in the wood you know where er [0.5] Una [0.4] the goddess [0.2] y-, you 
know the representation of truth [0.8] says [0.2] don't start [0.2] don't 
tangle [0.2] don't go in for it [0.3] you know [0.5] er [0.3] but you know 
the young knight is so gung-ho [0.3] he wants to show off [0.4] he wants to 
show how absolutely y-, you know bloody marvellous he is [0.6] and so he goes 
in and finds this monster [1.4] and attacks this monster [1.8] and of course [0.
9] it is his own mistake [0.2] one of the reasons he gets so [0.4] tangled up 
with Errour [0.5] in canto one in the first place [0.2] is that he doesn't have 
the wisdom to know [0.3] that when the very embodiment of truth [0.2] says [0.
2] leave it [0.2] you should just leave it [0.2] he's [0.2] he's looking for 
extra adventures [0.3] he isn't realizing that when God has sent you out on a 
mission [0.3] you go for it and you don't stop and try anything fancy [1.0] and 
of course [0.4] er it is his own errors that he gets tangled up with [0.7] now 
er one of the things that Yoda [0.3] said [0.3] which i think is very helpful 
to you [0.2] always cling on to the sayings of Master Yoda [0.8] er [0.2] when 
[0.2] i-, you know when Luke Skywalker wants to take his [0.4] light sabre [0.
4] y-, Yoda says only take [0.5] what you have with you [0.5] and really it 
should be [0.2] only take what you have in you because this is one of the 
golden 
rules of allegory [0.5] a lot of people [0.2] moan [0.4] that a lot of the [0.
3] characters [0.3] and [0.2] figures and personifications that you come across 
[0.3] in an allegory [0.3] are just flat [0.3] two-dimensional [0.2] figures [0.
2] don't say one-dimensional a one-dimensional figure would just be a spot [0.
3] it's [0.3] the thing you should be accusing them of is being two-dimensional 
[0.3] you know that they're they just [0.4] er [0.5] symbolize well [0.2] like 
shall we say [0.2] Sansfoy Sansloy [0.2] and Sansjoy [0.2] that they symbolize 
[0.3] faithlessness [0.2] lawlessness [0.3] and [0.2] joylessness [1.3] and 
then they complain [0.2] and they say well all these characters are so flat and 
boring you know [0.3] that Redcrosse has a fight with one of these guys and 
wins and another guy and loses et cetera et cetera [0.7] but the point is what 
you have to remember [0.3] is that in an allegorical story [0.5] everybody [0.
3] the h-, [0.6] the hero meets [0.5] is [0.5] what he has [0.2] inside him [0.
9] so [0.3] it's a way [0.3] of creating [0.2] a complex [0.4] psychological 
figure [1.4] er so perhaps it's better to think of allegory [0.2] not just as 
just a no [0.2] a vague [0.2] 
succession [0.4] of [0.3] er [0.8] flat [0.2] characters [31.6] 
nf0058: watch the reactions of the Princess [36.8] 
nf0058: that's another thing of course [0.5] that Redcrosse has to learn [1.7] 
originally [0.2] we're told [0.3] that er [0.2] he was [1.7] like Luke [0.5] a 
farm boy [0.4] after all saint he wa-, he does become Saint George and [0.4] er 
you know [0.2] George actually means in its root [0.6] meaning [0.2] a farmer 
[1.9] that's why Virgil's Georgics are poems about [0.2] farming [1.9] and 
according to the background story Spenser gives to this all [0.5] er you know 
for the whole story [1.2] er [0.4] the Redcrosse knight [0.2] turned up [0.5] 
at [0.4] the court [1.0] of the Faerie Queene [0.3] Gloriana [1.0] looking all 
sort of rough and untrained [0.4] and demanded as a boon [0.2] the next quest 
that should turn up [0.2] and the next quest [0.3] was Una [0.2] the beautiful 
princess in the black veil [0.2] and the white dress [0.2] who [0.2] needed [0.
2] her parents rescuing from the scaly dragon [0.6] and [0.2] therefore [0.2] 
Redcrosse is assigned [0.2] to [0.2] the job [0.7] and this is quite an old 
story and in most versions of this story [0.2] the princess is none too pleased 
[0.3] when they actually send [0.3] an [0.3] 
inexperienced [0.3] er volunteer [0.3] on this extremely dangerous and 
difficult quest [0.2] but also in most [0.2] versions of the story she [0.2] 
she cheers up and marries him in the end [0.5] but the important thing to 
remember is [0.3] that Spenser's princess [0.3] Una [0.5] truth [0.6] wisdom [0.
3] the true faith [0.3] the Protestant chu-, Church [0.3] chastity [0.2] the 
right girl [0.2] is all these things and should therefore [0.3] be listened to 
[0.3] when she gives a bit of advice [2.3] now then [0.4] let us see what else 
we have here [1.2] we have now we're going to have another little [0.5] er [0.
8] another relative complex engagement now [0.5] between vehicle and tenor [0.
2] again i'm trying to drive home the idea [0.5] that [0.4] what the hero 
fights against [0.3] will often tell you as much about the hero's [0.3] 
character [0.2] what he has to learn [0.4] as [0.2] the people who are actually 
on his side [1.0] and [0.2] here again [0.2] we've got a very [0.3] er [0.2] 
complex little situation [0.4] where [0.3] the hero [0.4] is having [0.3] to 
fight [0.2] evil [0.3] in [0.2] himself [0.6] and [1.7] he manages to solve all 
the problems by working out that he is in fact a character in allegorical story 
[0.5] something which would often be of enormous help to the guys in The Faerie 
Queene if they knew [0.6] and that therefore [0.3] the way [0.3] to [0.3] 
defeat [0.2] the embodiment of all evil [0.3] is not to rush around trying to 
cut it into pieces with his light sabre [0.3] but [0.3] to give in [0.2] and 
say no [0.2] i'm a good guy i'm going to follow the path [0.3] of [0.2] moral 
sacrifice [0.2] and i'm not going to do anything nasty at all [0.8] 
er [0.2] a slight little crunch time then between vehicle and tenor because if 
that was a pure allegory [0.3] then at that point the powers of er evil [0.2] 
should just wither away of their own accord [0.2] but because it isn't it's a 
bit mixed up [0.2] he's then got to get his father to come in and [0.2] start 
fighting his physical battle for him [0.9] er [0.6] and er you know i-, i-, it 
might be in-, you know and t-, you might find it interesting to consider [0.4] 
er [0.2] where Spenser too [0.2] might sometimes have little sort of [0.2] 
vehicle-tenor clashes let's see what happens [8.2] 
nf0058: oh sorry we-, [0.5] er sorry wrong tape [0.2] er [0.3] get this right 
in a minute [0.9] there will now be a short intermission [3.0] er [0.7] [click] 
[0.8] ooh [4.0] very sorry [0.2] okay [0.5] right here we are [0.6] Armageddon 
[0.2] the ultimate battle between good and evil [0.3] and slight confusion as 
to whether it should be fought [0.3] in [0.2] physical [0.3] or [0.3] moral 
terms [8.4] 
nf0058: you see the temptation here [0.5] for Luke our young knight [0.3] is to 
engage in physical battle [2.2] just as so 
often [1.4] the knights in The Faerie Queene [0.2] are actually being [0.2] 
tempted [0.2] to [0.2] dally with temptation [0.3] and so often [0.2] the 
correct solution will be to say well actually [0.2] i don't want to fight today 
[1.5] you know [0.5] i'm just going to do what i'm supposed to do i'm not going 
to volunteer [0.2] i'm not going to show off [33.8] 
nf0058: and at this point 
nf0058: i don't want to grow up to be like daddy [0.2] [sniff] [laugh] [7.3] he 
gets it right [0.2] finally [28.8] 
nf0058: so notice there [0.2] the real trap [0.4] was losing his temper [0.5] 
and i think so often you'll find in er The Faerie Queene too [0.4] that er [0.
2] Spenser takes a very dim view [0.4] of [0.2] those knights who feel [0.2] 
that a problem can be solved just by swagging swaggering around [0.6] being 
macho about it [2.2] er [0.4] and as i said since the whole thing you know in 
book one climaxes in a fight [0.3] with a fire-breathing dragon [0.8] er i 
thought again we might think about ways in which a fire-breathing dragon [0.3] 
can [0.2] represent [0.3] can symbolize [0.3] all sorts of evils [0.3] but 
ultimately [0.2] human evil [0.2] you know [0.2] if Adam and Eve hadn't fallen 
[0.2] there wouldn't have been a 
dragon [0.4] and [0.4] er [0.2] so many dragons or other ghastlinesses are 
products of human naughtiness [16.0] 
nf0058: good guy protected by the American constitution 
nf0058: well there we are [1.1] huge [0.2] environmental havoc [0.6] being [0.
2] wreaked there [0.4] by a terrible monster [0.3] but of course [0.3] what 
people there are fighting [0.4] is their own evil [1.2] er because [0.2] er [0.
2] the film of Godzilla [0.7] every film of Godzilla [0.3] makes it very clear 
[0.6] that the monster [0.4] has been created [0.5] by [0.5] human [0.2] 
aggression [0.3] human greed [0.5] er [0.2] human evil [0.3] because of course 
[0.3] it was created [0.3] by [0.2] mutations [0.5] in [0.2] the genes [0.5] of 
its ancestors [0.3] by [0.3] which [0.2] were the result of nuclear fallout [1.
5] so [0.2] again [0.2] man is facing his own evil and again the rule is always 
[0.3] what you find in the cave [0.4] is what you take [0.2] with you [0.4] 
there would have been no [0.2] aggressive [0.2] destructive Godzilla [0.2] if 
there had been no [0.2] aggressive [0.2] destructive atom bombs [2.7] other 
things to note [0.4] er when you're [0.2] you know searching through allegory 
[0.2] is things that don't [0.3] fit [0.2] i've already suggested that there 
was 
a slightly you know [0.4] poor fit [0.3] there [0.3] er [0.2] between [0.2] the 
physical [0.3] and [0.2] the moral [0.2] battles [0.5] er at er the end of 
Return of the Jedi [1.6] er [0.2] and sometimes you might find something [0.3] 
that doesn't quite seem to make sense on one level [0.3] or perhaps you know er 
[0.3] raises questions that don't seem to get answered on that level [0.3] that 
might need to be er [0.5] answered on another [1.2] also [0.3] er [0.2] you 
might sometimes find [0.5] er [0.7] some surprising [0.6] changes [0.3] between 
the value [0.4] of a symbol [0.7] or an object as it passes [0.3] from [0.2] 
literal [0.3] to [0.3] allegorical [1.0] meaning [1.3] and [0.3] a good example 
of that i think [1.0] is the cross itself [0.3] and another one is pilgrimage 
[0.6] because [0.5] wearing of crosses [0.2] was seen especially [0.3] by [0.2] 
the Puritans the really [0.2] Low Church Protestants [0.5] as an idolatrous [0.
2] practice [0.3] an abuse [0.2] and it was associated [0.3] with Roman 
Catholicism [0.4] or [0.2] High Church of [0.4] England [0.2] practice [0.3] 
you have to remember at the time [0.2] you couldn't just say [0.6] 
Protestantism or [0.4] Church of England because people were [0.3] desperately 
moving the goalposts round and trying to decide 
who was on the pitch and who wasn't [0.3] or even which end people were playing 
[0.3] you know [0.3] this was the time people were trying to make the rules [2.
0] and [0.6] er and so crosses are a problem because within [0.5] the story [0.
5] er [0.3] George's shield [0.2] that bloody cross [0.5] is clearly [0.3] er a 
symbol [0.3] of [0.3] pure [0.3] Christianity but there might have been one or 
two of Spenser's readers [0.3] who wouldn't have felt too delighted [0.2] at 
seeing somebody wearing [0.3] er a cross quite so flashily in real life [1.9] 
and in fact er some people even you know tr-, tried to say it w-, you know w-, 
w-, was trying to say you know that it was wrong to actually make the sign of 
the cross and again [0.3] that is not so-, that is something that many many Low 
Church people [0.2] abhor as a practice [0.3] to this day [0.3] they see it as 
idolatrous [1.6] and another thing [0.3] is pilgrimage [0.9] because [0.2] 
going on pilgrimages [0.3] actually going [0.3] to places [0.4] like [0.2] 
Compostella where [0.2] Saint James preached the gospel [0.6] or [0.5] to [0.2] 
Jerusalem itself [1.4] was seen by Roman Catholics [1.1] and some High 
Anglicans [0.3] as a virtuous 
thing to do in itself the feeling you went there the-, these places were holy 
[0.8] and [0.6] okay [0.2] you didn't actually go there to worship [0.2] the 
place or or to worship anything at the place but [0.7] the feeling was that it 
would inspire you [0.8] with holy thoughts [1.1] but [0.4] er again the 
Protestant and especially the Puritan take on this [0.3] was that this was bad 
[0.3] foolish [0.3] and wasteful [1.3] and yet we find Redcrosse himself [0.3] 
goes on a pilgrimage [0.7] and he goes to the Mount of Olives no less [0.4] 
Olivet [0.4] in Jerusalem [0.4] which was [0.3] where [0.2] Jesus [1.4] er 
sweated [0.3] blood [0.4] in his [0.4] agony [0.4] at the thought of the 
forthcoming trials he would have to bear [0.3] if [0.3] he consented [0.4] to 
[0.4] er [0.4] the state of events that would [0.2] ultimately lead to his 
cruxifiction [0.3] this was where [0.6] he [0.3] stayed up [0.2] all night in 
the garden [0.3] and prayed [0.3] to God [1.3] saying [1.2] let not this cup 
come to me take this from me i cannot stand it [0.6] but then in the end said 
[0.7] but if it has to happen [0.4] thy will [0.3] not mine be done [0.3] and 
it is to that place [0.3] that place of [0.4] utter [0.2] sacrifice [0.8] that 
[0.6] Redcrosse is brought [0.3] but i think 
the point you have to bear in mind there is [0.4] that he isn't taken [0.2] to 
the real Olivet [0.3] that [0.2] he is actually standing on the Mount of 
Contemplation [0.5] so [0.3] that what Spenser is saying [0.3] is that this 
pilgrimage is all right [0.3] because [0.4] it's only spiritual [0.5] it's all 
in [0.2] the mind [0.7] so [0.3] it's as if [0.3] pilgrimage itself could be 
seen [0.3] as a type [0.9] of which [0.8] contemplation [0.7] Christian consent 
[0.3] to the will of God [0.5] is [0.4] the antitype [0.5] so again [0.3] it's 
all about what happens inside you [0.4] and [0.2] the complexities are there [0.
7] the details are there [0.3] the fine shades of character drawing are there 
[0.5] but [0.2] you must remember [0.3] to look for them [0.3] not just in the 
individual [0.3] figures [0.3] that are named [0.2] Saint George or [0.2] Una 
[0.3] or Britomart or the rest [0.3] but look at the way they interact [0.2] 
with everybody else [0.3] and that is how [0.4] the [0.2] two-dimensional 
cardboard [0.4] figures [0.3] are slotted together [0.3] to form [0.2] 
structures [0.2] of great beauty [0.2] and complexity [0.3] but do remember [0.
3] that this is something [0.3] that you have to do [0.3] for yourselves [0.3] 
thank you