Part of The Faerie Queene Books, book 4
First published 1965
The Redcrosse Knight rides forth to slay a dragon terrorizing the kingdom, accompanied by Una, a lady whose parents the beast holds captive. Their quest leads them through enchanted forests where truth and falsehood blur dangerously. The knight faces the sorcerer Archimago, who creates illusions to separate the pair, and encounters the witch Duessa, who nearly destroys him through deception. Meanwhile, Sir Guyon embarks on his own mission to destroy the Bower of Bliss, where the enchantress Acrasia corrupts knights with pleasure and strips them of virtue. Both heroes must overcome not only external monsters but their own weaknesses and temptations. This collection presents the first two books of Spenser's allegorical epic, where Christian virtues battle the forces of evil in a richly imagined fairyland. The Mutability Cantos explore the tension between change and permanence in the natural world, while selections from Spenser's shorter poems reveal his mastery of pastoral and courtly themes.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, fantasy, epic
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: good-vs-evil, quest
Setting: Faerie Queene
Period: Medieval
542 pages · Paperback · Odyssey Press