Question: What is the allegorical significance of the fight between the monster Error and Red Cross Knight?
Introduction
Edmund Spenser (1552-1599) ranks as one of the prominent poets of the 16th century in the history of English literature. He is called so for creating The Faerie Queen, an epic poem and fantastic allegory celebrating the Tudor authority and Queen Elizabeth I. He describes the adventure of the Red Cross Knight, who was appointed by the Faerie Queen to help Lady Una, whose parents dwelt in tremendous dread of a violent Dragon that had destroyed their whole kingdom and threatened them with death and destruction.
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The allegorical significance
As the Knight received his order, he starts his journey with Una. On the way, they meet with a terrible monster Error, represented as a horrible creature. The monster has the face of a woman and the rear part a serpent. There happened a terrible fight between the Knight and the monster, which has an allegorical purpose. Let’s discuss broadly-
The most violent fight
The fight between the Knight and the monster is showed as the fiercest one. Meanwhile, during the fight, the Knight found himself in the grip of the monster’s huge tail. Seeing this, Lady Una screamed at the Knight to show his courage. She said to him to have faith in God and fight. Hearing this inspirational speech, the Knight fought with courage. He was able to release himself from the grip of the monster and became able to kill the monster-
“Halfe furious unto his foe he came,
Resolved in mind all suddenly to win.”
Spiritual and moral conception
The mentioned fight has spiritual and moral significance also. The Red Cross Knight is the embodiment of Holiness. Lady Una stands for Truth, Goodness, and Wisdom here. Her parents symbolize Humanity. As the Knight wins the fight, this means that the truth and holiness win, and the evil is lost. The knight shows his courage as he is worth-
“And on (Redcrosse’s) brest a bloddie Crosse he bore,
For dear remembrance of his dying Lord.”
Sign of political issue
After scanning the poem, we have found some political affairs here. The Knight of the Red Cross is St. George Church of England or England as a militant spiritual force, fighting corruption, pride, and manifold evils of Papacy, Paganism, and Catholicism. Una is the truth as embodied in the doctrines of the National English Church.
The conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism
The fight between the Knight and the monster Error actually reflects the conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism of England. When the monster vomits, some papers and books come out. These papers and books reflect the bitchy pamphlets directed against Queen Elizabeth by the Roman Catholics. As Spenser says-
“Therewith she (Error) spewed out of her filthy maw
A floud of poyson horrible and blacke”
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Conclusion
So, the fight between the Knight and the monster reflects that when Truth (Una) and Holiness or True Religion (The red Cross Knight) mingled together, Evil (Error) cannot stand against them. Thus, the Knight’s encounter with Monster Error epitomizes the whole Book-I of the FaeireQueene.
