Edmund Spenser – The Faerie Queene, Book I
Unit I – Lesson 2: Edmund Spenser – The Faerie
Queene, Book I
🧾 Overview:
- Author:
Edmund Spenser (1552–1599)
- Work: The
Faerie Queene, Book I
- Genre:
Allegorical Epic Poem
- Theme
of Book I: Holiness (represented by the Redcrosse Knight)
- Main
Characters: Redcrosse Knight (St. George), Una (Truth), Duessa (Falsehood),
Archimago (Hypocrisy), Dragon (Satan)
Book I of The Faerie Queene presents the Redcrosse Knight's
spiritual journey as he battles sin, deception, and temptation in pursuit of
holiness.
1. Who is the central hero of Book I of The Faerie Queene?
A) Sir Guyon
B) Prince Arthur
C) Redcrosse Knight ✅
D) Britomart
➡️ Redcrosse Knight represents the virtue of
Holiness.
2. The lady who accompanies the Redcrosse Knight is:
A) Duessa
B) Gloriana
C) Una ✅
D) Fidessa
➡️ Una symbolizes Truth and true religion.
3. The monster slain by Redcrosse Knight in the first canto is:
A) Dragon
B) Error ✅
C) Sansfoy
D) Archimago
➡️ He defeats Error, a representation of heresy
and false doctrine.
4. Archimago represents:
A) Chivalry
B) Holiness
C) Hypocrisy ✅
D) Heroism
➡️ A magician who deceives the Knight through
illusion.
5. Duessa’s name symbolizes:
A) Holiness
B) Truth
C) Falsehood ✅
D) Courage
➡️ She stands for duplicity and false religion.
6. Which historical figure is represented allegorically by Gloriana?
A) Queen Elizabeth I ✅
B) Mary Tudor
C) Queen Victoria
D) Joan of Arc
➡️ Gloriana is Spenser’s tribute to Elizabeth I.
7. Who is Una’s true companion?
A) Duessa
B) A lion ✅
C) A dwarf
D) A hermit
➡️ A lion, representing natural law, protects Una
in the forest.
8. What literary form is used in The Faerie Queene?
A) Rhyme royal
B) Spenserian stanza ✅
C) Heroic couplet
D) Blank verse
➡️ Spenser invented this nine-line stanza:
ababbcbcc.
9. The Redcrosse Knight is later revealed to be:
A) Britomart
B) Saint George ✅
C) King Arthur
D) Merlin
➡️ He is a symbol of England’s patron saint.
10. Duessa disguises herself as:
A) Una
B) Gloriana
C) Fidessa ✅
D) Britomart
➡️ She deceives Redcrosse Knight by pretending to
be pure.
11. Who tricks Redcrosse into distrusting Una?
A) Archimago ✅
B) Duessa
C) Sansloy
D) Orgoglio
➡️ Archimago creates an illusion of Una’s
unfaithfulness.
12. Who imprisons Redcrosse after he is weakened?
A) Archimago
B) Sansjoy
C) Orgoglio ✅
D) The Dragon
➡️ Orgoglio, a giant symbolizing pride, captures
him.
13. How is Redcrosse eventually rescued from Orgoglio’s castle?
A) Una brings Prince Arthur ✅
B) He breaks the wall
C) Duessa helps him
D) The Dwarf saves him
➡️ Prince Arthur, representing Magnificence,
rescues him.
14. What virtue does Una represent?
A) Justice
B) Temperance
C) Truth ✅
D) Chastity
➡️ She is the embodiment of truth and true faith.
15. Who defeats Sansjoy in a tournament?
A) Redcrosse Knight ✅
B) Sansfoy
C) Prince Arthur
D) Archimago
➡️ He fights Sansjoy, a symbol of despair.
16. What does the dragon in the final cantos of Book I represent?
A) Sin
B) Satan ✅
C) Deception
D) Death
➡️ The dragon is a symbol of ultimate evil
(Satan).
17. How long does Redcrosse Knight battle the dragon?
A) One day
B) Three days ✅
C) One week
D) Two nights
➡️ A Christ-like struggle symbolizing death and
resurrection.
18. Where does Redcrosse heal before fighting the dragon?
A) Una’s castle
B) A cave
C) The House of Holiness ✅
D) The Temple
➡️ He is spiritually restored at the House of
Holiness.
19. Who is Caelia in the House of Holiness?
A) A witch
B) A saintly woman ✅
C) A temptress
D) A queen
➡️ She is the matron of the House of Holiness.
20. What is Spenser’s main purpose in The Faerie Queene?
A) To entertain
B) To imitate Virgil
C) To fashion a gentleman in virtuous discipline ✅
D) To glorify King Arthur
➡️ He declares this in his letter to Sir Walter
Raleigh.
21. Which of these is not one of the three Sans brothers?
A) Sansfoy
B) Sansjoy
C) Sansloy
D) Sanstemp ✅
➡️ Only Sansfoy (faithless), Sansjoy (joyless),
Sansloy (lawless) are included.
22. What does the Redcrosse Knight earn by the end of Book I?
A) A magical sword
B) A kingdom
C) His own identity as a true Christian ✅
D) The hand of Duessa
➡️ He completes his spiritual transformation.
23. Spenser uses allegory primarily to:
A) Explore romantic love
B) Satirize the monarchy
C) Teach moral and religious lessons ✅
D) Entertain through comedy
➡️ Each character and event has symbolic meaning.
24. Who is the narrator addressing in the invocation?
A) Prince Arthur
B) Queen Elizabeth I ✅
C) St. George
D) Gloriana
➡️ He dedicates the work to her.
25. What is Duessa revealed to be under her disguise?
A) A witch with a serpent’s tail ✅
B) An angel
C) A tree
D) A man
➡️ Her true form is ugly and horrifying.
26. What does the lion that accompanies Una symbolize?
A) Lust
B) Violence
C) Natural law and protection ✅
D) Fear
➡️ The lion protects Una as a symbol of
divine/natural justice.
27. How does Archimago first deceive Redcrosse?
A) With gold
B) By attacking him
C) By creating a false image of Una being unchaste ✅
D) With a magic sword
➡️ He creates an illusion to separate Una and
Redcrosse.
28. Who advises Redcrosse at the House of Holiness?
A) Caelia ✅
B) Duessa
C) Archimago
D) Sansloy
➡️ She teaches him spiritual wisdom and
strengthens his soul.
29. Redcrosse’s battle with the dragon is an allegory for:
A) Civil war
B) Religious conflict ✅
C) Romantic conquest
D) Friendship
➡️ It symbolizes the Christian's battle against
evil (Satan).
30. What virtue is tested repeatedly in Redcrosse?
A) Chastity
B) Justice
C) Holiness ✅
D) Courtesy
➡️ The entire book focuses on Redcrosse’s journey
toward holiness.
31. Why does Redcrosse initially fall for Duessa?
A) She saves his life
B) She appears beautiful and helpless ✅
C) He is under a spell
D) He believes she is his queen
➡️ She deceives him with false appearance and
flattery.
32. What is the name of Duessa's hideous beast she rides?
A) Cerberus
B) Dragon
C) Seven-headed beast ✅
D) Archidemon
➡️ It has seven heads, symbolic of sin and the
Whore of Babylon.
33. Redcrosse is armed with the shield of:
A) Courage
B) Love
C) Faith ✅
D) Truth
➡️ Faith is his primary defense against evil.
34. Spenser’s verse style (Spenserian stanza) ends with:
A) A couplet
B) A rhyming triplet
C) A single alexandrine line ✅
D) Two blank lines
➡️ Each stanza ends with a 12-syllable line
(alexandrine).
35. Sansloy, Sansjoy, and Sansfoy are allegories for:
A) Chivalric values
B) Human virtues
C) Lawlessness, joylessness, and faithlessness ✅
D) The Holy Trinity
➡️ They are unholy opposites of Christian virtues.
36. Redcrosse's initial flaw is:
A) Pride
B) Impulsiveness ✅
C) Cowardice
D) Sloth
➡️ He acts without discernment, which leads to his
downfall.
37. Why does Duessa lead Redcrosse to the palace of Orgoglio?
A) For healing
B) To convert him
C) To have him destroyed ✅
D) To reveal her identity
➡️ She betrays him once he is weak.
38. Una is imprisoned by:
A) The Dragon
B) The Giants
C) No one ✅
D) Archimago
➡️ She wanders in search of Redcrosse but is not
imprisoned.
39. Who kills the seven-headed beast?
A) Redcrosse
B) Una
C) Prince Arthur ✅
D) Saint George
➡️ Arthur defeats the beast when he rescues
Redcrosse.
40. The Redcrosse Knight is betrothed to Una after:
A) Killing Duessa
B) Slaying the dragon ✅
C) Fleeing from Orgoglio
D) Leaving the House of Pride
➡️ He earns Una's hand by completing his spiritual
quest.
41. The House of Pride is built on:
A) A mountain
B) Golden stone
C) Sand ✅
D) Rock
➡️ Symbolic of its moral instability.
42. Who is the queen of the House of Pride?
A) Duessa
B) Lucifera ✅
C) Caelia
D) Fidessa
➡️ Lucifera represents pride and vanity.
43. What warning does the Dwarf give Redcrosse?
A) That the dragon is near
B) That Una is dead
C) That Duessa is false ✅
D) That Arthur is his enemy
➡️ He exposes Duessa’s lies and leads him to
truth.
44. Redcrosse's real name is revealed as:
A) Arthur
B) George ✅
C) Britomart
D) Edmund
➡️ He is England’s patron saint, Saint George.
45. Which classical tradition does Spenser follow?
A) Greek comedy
B) French lyric
C) Virgilian epic ✅
D) Petrarchan sonnet
➡️ He modeled his work after Virgil’s Aeneid in
moral and epic scope.
46. Spenser’s purpose is to create a:
A) Comic satire
B) Romantic legend
C) National moral epic ✅
D) Tragedy
➡️ He aimed to teach virtue through allegory.
47. What does the three-day dragon fight symbolize?
A) The Crusades
B) Resurrection of Christ ✅
C) The fall of Satan
D) Queen Elizabeth's reign
➡️ It parallels Christ's death and resurrection.
48. Redcrosse’s shield bears a:
A) Red lion
B) Golden cross
C) Red cross ✅
D) Dove
➡️ This is a direct reference to Saint George.
49. The “seven deadly sins” are allegorically presented in:
A) The House of Holiness
B) Orgoglio’s court
C) The House of Pride ✅
D) Caelia’s temple
➡️ Each sin is personified in Lucifera’s court.
50. Who is Spenser’s ideal of a true Christian knight?
A) Arthur
B) Britomart
C) Redcrosse ✅
D) Sansloy
➡️ Despite flaws, Redcrosse matures into a model
of holiness.
51. What does the dragon guard at the end of Book I?
A) A kingdom
B) A magical jewel
C) Una’s parents' castle ✅
D) The House of Holiness
➡️ He holds Una’s royal family captive.
52. What happens to Redcrosse in the Cave of Despair?
A) He becomes stronger
B) He considers suicide ✅
C) He sleeps
D) He finds Una
➡️ Despair tempts him to give up on his quest and
life.
53. Who rescues Redcrosse from Despair’s influence?
A) Prince Arthur
B) Caelia
C) Una ✅
D) Duessa
➡️ Una saves him with encouragement and spiritual
strength.
54. Who are the three heavenly sisters in the House of Holiness?
A) Faith, Hope, and Charity ✅
B) Grace, Truth, and Peace
C) Wisdom, Courage, and Piety
D) Beauty, Love, and Strength
➡️ They guide and strengthen the Knight
spiritually.
55. What type of allegory is The Faerie Queene primarily?
A) Political and historical
B) Romantic and heroic
C) Moral and religious ✅
D) Comic and pastoral
➡️ Spenser teaches spiritual and moral virtues.
56. The dragon’s three days of battle symbolize:
A) Purification
B) Trinity
C) Christ’s three days before resurrection ✅
D) Pagan rituals
➡️ Christian allegory of triumph over death and evil.
57. Prince Arthur symbolizes:
A) Chivalry
B) Glory and Magnificence ✅
C) Reason
D) The Reformation
➡️ He is the embodiment of glory and ideal
knighthood.
58. The Cave of Despair warns against:
A) Idleness
B) Sinful pride
C) Losing hope and succumbing to suicide ✅
D) Lust
➡️ It’s a test of faith and perseverance.
59. What is Orgoglio’s weapon?
A) Poison
B) A flaming sword
C) A giant club ✅
D) Spells
➡️ A symbol of brutish pride.
60. The dwarf who travels with Redcrosse represents:
A) Greed
B) Memory and Conscience ✅
C) Reason
D) Hope
➡️ He reminds Redcrosse of his duties and flaws.
61. The name "Duessa" etymologically suggests:
A) Unity
B) Two-faced or duality ✅
C) Peace
D) Wisdom
➡️ Duessa = double/duplicity (Latin: “duo”).
62. The Monster Error feeds her young with:
A) Milk
B) Books and blood ✅
C) Water and honey
D) Fire
➡️ She vomits filth and books—symbolizing corrupt
doctrines.
63. Who gives Redcrosse his shield and armor?
A) Caelia
B) The Host
C) Gloriana ✅
D) Duessa
➡️ Gloriana commissions him for the quest.
64. Una rides a:
A) Black horse
B) Dragon
C) White ass ✅
D) Mule
➡️ Symbol of purity and humility.
65. Duessa’s true form includes:
A) Silver wings
B) A wolf’s body
C) Cloven feet and fangs ✅
D) A serpent tail
➡️ Grotesque and hideous—revealing falsehood
beneath beauty.
66. The House of Pride is ironic because:
A) It’s built on sand ✅
B) It’s the strongest castle
C) It's ruled by a humble queen
D) It’s full of brave knights
➡️ Its beauty is deceptive and fragile.
67. Redcrosse falls into Orgoglio’s power because:
A) He is poisoned
B) He is weakened from sin and pride ✅
C) He sleeps too long
D) He loses his armor
➡️ Moral weakness invites downfall.
68. What is Prince Arthur’s response to Orgoglio?
A) He flees
B) He defeats him and frees Redcrosse ✅
C) He allies with him
D) He kills Duessa
➡️ He plays the role of a divine rescuer.
69. What does the dwarf find in Orgoglio’s dungeon?
A) A scroll
B) Duessa’s disguise
C) Redcrosse’s shield
D) Redcrosse imprisoned ✅
➡️ He brings help to save the Knight.
70. Who rules over the House of Holiness?
A) Duessa
B) Caelia ✅
C) Lucifera
D) Una
➡️ Caelia = heavenly, motherly guide to holiness.
71. The goal of Redcrosse's quest is to:
A) Kill Orgoglio
B) Win Una’s hand
C) Free Una’s parents and defeat the dragon ✅
D) Travel the world
➡️ It is both spiritual and heroic.
72. How does Duessa distract Redcrosse from Una?
A) By poisoning him
B) By casting a spell
C) By disguising as a damsel in distress ✅
D) By stealing his sword
➡️ She preys on his weakness for beauty and pity.
73. How does Spenser refer to Catholicism allegorically?
A) Una
B) Duessa ✅
C) Gloriana
D) Prince Arthur
➡️ Duessa represents the false church and Papal
Rome.
74. Which poet is considered Spenser’s biggest influence?
A) Homer
B) Virgil ✅
C) Chaucer
D) Boccaccio
➡️ He imitates Aeneid in epic structure.
75. Spenser’s epic was intended for:
A) Only scholars
B) Commoners
C) Queen Elizabeth I and English gentlemen ✅
D) Children
➡️ He wanted to model moral behavior for noble
readers.
76. How does Redcrosse defeat the dragon in the end?
A) By magic
B) With Una’s help
C) Through divine aid and perseverance ✅
D) With Arthur’s sword
➡️ He gains strength from the Well of Life and
Tree of Life.
77. The Well of Life symbolizes:
A) Fame
B) Earthly pleasure
C) Baptism and spiritual renewal ✅
D) War strategy
➡️ Redcrosse is rejuvenated through this divine
spring.
78. The Tree of Life represents:
A) Salvation and divine nourishment ✅
B) Worldly success
C) Magic spells
D) Earthly desires
➡️ Like the Tree in Eden, it revives the Knight
spiritually.
79. What is Duessa’s fate after her true nature is revealed?
A) She escapes
B) She is executed by Arthur ✅
C) She repents
D) She vanishes
➡️ Arthur strips her and exposes her as a fraud.
80. Redcrosse agrees to serve the Queen of Fairyland for how long?
A) Forever
B) One year
C) Seven years ✅
D) Until death
➡️ He must fulfill his duty before marrying Una.
81. Una’s name etymologically implies:
A) Power
B) Many
C) One ✅
D) Pure
➡️ She represents unity and Truth (Una = “one”).
82. What is the role of Arthur in Book I?
A) Narrator
B) Spiritual savior figure ✅
C) Comic relief
D) Antagonist
➡️ He rescues Redcrosse and symbolizes glory.
83. Which animal is used to reveal Duessa’s truth?
A) A lion
B) A dragon
C) A donkey
D) A magical horse ✅
➡️ The animal resists Duessa, hinting at her evil.
84. The Faerie Queene is addressed to which monarch?
A) King James
B) Henry VIII
C) Queen Elizabeth I ✅
D) Mary Stuart
➡️ Spenser calls her “Gloriana.”
85. The narrative voice in The Faerie Queene is:
A) Angry
B) Bitter
C) Moral and reflective ✅
D) Distant and objective
➡️ Spenser directly addresses readers and teaches
virtues.
86. Who grants Redcrosse his final spiritual guidance?
A) Caelia
B) Una
C) The Hermit of Humility ✅
D) Arthur
➡️ He learns repentance and faith here.
87. What is the relationship between Gloriana and the Redcrosse Knight?
A) He is her servant ✅
B) He loves her
C) She banished him
D) She opposes him
➡️ He is on a quest commissioned by her.
88. How does Spenser use the character Orgoglio?
A) To mock religion
B) To represent physical strength
C) To allegorize pride and downfall ✅
D) To represent wisdom
➡️ His name means "pride" in Italian.
89. What happens to the seven-headed beast after Duessa’s fall?
A) It flees
B) It attacks Arthur
C) It dies ✅
D) It transforms
➡️ It is slain in Arthur’s battle.
90. The marriage between Redcrosse and Una symbolizes:
A) Royal alliance
B) Political peace
C) Union of holiness and truth ✅
D) Romantic love only
➡️ Spiritual marriage reflecting virtue and faith.
91. What does Archimago do after being defeated?
A) Dies
B) Flees and continues deceiving ✅
C) Joins the Church
D) Repents
➡️ He reappears in later books as evil persists.
92. How is the world of The Faerie Queene structured?
A) Non-allegorical
B) Fully allegorical and symbolic ✅
C) Mythical with no morals
D) Historical realism
➡️ Every character, event, and setting has moral
meaning.
93. Spenser was inspired by which Italian poet’s style?
A) Ariosto ✅
B) Dante
C) Petrarch
D) Machiavelli
➡️ Especially in blending chivalric romance with
allegory.
94. Spenser’s invented stanza has how many lines?
A) 8
B) 9 ✅
C) 12
D) 10
➡️ Eight 10-syllable lines + one 12-syllable
alexandrine.
95. The Redcrosse Knight’s journey represents:
A) A physical adventure
B) A heroic tragedy
C) A spiritual progression ✅
D) A political conquest
➡️ From sin and error to salvation and holiness.
96. What vice most often threatens Redcrosse?
A) Lust
B) Sloth
C) Pride ✅
D) Envy
➡️ It leads him into Orgoglio’s power.
97. Redcrosse's spiritual rebirth is completed when he:
A) Kills the dragon ✅
B) Marries Una
C) Finds Arthur
D) Leaves Duessa
➡️ He proves his holiness by triumphing over
Satanic evil.
98. The Faerie Queene is written as a tribute to:
A) Medieval knights
B) Protestant England ✅
C) The Pope
D) Romance fiction
➡️ Its allegory aligns with Reformation ideals.
99. The main tone of The Faerie Queene, Book I is:
A) Tragic
B) Comic
C) Didactic and heroic ✅
D) Melancholy
➡️ It aims to teach and elevate moral
understanding.
100. The Faerie Queene remains unfinished because:
A) Spenser died before completing it ✅
B) He lost interest
C) It was banned
D) Queen Elizabeth disapproved
➡️ He planned 12 books but completed only 6.
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