Book Reviews

The title of  The Faerie Queene brings odd things to mind. I had no idea what to expect when signing up for the class. In essence, it's a 1000-page poem written around 1596. I guess I should add that it's an epic poem containing six allegorical books. Still, what's it about? Well, it deals with knights on quests, damsels in distress, jousts, Prince Arthur, evil villains, dragons and more. Skillfully done, Spenser has such scenes as a joust on a bridge when the bad knight opens trap doors sending the combatants down into the river to fight in the water. The creativity of the work is masterful. One character is Talus, who is made of iron and essentially uses his mace to off heads right and left. Britomart is a powerful female warrior who cannot lose a joust due to her enchanted lance. Yeah, for a great piece of work on this genre, it's a fun read, full of lessons on avoiding excess by eating well and maintaining control, lessons on being courteous, lessons on being holy and more. It's entertaining, though quite long. Oh, and the title is a tribute to Queen Elizabeth I, who isn't directly featured in the book, but represented through the good female characters and the queens contained within.