MAKETH DERTH, coyness makes desire. The knight is
allured on by Duessa's assumed shyness.
251. NE WONT THERE SOUND, nor was accustomed to sound there.
254. COOL SHADE. The Reformed Church, weakened by Falsehood, is enticed by
doubt and skepticism.
262. FAIRE SEEMLY PLEASAUNCE, pleasant courtesies.
263. WITH GOODLY PURPOSES, with polite conversation. This whole stanza
refers to Mary's candidacy for the English throne and its dangers to
Protestantism.
269. HE PLUCKT A BOUGH. In this incident Spenser imitates Ariosto, _Orlando
Furioso_, vi, 26, in which Ruggiero addresses a myrtle which bleeds and
cries out with pain. The conception of men turned into trees occurs also in
Ovid, Vergil, Tasso, and Dante.
272. O SPARE WITH GUILTY HANDS, etc. Cf Vergil's account of Polydorus in
_Aeneid_, iii, 41, in which a myrtle exclaims, _Parce pias scelerare
manus_, etc.
284. FROM LIMBO LAKE, here, the abode of the lost. With the Schoolmen,
Limbo was a border region of hell where dwelt the souls of Old Testament
saints, pious heathen, lunatics, and unbaptized infants. Cf. Milton's
Paradise of Fools, _Paradise Lost_, iii, 495.
291. FRADUBIO, as it were "Brother Doubtful," one who hesitates between
false religion and pagan religion, Duessa and Fraelissa (Morley). Fraelissa
is fair but frail, and will not do to lean upon.
342. FAIRE IN PLACE, fair in that place.
351. TO TREEN MOULD, to the form of a tree. _Treen_ is an adj. like
_wooden_.
354. THE SAME. Supply "as she appeared to be," i.e. fair and true.
357. PROPER HEW. Witches had to appear in their "proper hew" one day in
spring and undergo a purifying bath. The old romances make frequent mention
of the enchanted herb bath.
370. BY CHAUNGES OF MY CHEARE, by my changed countenance or expression.
371. DROWND IN SLEEPIE NIGHT. The phrase modifies "body," or is equivalent
to "while I was drowned in sleep."
382. IN A LIVING WELL, in a well of running water. This well signifies the
healing power of Christianity. _John_, iv, 14. In Spenser's story this well
is never found, and the wretched couple are never restored to human shape.
404. ALL PASSED FEARE, all fear having passed.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
(Canto II)
1. How does the knight feel and act while under Archimago's spell? 2. What
becomes of Una? 3. How does Archimago plan to deceive her? 4. Tell the
story of the lovers turned into trees. 5. Who was Sansfoy? 6. Describe the
appearance and character of
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