Symbolic Use of Light and Darkness in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene

Like all poetry, Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene delights in its use of symbolism to reveal the moral struggle of his characters and the journey toward enlightenment they must seek to fulfill their destinies. Theme and character are two important tools in which Spenser delivers his message of spiritual enlightenment and religious beliefs. Spenser uses the motifs of light and darkness through setting and character to symbolize the spiritual journey undertaken by the poem's main character, the Redcrosse Knight.

In all forms of literature, setting is extremely important in recreating a universe in which characters are able to enact their physical or spiritual journeys. Symbolically they can define character, time, or the obstacles that both inhibit and challenge characters to complete their journeys. In the Faerie Queene, Spenser creates a universe that challenges and serves Redcrosse Knight's spiritual journey toward enlightenment. Settings that symbolize spiritual enlightenment or degradation form the dual aspects of fairyland, the dreamlike universe that composes the world stage in which many of the poem's adventures take place. 

Dark settings often symbolize places in which evil exists. Errours' Den, the dark cave the heroes first encounter on their adventures, provides a place in which the monstrous half-serpent can dwell. Una is the first to recognize this, when she warns the knight that "the peril of this place/I better wot then you..." (Canto 1, 109-10). Spenser sets up the duality between good and evil that exists in fairyland by revealing the contradictions between the Redcrosse Knight and the setting. In Stanza 14, the cave is described as a "darksome hole" (120), but once the knight enters the cave, his "glistring armor" creates enough light for him to see through the darkness. The contradiction between dark and light is apparent in this passage, thus setting up the symbolic paradigm that is woven throughout the poem. By assigning moral attributes to the monsters' dwelling, Spenser is able to reveal the tension that exists within fairyland between good and evil.