Paradise Lost and the Faerie Queene: Parellels and Differences

Both Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene and John Milton's Paradise Lost are fantastic pieces of literature that are patterned after Homer's Odyssey and Iliad and Virgil's Aeneid. As English Protestant Epics, Faerie Queene and Paradise Lost both express the strong religious beliefs of the authors and teach numerous moral lessons. One of the overriding warnings is the deficiency of human reason and therefore, the importance of remaining close to God. This theme is illustrated through several incidents in both epics in which the characters heed their fallacious reason, but later draw near to God and enjoy the fruits of a close relationship with Him, although the lasting repercussions are much more severe in Paradise Lost than Faerie Queene.

During Book 1 of the Faerie Queene, the Redcrosse Knight encounters many tribulations because of his reliance on his own reason rather than looking to God for guidance. From the beginning, the Knight fails to petition help from God: "Led with delight, they thus beguile the way... / When weening to returne, whence they did stray, / They cannot find that path, which first was showne, / But wander too and fro in wayes unknowne" (I.i. 83-86). In other words, the Knight was so engrossed with the beauty of the path that he forgot his bearings and still did not think to ask God for help, which indicates that this is not a one time only offense, but a mishap that will be repeated often. Although the Redcrosse Knight is a symbol of the common Christian, he is not exempt from trials and temptations like false security in his reason because every man has a sin nature. Here, Spenser is teaching that a Christian must constantly be aware of his spiritual status and continually seeking God because only God's reason is good enough to safely steer through the storms in life.