The Faerie Queene – An Epic or a Romance

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Introduction

Before comparing the Faerie Queene to an epic or to a romance, let's know what they actually are. An epic is a long narrative (story in verse) poem of the heroic deeds of a person. While a romance is either a novel or a poem relating to the events that are remote to life.

 

Similarities

An epic and a romance have the following similarities:

 

Long Narrative Poem

 

The two genres of literature are of considerable length. Covering more than hundreds to thousands of pages for just a book. For example, Paradise Lost by J. Milton comprises of 10,000 verses and Mahabharata by Vyasa covers 90,000 verses. The very poem is composed of almost 23,000 verses. These poems are legends in words.

 

Invocation

 

A prologue to an epic in which a poet addresses gods especially the muses (in Greek Mythology, 9 goddesses of arts, literature, knowledge, science and poetry) directly and prays to gods to strengthen his knowledge to accomplish such a tremendous task. This was a common trend in an epic but romances were usually devoid of invocations. Spenser has called Clio, the superior to all other muses, the goddess of history. He requests her to open the vast chests of history to make him write the legends of kings, queens and of the knights.

 

Vast Setting

 

An epic or a romance is not bound to a location or a specific time zone. It contains vastness or variety of locations or different times. The Faerie Queene takes place in the wasteland, in the thick grove of trees, in Queen Lucifera's Palace, in hell, in heaven (The Sacred City of New Jerusalem) and in the territory of Una's father.

 

Supernatural Elements

 

The elements which are beyond accomplishment by the five senses of humans. Such actions are an illusion of magic or other super-natural pursuits. Monster Error, Giant Orgoglio, The Final Dragon and the shield and the magical stone of Merlin are some supernatural elements in The Faerie Queene.

 

Middle of Story

 

An epic usually starts in middle or in action. The detail regarding characters is given in later cantos or chapters. But the Faerie Queene begins without actions: with the introduction of main characters. For example, in Book I of The Faerie Queene the characters Red Cross Knight and his female companion Una is introduced physically.

 

Lofty Themes

 

Both epics and romances are comprised of lofty themes, love, time, gods, heaven and fierce battles. In Paradise Lost, the theme of the deprival of paradise is discussed while morality, ethics, patriotism and religion are highlighted in The Faerie Queene.

Epic Simile

Commonly, a simile is regarded as a comparison between two living or non-living objects by using the word 'like' or 'as' but an epic simile is a prolonged type of simile in which two or more things or ideas are compared in length. For instance, in Faerie Queene, the comparison of the monster Error's vomit between the flood in The Nile during summer and her off-springs are compared to the flies with feeble stings which bother the shepherd, standing on the hill.

 

Differences

 

Epic	Romance
The story revolves around a single hero	The story is made of multiple heroes
The characters for an epic are taken from history.	A romantic story is a portrayal of romantic characters
The male hero takes the lead.	The female heroine shows her dominance.
An epic ends on the death of the protagonist.	A romance ends in merry moments, usually success in the attainment of one's goals.

 

Opinion of Critics

Critics have mixed opinions regarding The Faerie Queene. Warton says that it is not an epic poem as the central hero, Prince Arthur does not fight with final monsters, for example, in Book 1 of The Faerie Queene, Prince Arthur fights with Orgoglio, not with the Final Dragon. Upton comes as a defender and says that it is an epic. Although Prince Arthur does not fight with final monsters, yet he is seen helping the knights in distress. Parciral weathers the storm in the cupboard by saying that it is neither an epic, not a romance, it is a romantic epic. 😀