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maximum_moxie's review against another edition
5.0
Finishing this book feels like an achievement; but oh, is it worth the work! FQ is in in the vein of much epic fantasy, and was a great read from start to finish. Of particular note for me is the way Spenser handles women: though they do serve as inanimate symbols or generalizations, they are also often fully-conceived characters. Virtue and agency is not the exclusive realm of men; refreshing, given the time this was written. A must for the hardcore bibliophile.
heliogabalous_vrz's review against another edition
5.0
I picked up this book on a whim from a local vintage shop, and after some research on it discovered its reputation as extremely difficult, and after reading the first line decided to let it sit on my shelf to collect dust.
A few months later after reading through Harold Bloom's "Best poets of the English language" I encountered Spenser again and was intrigued again by Spenser, so I picked up my copy expecting the previous difficulty, but I was instead greeted with one of by best reading experiences ever.
The Faerie Queen makes almost every other poets magnum opus read like some undergrad's notes app poetry. The world he creates is intoxicating, shockingly modern, but also indescribably ancient. Anyway I don't have much to say besides it's fantastic, one of the best books of all time, and if you can get through two pages of unmodernised Chaucer with notes, this should be light-effort if you're invested enough to do a little side research while reading it.
A few months later after reading through Harold Bloom's "Best poets of the English language" I encountered Spenser again and was intrigued again by Spenser, so I picked up my copy expecting the previous difficulty, but I was instead greeted with one of by best reading experiences ever.
The Faerie Queen makes almost every other poets magnum opus read like some undergrad's notes app poetry. The world he creates is intoxicating, shockingly modern, but also indescribably ancient. Anyway I don't have much to say besides it's fantastic, one of the best books of all time, and if you can get through two pages of unmodernised Chaucer with notes, this should be light-effort if you're invested enough to do a little side research while reading it.
mgcoelho's review
Very hard to read and understand the flow, due to the classic writing narrative. and its aim for poetic structure. I spent too much time trying to figure out what was being said or what the plot points were. thus it took me out of it. I intend to finish it eventually.
filthymutt's review against another edition
2.0
Okay, I know a lot of people like the premise of this book and I understand it paved the way for a lot of modern fantasy. I just wasn't a big fan of it.
kaitib's review against another edition
2.0
I understand that this is a classic but I don't think it deserves the title. It does have a lot of interesting motifs but overall it's basically an epic of Protestant nonsense. The classic epic style contradicts Christian themes so perfectly that it's one of the worst styles in which to praise Protestantism and bash on Catholicism.
belleoftheb00ks's review
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
apriltrepagnier's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I wish I had more time with this one. I read this as a part of a master English program seminar; the move through it was much too fast. I hope I have the opportunity to come back to it.
shaunaxx's review
Only had to read book 2 proem and canto 12 for college. They were pretty interesting and more enjoyable than book 1 that I read last year
ed_moore's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I think the time that it took me to read Spenser’s ‘The Faerie Queene’ is the longest it has ever taken me to read a book. I started this behemoth of an allegorical poem back in August last year and the main reason it took so long was just that it is far too long. It has no right to be 1055 pages long whatsoever. ‘The Faerie Queene’ is a 6 book (7 is you count the unfinished mutability cantos) long arthurian romance following knights which represent different religious virtues, riding around Faerie Land completing quests and slaying monsters in devotion to The Faerie Queene. For a book named after her however the Faerie Queene doesn’t even appear in it.
With so many different knights and plot lines the poem was all over the place, the confusion only enhanced by the fact that everything was allegorical and many of these allegories I didn’t pick up on whilst reading. Each canto often involved an entirely new side quest and location and after book 2 as soon as more characters were introduced the poem completely lost its consistency as every canto begun to seem completely disconnected from the last. The plot got so all over the place that at times Spenser even forgets what he is writing about, such as an event where a character is mourned whilst being stood right within the group in the previous canto, forgotten in the next, and then returns. Book four especially seemed to lack focus, I couldn’t even identify a main quest or knight in which where the rest of the books at least have some distinctive aim even if it is forgotten about for most of the book and quickly resolved in the final twelfth canto.
There were many recurring themes across the poem which shoudn’t have had quite so much emphasis too. Spenser throws in characters from Chaucer or the Arthurian legends just to create a pseudo-fan fiction or parallel himself into the medieval canon which felt really unneeded and it has taken me far too long to mention Spenser’s language choices. Just for his poem to appear older and among the great tales of chivalry from medieval times he writes in a made up archaic language and uses frequent classical references. The latter was no problem but in swapping all his J’s for I’s and U’s to V’s the process of reading the poem just had heaps of unnecessary complications, I eventually got the hang of it after around two books but was still a frustration. Spenser uses many magical items without establishing an ingrained magical system or providing context so the reader just has to accept such things exist and get on with it and there were far too many occasions of knights attacking one another unprovoked, often trying to steal the women accompanying them, creating ideas of cult chivalrous ownership. I will also mention that there are many instances of SA that are just completely brushed over and not treated well at all.
There were some positives of this poem. I can respect Spenser’s dedication to his poetic form as it remained consistent and without alteration across the whole poem, and such form has become known as a Spenserian stanza, which is probably deserved for his unwavering dedication. Britomart was also a fantastic character, she was the strongest of all the knights and often the most successful, complete subverting any gender roles. Separate from her however each knight figure weren’t that unique, other than perhaps Artegall who just rode round committing violence as an act of justice and I can’t not bring up the fact that he for some reason has a mass murdering robotic squire. Honestly by book 5 Spenser was just doing whatever on earth he felt like with the poem. ‘The Faerie Queene’ was certainly a journey, and one I am not that keen to reminisce on. All I can say is thank goodness Spenser didn’t get round to writing his initial 24 planned books for the poem otherwise it would be another 21 months until I would be sitting down to review this.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault