Renaissance econography of the graces : courtesy in book VI of The Faerie Queene
Date
1994
Authors
Arnold, Jayn Noelle
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
It is a critical commonplace that the episode of the Graces dancing on Mount Acidale is the symbolic core of Book VI of The Faerie Queene, providing the key to Spenser's definition of Courtesy. This thesis intends to further establish a previously overlooked relationship between the iconography of the Graces and the natural and divine characteristics of Spenser's complex notion of Courtesy. While the Graces are traditionally related to the themes of liberality and poetic inspiration, an examination of Spenser's iconography reveals Courtesy, in Spenser's rich sense of it, as natural to unspoiled man but unavailable to fallen man unless restored by divine benevolence.
To understand the implications of the vision of the Graces, we must bring to it a wide knowledge of Elizabethan literary and philosophical conventions and the first chapter examines Renaissance theories of Courtesy. Many of these theories, aside from being social codes of proper behavior, have a spiritual aspect which illuminates Spenser's definition of Courtesy. The second chapter discusses Spenser's description of Courtesy in the Proem of Book VI as a heavenly seed planted by the Gods, and also discusses the development of that definition in the diverse tales which lead to the vision of the Graces. Throughout Sir Calidore's many adventures and those of the other characters introduced in Book VI, the true nature of Spenser's Courtesy is revealed not only as the gracious exchange of benefits expressed in terms which foreshadow the dance of the Graces, but further as requiring a close contact with nature and a reliance upon grace. Finally, Chapter Three focuses on Renaissance iconography of the Graces and Spenser's use of iconography to support his definition of Courtesy. While the conventional iconography of the Graces relates them to Courtesy as it is traditionally defined, further investigation of the iconographical and allegorical significance assigned to the Graces in the Renaissance leads to a deeper understanding of Spenser's Courtesy as it involves both natural and divine characteristics. Furthermore, the encyclopedic symbolism of the Graces relates them to Spenser's poetic art and makes it clear that Courtesy is also connected to art since Courtesy comes, like a poem, by divine inspiration. The vision of the Graces may be a vision of nature perfected by grace, but it is also the product of poetic art, for Spenser self-consciously announces his presence in the figure of the shepherd Colin. With this Spenser seems to be saying that only through the mediation of nature and art may we glimpse -- albeit fleetingly -- the unfallen world. The nominal subject of Book VI is Courtesy, but as the vision of the Graces illustrates, Courtesy is inextricably linked to nature and grace, and to art which has the power to link the two.
The findings of this study demonstrate that the scene of the Three Graces dancing on Mount Acidale concentrates and clarifies Spenser's definition of the virtue of Courtesy. Spenser's syncretism reveals Courtesy's natural and divine qualities and it adds to the resonance and depth of his poetry, moving us between the enchanting promise of grace and the painful loss we feel at nature's imperfection. Fragile though it may be, the vision of the Graces expresses the perfection of nature by grace and the role of art which may also bring nature's forms to perfection.