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Morality and Ethics
Spenser famously wrote that his intention with The Faerie Queene was "to fashion a gentleman." (Hamilton, 714). An important part of a gentleman's educational process (according to Spenser) is developing a strong, Christian moral compass. And morality and ethics totally shapes almost every single moment in this poem.
Whether through encounters with characters who very explicitly embody moral virtues (such as Prudence) or more complicated characters who find themselves in challenging moral quandaries (like, ahem, Redcrosse with Duessa), Spenser wanted to illustrate moral dilemmas to serve as a learning experience for both his characters and his readers. Basically, Spenser was a 16th-century Dear Prudence.
Since Spenser uses allegory to depict moral and ethical problems, it's hard to translate those problems into the real world outside the poem… making Spenser's poem hard to apply to actual moral conundrums.
Spenser's Faerie Queene is able to directly and clearly address moral issues, since it doesn't worry about characters' personalities or psychological states.
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