英语论文网

ristianity,chastity is not only a moral virtue thateducates people but is also inseparable from the body.In the sixteenth century,chastityrests on the assumption that women exist as the possessions of men.Genesis recordsthat God created the world in seven days and created Adam in his own likeness,Hetook one of Adam’s ribs to create Eve,and“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother,and shall cleave unto his wife:and they shall be one flesh”(Gen.2:24).

Chapter TwoFoul Body:Moral Decay and Distorted Desire

A.Catholic Body as Moral Decay

Disease has always been associated with the body,and diseased bodies are verycommon in this epic,such as Error,a giant serpent half-human,half-animal,sixconsolers of Luciferra,and Duessa,an enchantress.Many diseased bodies are infectedwith plague,syphilis,and leprosy,and the poet visualizes other diseases as deformedbodies.These bodies are present in the poetry as Catholic forces,they are the enemiesof the knights of virtue,and likewise the expression of moral corruption.

In the first three books of the epic,the first diseased Catholic body encountered bythe knights on their adventurous journey is the half-human,half-animal Error.Error iscoiled in a cave in the deep forest,with the upper body of a woman and the lower bodyof a serpent,an ugly creature that breeds thousands of young ones and lives in a darkand drab cave.After Redcrosse entered the cave,the shield’s refraction of the lightfrightened the snake and also made Error feel the threat of intruders and attack.In thecourse of the fight with Redcrosse Error suddenly spits out of her mouth stinky anddirty venom,the black venom is also mixed with books and paper,frogs,and otherthings:

Her vomit full of bookes and papers was,With loathly frogs and toades,which eyes did lacke,And creeping sought way in the weedy gras:Her filthie parbreake all the place defiled has.(I.i.20)

B.Islamic Body as Moral Destruction

In addition to the moral corruption symbolized by Catholicism,the moraldestruction brought about by Islam is also evident in the poem.In the six completedvolumes,the knights of virtue uphold justice,showing chivalry and standards of honor.However,there is also a group of pagan knights in the poem who are evil,have nochivalry spirit,no sense of honor,and are even a threat to breaking the social order.

In Book 1,the pagan knights are represented by the three brothers Sansloy,Sansfoy,and Sansjoy.After being separated from Una,the truth,by the compulsion ofArchimago,Redcrosse travels on the plain.He comes face to face with Duessa andSansfoy,and the poet describes him as:

A faithlesse Sarazin all armde to point,In whose great shield was writ with letters gaySans foy:full large of limbe and every jointHe was,and cared not for God or man a point”(I.ii.12).

Here the word Sarazin means Saracen,which was a word used to refer to Islamand Muslims before the seventeenth-century,as Brotton mentioned in his book.Thisproves that the three Sans brothers are representatives of the pagans.

Chapter Three Secular Body: Moral Dilemma and Pursuing Moral Perfection ..................... 47

A.Secular Body: Moral Dilemma ............................. 48

B.Secular Body: Pursuing Moral Perfection .....................本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。