Calendar: 1857-1858 Page 381

SCHOLARSHIP FOR MODERN HISTORY ETC 383 king the image of brave knight perfected in the twelve private moral virtues as Aristotle hath devised the which is the purpose of these first twelve books What is the special virtue set forth under the character of King Arthur In what respect does it exemplify the times of Queen Elizabeth In the person of the Knight of the Red Cross holiness is set forth What are the dangers to which he is exposed and into what errors does he fall How do these illustrate the peculiar temptations to which that class was subject for whom the poem was written The Knight of the Red Cross is described by the poet as clownish young man as resting on the floor unfit through his rusticitie for abetter place but in the end when he had put on the armour brought by Una he seemed the goodliest man in all that company Show- How this applies to the court of Elizabeth What light it throws on Spenser's philosophy Mention the noblemen with whom Spenser was familiar Which of them have been celebrated in the Faery Queen and for what virtues What side did they espouse in the religious discussions of the reign and why What sympathy was there between them and the poet in this respect Spenser calls his poem an allegory and defends it on the ground that shows and allegories were popular How is this to be explained What were the shows and allegories to which he alluded Spenser states that his poem was constructed in exemplifi- cation of the ethical virtues discussed by Aristotle in his Nicom Ethics He is however charged with being Platonizer How are these apparent contradictions to be reconciled How do they illustrate the literature of the reign III -HL Englis Commonfocalti Contrast briefly the relative positions of Sovereign and Parliament in the first ten years of Charles the First's reign and during the reign of Elizabeth