On the Destruction of the “Bower of Bliss”

Zhang+hongxia

【Abstract】“The Bower of Bliss” is the most famous of Spensers “set pieces”. It is meant to edify through allegory. Spenser makes the language the natural music of his poetic effusions.

【Key words】music； deviating； Bower of Bliss

In this part of the “Bower of Bliss”， Sir Guyon or Temperance and his guide， the Palmer visit and destroy the “Bower of Bliss”. Guyon passes through the Bower without deviating from his course， the palmer continuing to act in the role of moral rudder. Guyon begins his conquest of the Bower by spilling vine， a gesture that can be recognized as part of the Gods cult.And he destroys the Bower after Acrasia-mistress of the Bower， Excess has been captured； the Palmer redeems Acrasias enchanted victims， finally Guyon appears in the “tempest of his wrathfulness”. Its not the physical force of Guyon and the Palmer but the virtuous power of their temperance and wisedom， which lead to the destruction of the “Bower of Bliss”.

According to the Renaissance theory， nature and spirit are often opposed to each other. If you follow nature， you have decorum. Art is the imitation of nature. Nature is very important to Sir Guyon， because Temperance is attainable by unaided nature. Whereas here-in the Bower of Bliss， art no longer merely imitates nature but undertakes to supplant it by excess.While “love” is also important in the Renaissance poetry. Generally there are two kinds of love：physical love and spiritual love， the former should be governed by passion， and the latter must be controlled by reason. Reason belongs to the heavenly， and only belongs to Angels and Men. Whereas the tale“Jason and Medaca” of the unnatural “furious loving”， with all its attendant violence， is appropriate to the Bower.

Furthermore， according to the philosophical rule， Men have three souls：the rational， the sensible and vegetable soul. The rational soul has reason， the sensible emotion， and the vegetable procreation， which must be in perfect harmony with one another. And the vegetable soul should be governed by the sensible， while the sensible must be directed by the rational， that is：Passion should be controlled by Reason. This will make a perfect man. This is the whole philosophy. Guyon， Temperance or Continence， without deviating from his course， prevents himself from degradation and entrapment， and finally conquers Acrasia， Incontinence or Excess.

In the Allegory of Love， C.S.Lewis argues convincingly that the Bower is not a picture of Lawless， that is， unwedded love as opposed to lawful love. It is a picture， one of the most powerful ever painted， of the whole sexual nature in disease. There is not a kiss or an embrace in the island：only male prurience and female provocation.This is especially true of Acrasia， the mistress of the Bower， whose name means both “excess” and “impotence”， she is seen statically posed， doing nothing， only appearing as the archetypal seductress. The Bower is certainly a place where sexuality is sterile， we may find， however， that imagery partly overflow moral itention.For example， the two girls bathing in a pool are assuredly pin-ups out of a mans magazine of the mid-20th century—and yet Spenser compares them to the morning star and to Venus of Cyprus.The nymph Rhodope， Daphne charmed Apollo， Mount Ida—these are all allusions to violent and unhappy passion—and yet the Bower is also compared to Mt Panassus， home of the Muses， and to the Garden of Eden.endprint

As a romance of allegory， the Bower itself suggests a host of related aesthetic issues， in the area of artistic imitation and illusion， and in the area of artistic balance and proportion. It is the work of an inspired beautician， who has left nothing to chance or nature. In such a case， art “undermines” nature， and like the fountain and the girls it holds， the Bowers contrivance seems both shallow and “over-wrought”.And indulgence opens into a paradise “too lavishly” adorned；Excess leads to the fountain graced by two girls， where excess can be seen turning into abandon. A responsive chord is struck in Guyon， and we sense that the loss of inhibition anticipates the act of incontinence itself. Thus we arrive at the innermost part of the Bower. “The Rose song” is placed precisely here， as a final incitemennt and justification， because any act of this kind is partly prompted by a desire to seize an opportunity or “occasion”. What follows the fatal indulgence is variously represented：by the sleeping Verdant， whose passion has yielded to passivity； by Grylle， who has happily renounced “the excellence/ of his creation”； and by the Palmer with his net who represents the Shakespearean “waste of shame”， the awakening to a feeling of degradation and entrapment. （“his bodie he did spend”） and 86；Spennsers sequence—through pleasure， indulgence， excess， abandon， consent， passion.awakening， and self-reproach—reveals the logic of surrender beneath the profusion of the Bower， and inevitably guides us to its destruction.

References：

[1]the Faerie Queen.Book II.Canto X II P673.

[2]English Literature in the 16th.Century（1954）C.S.Lewis.

[3]The Norton Anthology of English Literature fourth Edition.Volume 1.endprint