Question: Describe Archimago’s intrigues against Una and the Red Cross Knight, and their allegorical significance.

Or, What impression do you form of Archimago as presented in The Faerie Queene Book- I.

Or, Write a note on the character of Archimago in Spenser’s The Faerie Queene Book I.

Answer: Archimago is one of the most dynamic characters in Book-I of The Faerie Queene. Outwardly he appears to be a holy person but inwardly he is extremely evil. He is a magician, constantly on the move, doing something or the other in the service of the devil. He is a master in the art of disguise and dissembling. He appears before the Red Cross Knight and Lady Una as a very old man with bare feet, a white and grey beard, wearing a long black garment, and a book hanging from his belt. His eyes are bent downwards as if gazing at the ground below, and as he walks on the way, he seems to pray and often beats his breast like a man who repents for his sins. Allegorically, Archimago personifies hypocrisy, but, in fact, he represents far greater wickedness than we generally associate with hypocrisy. His mission is to work out the sinister designs and intrigues against Lady Una (Truth) and the Red Cross Knight (Holiness) so that they may be separated from each other.

Shortly after finding their way out of the woods, The Red Cross Knight and Lady Una meet an old man, named Archimago, who appears to be a reverend hermit. He courteously offers them night’s lodging, but after they have gone to sleep he starts to work some magic spells. Conjuring up two evil spirits, he sends one to the kingdom of Morpheus to borrow a false dream. Archimago, meanwhile, has transformed the second sprite into the image of Una. In a false dream, the imitation lady is brought to the bedside of the Knight declaring her passion for him in a seductive tone. Though he stirred by her charms and her tender words, he virtuously rebuffs her advances and returns to his rest. Having failed in his first device, Archimago tries one more trick. With two of his demon spirits, he creates a scene which makes it appear to The Red Cross Knight that his Lady Una is lying in the embrace of a lusty squire. At this, the knight is convinced of the wantonness of the Lady whom he had thought most virtuous. So, at daybreak, he rides off with the dwarfish squire deserting Una without explanation.

Archimago now hatches another intrigue. Transforming himself into the likeness of the Red Cross Knight, he follows Una and overtakes her. She takes him to be the real Knight, and, therefore, feels delighted at her reunion with him. Archimago’s magic is so powerful that he can assume any shape he likes. When Una asks him where he had been for so long, he gives her a plausible reply so that she feels quite satisfied.

Archimago would have done Una great harm if he had not encountered the heathen Sansloy who, on seeing him, becomes furious because the Red Cross Knight had killed his brother Sansfoy, and he would now like to avenge his brother’s death. Archimago is not a fighter and he is not willing to fight. At the same time, he can not avoid the fight because he cannot disclose his real identity to Sansloy in the presence of Una into whose eyes he has successfully thrown dust. As a result, a fight is forced upon him by the heathen, who being a seasoned fighter knocks him down, wounding him seriously. On uncovering his opponent’s face, the heathen is shocked to see that he has seriously wounded a friend of his. As Archimago lies fainting, the heathen goes away taking Una with him by force. Thus Archimago is punished for his evil deed.

Allegorically, the seemingly pious hermit who offers his humble shelter to the Red Cross Knight, Archimago, stands for Hypocrisy. The Knight blunders in considering himself to be acting on high moral principles in his succumbing to the machinations of a vicious culmination. His weakness is a sign of inexperience, a failure to distinguish between appearance and reality.

Thus Holiness (The Red Cross Knight) separated from Truth (Una) is bound to meet with other evil forces. Now Holiness has to encounter Infidelity (Sansfoy), the pagan knight. Infidelity is always attended by Falsehood, decked in all sorts of finery to bewitch with its seeming virtues. Holiness still has the strength to face the challenge of infidelity and overcome it. So, the Red Cross Knight boldly faces Sanfoy, defeats him and brings about his end. But holiness is not strong against falsehood particularly when it is detached from truth. So, the Red Cross Knight falls easy prey to the seductive charms of Duessa and is beguiled by the seeming innocence of falsehood. That is holiness without the fortifying force of truth is likely to fall prey to the power of falsehood.

Historically the episode signifies the Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden, man’s loss of his original purity through the subtle persuasion of Satan. Finally, according to the historical allegory, the separation of the Red Cross through the intrigues of Archimago stands for the outlawing of Protestantism and the re-establishment of Catholicism in the reign of Queen Mary (Mary Tudor). Archimago, one instrument of the separation, may be identified with the Pope and Duessa with Queen Mary.