The Faerie Queene · Chapter
Canto VII explained
The Redcrosse Knight is captured by the giant Orgoglio after being weakened by the enfeebling fountain.
What happens
The Redcrosse Knight is captured by the giant Orgoglio after being weakened by the enfeebling fountain. Duessa, disguised as Fidessa, leads him to his downfall. Meanwhile, Prince Arthur encounters the distressed Una, who recounts her sorrowful tale of the Redcrosse Knight's betrayal and imprisonment, and Arthur resolves to help her.
Themes in this chapter
Truth and Deception
Duessa's disguise as Fidessa and her manipulation of the Redcrosse Knight highlight the theme of deceptive appearances masking falsehood.
Virtue and Vice
The Redcrosse Knight's vulnerability and capture by Orgoglio illustrate the struggle between virtue and the vice of pride and weakness.
Nature and the Supernatural
The enchanted fountain that weakens the knight and the giant Orgoglio's supernatural origins underscore the interplay of natural and magical forces.
Characters to notice
- Redcrosse Knight
Disarmed and weakened by the fountain's enchantment, he is captured by the giant Orgoglio.
- Duessa
The false Dame, cloaked as Fidessa, deceives the Redcrosse Knight and leads him to his capture.
- Prince Arthur
Encountering Una in distress, he offers comfort and pledges to aid her.
- Una
Distressed and forlorn, she recounts the story of the Redcrosse Knight's betrayal and imprisonment to Prince Arthur.
- Orgoglio
The hideous giant who captures the Redcrosse Knight after he is weakened.
Key passages
“What man so wise, what earthly witt so ware, As to discry the crafty cunning traine, By which deceipt doth maske in visour faire, And cast her coulours, died deepe in graine, To seeme like truth, whose shape she well can faine, And fitting gestures to her purpose frame, The guiltlesse man with guile to entertaine?”
No one, no matter how wise or cautious, can fully detect the subtle tricks by which deceit hides behind a fair appearance, dyeing its colors deep to resemble truth, and adopting suitable gestures to ensnare the innocent.
The narrator reflects on the difficulty of recognizing deception when it wears a pleasing mask.
“His goodly reason, and well-guided speach, So deepe did settle in her gracious thought, That her perswaded to disclose the breach Which love and fortune in her heart had wrought;”
His wise and kindly words so deeply impressed her that she was persuaded to reveal the wound that love and fate had inflicted on her heart.
Prince Arthur's reasoned counsel moves Una to share her sorrowful story.