Date of Award

5-2009

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Departmental Honors

Department

English

Abstract

Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queen is an eloquent text brimming with images of nature, flowers, and gardening. Nature is not simply what is in the outdoors of the text or a passive backdrop for action to upstage; she is a character who has an active role in influencing the plot and characters of the story. Plants come alive through Spenser in many ways as he makes the natural world of his text into an enchanted fairyland. The imagery of nature is not only personified, but also actually personifies characters. Flowers found in The Faerie Queen are both plants and actual people, allowing Spenser to explore shifting perceptions of gender roles through natural spaces in his text.

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Faculty Mentor

Dr. Jensen

Departmental Honors Advisor

Dr. McCuskey