Journal of Taibah University the first issue

14
Haitham Abdulaziz Saab
in this Renaissance work. His emphasis on classical Paganism is
unlikely to occur with such a medieval writer, like the Gawain-poet.
The successful blend of both, pagan and Christian, allusions make
Spenser’s marriage song gain universality in its use of multiple
religious backgrounds. Spenser juxtaposes the religious ceremony in
the church, along with other Christian suggestions, with ornate images
of classical deities. In one way, the last two stanzas delineate the
couple’s marriage consummation which yields immortal happiness,
not only to them but also to their oncoming generations. If we take
this endless blissful condition as to magnify the lovers, Spenser then,
might hint at the common Renaissance notion of micro-macrocosm.
The newly-wed couple represents a little world of their own.
Commenting on the poem’s “amplitude,” Thomas M. Greene suggests
a series of concentric areas in the world that Spenser portrays. The
center of the circle has the bridegroom and his bride, who represent
the microcosm. They are immediately surrounded by the social
context of the wedding. Beyond that lies the natural setting of the
woods which ‘eccho’ the sounds of the celebration. Next, is the world
of classical figures and creatures, and above all these realms is the
Christian heaven. Hence, Spenser employs a wealth of pagan
allusions to orchestrate an essentially Christian world. 19 In this
remarkably aesthetic dimension of the poem, the Christian world of
Epithalamion represents the macrocosm of which the overjoyed
couple is an analogy.
The analysis of these two, medieval and Renaissance texts,
demonstrates the sharp contrast between Spenser’s complex depiction
of a universally social-religious wedding and perhaps (what appears to
a modern reader) the naïve morality and idealism of Sir Gawain.
Representing two totally different literary periods in English literature,
the two poems manifest areas of difference, beyond only classical and
religious aspects, such as areas of language, symbolism, and structure.
This paper has attempted to suggest ways that make the two works
representatives of the values of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Ideological concerns, aesthetic issues, and thematic aspects reveal the
major areas of literary change occurring in the two ages. Spenser
manages to manipulate the common elements of the classical genre:
the invocation to the Muses; the bride’s festival return home; and the
boisterous singing and dancing of the wedding. His concern with the
social aspect of the wedding and with his bride’s heavenly, physical
beauty imply that the Renaissance is an age of secular, humanistic
attitudes. On the other hand, Sir Gawain’s use of the symbol of the
“pentangle”; the images of the hero’s practices of piety; and the hero’s
moral dilemma, are examples of medieval ideological motifs.