ABSTRACT
In Culture and Imperialism (1993), Edward Said famously commented that literary critics have struggled to “connect [Edmund Spenser’s] bloodthirsty plans for Ireland, with his poetic achievement.” Spenser’s so-called bloodthirstiness is associated with his political treatise, A View of the Present State of Ireland (1596), and “The Legend of Justice” in The Faerie Queene, Book V. These two works epitomize the tensions between theory and practice in the reformation of Ireland; the “Legend of Justice” problematizes the implementation of justice and mercy in the conquest of Ireland and seems to suggest that both cannot exist simultaneously. This chapter takes a step back from painting Spenser with a broad brush as one who favored violence over persuasion. In doing so, the discussion considers the conflicting attitudes of the English authorities. As revolt in Ireland intensifies, brutality is justified, and the crown’s inability to control the spread of violence threatens to destroy the queen’s image as a merciful monarch. Within this context, my discussion calls attention to the ways in which Spenser allegorizes the implementation of justice through violence and mercy. A close examination of these themes suggests that poetry and politics need not be at odds. What emerges in the fusion of poetry and politics is a narrative that articulates the uneasiness with the justification of violent reform. The Faerie Queene, Book V, envisions a perfect justice that is absolute and rigid, but the characters’ flaws consistently disrupt this vision, which, in turn, subvert reform strategies that seek to reform Ireland through military force.
