The Faerie Queene: Book I: Canto V Summary & Analysis

At night, before his big battle with Sansjoy, the Redcross Knight is restless as he thinks of tactics to use against his opponent. At last, the sun rises, and the knight gets ready to face his foe.

As the Redcross Knight comes to the palace’s common hall, he finds many bards, minstrels, and chroniclers singing songs. Soon, Sansjoy appears in full armor. Finally, Lucifera herself makes a stately procession into the hall, with Duessa at her side.

Duessa hangs Sansfoy’s shield from a tree—both she and the shield will go to the victor of the fight. A trumpet sounds, and the battle begins. At first, Sansjoy is strong, giving fierce blows, but the Redcross Knight is also strong. It’s a deadlock. At one point, Sansjoy happens to glance his dead brother’s shield, and this causes him to become even more ferocious.

Duessa shouts to encourage Sansjoy, but the Redcross Knight believes she’s encouraging him. He begins to attack more furiously and is about to strike a mortal blow against Sansjoy when suddenly Sansjoy seems to disappear. Duessa asks the Redcross Knight to put aside his vengeance, saying that he has won her and the shield.

The Redcross Knight, however, isn’t satisfied and still wants to kill Sansjoy. Trumpets greet his victory, and the knight is presented with Sansfoy’s shield. He gives the shield as a gift to Lucifera. There is a celebration for the Redcross Knight’s victory, and he goes back to his room in the palace to have his wounds treated.

Meanwhile Duessa weeps until the evening. When it’s dark, however, she ventures out to see Night, a woman in black who is in a chariot pulled by all-black horses. Duessa asks Night why she allowed Sansfoy to fall to the Redcross Knight’s sword. Night admits that she is saddened by their loss but says she is powerless to change the course of destiny.

Though Night cannot change destiny, she promises that the Redcross Knight will pay a price in his own blood for slaying Sansfoy. Night asks who Duessa is, and she replies that she’s the daughter of Deceit and Shame. Night says that she is perhaps one of Duessa’s ancestors and promises to stay with her.

Together, Night and Duessa ride to the place where Sansjoy is laying on the ground. They take him away on their chariot to heal his serious wounds, driving towards a hole to the underworld and entering it.

In the smoke- and sulfur-filled underworld, where the god Pluto reigns, Night and Duessa continue to ride their chariot with the wounded Sansjoy. Along the way, they see many horrific sights, such as the many-headed dog Cerberus and the fiery punishment of damned souls. They see famous figures from Greek and Roman mythology, like Sisyphus (who is cursed to always push a stone up a hill but never reach the top) and Tantalus (who is cursed to always be thirsty). At last, they reach Æsculapius, a god of medicine who was killed and sent to the underworld at one point for being too good at stopping death.

Æsculapius is kept imprisoned in chains. When he lived in the mortal world, Æsculapius helped heal a handsome huntsman named Hippolytus. This healing was so miraculous that Jupiter deemed Æsculapius too powerful and struck him down with a thunderbolt.

Night and Duessa present Sansjoy to Æsculapius for treatment. At first, Æsculapius is reluctant to help because he’s afraid of angering Jupiter again. Night argues that she could hurt Æsculapius even worse than Jupiter, and this convinces him to help. Duessa leaves them to work and returns to Lucifera’s palace.

When Duessa gets back to the palace, she finds the Redcross Knight and the dwarf visiting the dungeon. They witness many people who were imprisoned by their own pride, such as an old king of Babylon and the famously wealthy king Croesus. The wide range of captives includes many figures from Roman times, such as Julius Caesar, the general Hannibal, and Cleopatra, with thousands of others who are all consumed by pride.

The dungeon helps the Redcross Knight and the dwarf realize the true nature of Lucifera’s palace of pride. They decide to flee.