The Faerie Queene: Book IV: Canto VII Summary & Analysis

The narrator laments how Cupid’s arrows can bring down even the greatest: it happened to Florimell, it happened to Britomart, and now it’s about to happen to Amoretta. After leaving the tournament, Britomart and Amoretta are traveling through the woods when, all of a sudden, Amoretta finds herself snatched up off the ground.

Amoretta’s captor is a wild-looking “savage” man with hair everywhere and huge teeth who is known only as the carle (similar to churl, a rude person). He wears nothing except a green loincloth as he carries her through the forest. Suddenly he drops her off in a very dark part of the forest. Amoretta isn’t sure whether she’s even still alive, but then she hears someone else crying.

The other captive cries that she has been imprisoned by an evil carle who deflowers chaste women, then eats them—the captive has already seen it happen seven times. She is the daughter of a high lord who fell in love with a squire who was of a lower status. One day, she went to meet the squire but instead found the carle, who tied her up and took her away. She reveals that her name is Aemylia.

Amoretta pities Aemylia but asks how she’s been able to hold on to her own honor for so long. Aemylia says there is an older woman who volunteers herself to be ravaged by the carle whenever he’s feeling lustful in order to protect Aemylia.

Soon, the carle comes back, and Amoretta decides she’s going to run. She flees through the forest with the carle chasing her. As it turns out, she’s in the same forest where Belphoebe was being chased by Timias (Arthur’s squire) earlier. Just as Amoretta is overtaken by the carle, Timias sees them and intervenes.

Timias and the carle fight, with the “savage” man using his club and even using Amoretta as a human shield. But Timias manages to injure the man, and he throws Amoretta down. While the battle is going on, Belphoebe hears it and heads toward it, readying her bow.

The carle believes Belphoebe will be the cause of his death, so he flees back to his den. Belphoebe chases after him, then shoots an arrow through his neck that kills him. She frees his prisoners from the den and heads back to Amoretta and Timias. When she gets back, she finds Timias kissing Amoretta and tending to her wounds. She scolds Timias for being unfaithful to her, then leaves.

Timias tries to follow after Belphoebe, but she threatens him with arrows. He retreats to a solitary place and decides to break all of the weapons he’s carrying with him. He grows out his hair and only eats forest berries and drinks running water.

One day, Prince Arthur happens to come by seeking adventure, having heard of a hermit that lives in a cabin in the woods. He goes to the cabin and finds a wretched-looking man who doesn’t speak, so Arthur doesn’t recognize him as Timias. Arthur thinks he can see signs of a great man underneath the rude exterior. He looks around and sees that every tree in the area has Belphoebe engraved into it. Arthur leaves, hoping that one day the hermit man will be restored to his former grace.