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Sir Guyon is the protagonist of Book II of The Faerie Queene, and he is a brave knight who embodies the virtue of temperance. He serves Gloriana, the Faerie Queene, and is guided for much of his journey by an old Palmer (pilgrim) who helps Sir Guyon stay on the right path and avoid temptation. Like the Redcross Knight, Sir Guyon comes from faerie land, and he meets Redcross shortly after Redcross’s victory over the dragon. When Sir Guyon encounters the dying woman Amavia, he finds out that she was mortally wounded by the evil sorceress Acrasia. Acrasia, who lives in the Bower of Bliss, represents excess and the opposite of temperance, and so it becomes Sir Guyon’s mission to defeat her, which he does at the end of Book II.
Sir Guyon Quotes in The Faerie Queene
The The Faerie Queene quotes below are all either spoken by Sir Guyon or refer to Sir Guyon. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Book II: Canto I
Quotes
His carriage was full comely and upright,
His countenance demure and temperate,
But yet so sterne and terrible in sight,
That cheard his friends, and did his foes amate:
He was an Elfin borne of noble state
[…]
Him als accopanyd upon the way
A comely Palmer, clad in blacke attire,
Of ripest years, and haries all hoarie gray
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Book II: Canto IV
Quotes
And round the wreath, this word was writ,
Burnt I do burne. Right well beseemed it,
To be the shield of some redoubted knight
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Book II: Canto VIII
Quotes
There the good Guyon he found slumbring fast
In senseless dream; which sight at first him sore aghast.
Beside his head there sate a faire young man,
Of woundrous beautie, and of freshest years.
Book II: Canto X
Quotes
After him Uther, which Pendragon hight,
Succeeding There abruptly did end
Book II: Canto XII
Quotes
Said Guyon, See the mind of beastly man,
That hath so soone forgot the excellence
Of his creation, when he life began,
That now he chooseth, with vile difference
To be a beast, and lack intelligence
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Sir Guyon Quotes in The Faerie Queene
The The Faerie Queene quotes below are all either spoken by Sir Guyon or refer to Sir Guyon. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Book II: Canto I
Quotes
His carriage was full comely and upright,
His countenance demure and temperate,
But yet so sterne and terrible in sight,
That cheard his friends, and did his foes amate:
He was an Elfin borne of noble state
[…]
Him als accopanyd upon the way
A comely Palmer, clad in blacke attire,
Of ripest years, and haries all hoarie gray
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Book II: Canto IV
Quotes
And round the wreath, this word was writ,
Burnt I do burne. Right well beseemed it,
To be the shield of some redoubted knight
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Book II: Canto VIII
Quotes
There the good Guyon he found slumbring fast
In senseless dream; which sight at first him sore aghast.
Beside his head there sate a faire young man,
Of woundrous beautie, and of freshest years.
Book II: Canto X
Quotes
After him Uther, which Pendragon hight,
Succeeding There abruptly did end
Book II: Canto XII
Quotes
Said Guyon, See the mind of beastly man,
That hath so soone forgot the excellence
Of his creation, when he life began,
That now he chooseth, with vile difference
To be a beast, and lack intelligence
