Renaissance Society of America

Allegory as a Form of Wit

Author(s): Judith Dundas
Source: Studies in the Renaissance, Vol. 11 (1964), pp. 223-233
Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Renaissance Society of America
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2857041
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gtil/S<,
S very
some
'wit'
different.
sortthatofwould
significance
I domakenotit propose
apply
iS attached
mondTuve'sElizabethanandMetaphysicalImagery,or to to
poets
summarize
now
to felt
the Rose-
to
word
be

Allegory as a Form of Witl

2S<, sHE lineof wit, I wouldcontend,includesSpenser

as
1 XI wellasDonne.Butthatstatement is meaningless
un-

repeatin briefherattemptto showthattheElizabethan andmetaphysi-

calpoetswereoperating underthesamepoetictheory.Rather,I should
liketo takea littlesemantic excursion to findwhatusesof theword
'wit'makeit asapplicable to Spenser asto Donne.Itis curiousthatthe
metaphysical poets,eveninferioronessuchasCleveland andCowley,
maystillbedescribed aswitty.To theextentthatweapplythiswordto
poetswho maybe singularly unamusing butwho areingenious,we
haveaccepted its seventeenth-century use.ButSpenser witty?No, in-
deed.Yetinhisowndayhisreputation for'finePoeticallinuention,
and
mostexquisitwit' was unrivaled. Althoughit is a commonplace of
literaryhistorythattheword'wit'hasundergone variouschangesof
meaning throughout itsusein criticism,littleattention
hasbeenpaidto
aspectsofthewordthatwouldmakeit appropriate to Spenser's
writing.
I believethatit istimeto seetherelationship betweentheconceit,onthe
onehand,andallegory,ontheotherhand:thatthebringing togetherof
unlikethingsmaybe contained in oneof Donne'sfigures thefleaor
thecanonization-or it mayfurnish thefiguralstructureforamoream-
bitiouseffortlikeTheFaerieQueene.Theremaybea difference between
a riddleanda mystery,butforthemomentI preferto emphasize what
theyhavein common.
My starting-point is the useof the word'wit',not in Elizabethan
literarycriticism butin treatiseson themind.A wordof explanation is
necessary. Since'wit'originally hada placein facultypsychology, the
criticaltermcarries someof theconnotations derivedfromthistechni-
1 Read at the PacificNorthwestRenaissanceConferenceat Bellingham,Wash.,
8 MarchI963.
[ 223 ]
224
AS A FORM OF WIT
ALLEGORY
maybe drawnwiththeword'imagination'. Both
use.A parallel
cal
and'imagination'
'wit' enteredliterary witha moreorlessob-
criticism
in so farastheydenotedcertainidentifiable functions
meaning,
jective these
with theirusein literary criticism,
themind.But gradually,
of they not only
becameso overlaid withsubjective meanings that
terms judg-
to thecreative
referred facultybutalsobeganto connoteaesthetic
Ofimmediate interestto meiswhatsortof creative facultywas
ments. established,we
envisionedin thesixteenth century. Whenthis hasbeen
FaerieQueene and Donne's
may be in a positionto seewhatSpenser's
Fleahavein common. areintelligi-
Mostof theusesof theword'wit'in facultypsychology souls of man.
bleonlyin thelightof thedoctrineconcerning thethree
andthe
thesensible, rational. The veg-
Thesesoulswere:thevegetable, the sensible,
wasthoughtto maintain
etable thevitalorganicprocesses;
tomediate betweentheouterworldandtheinnerbymeansoffaculties Now
ofperception; andtherational, to distinguishmanfromanimals.
part of the soulas
theword'wit'wasoftenusedto denotetherational Thisdistinction
distinguished fromthevegetable andthesensible parts.
ismadein the followingstansa from SirJohn Davies'Nosce teipsum
(I599):
Thequickninggower wouldbe, andso wouldrest;
Thesensewouldnot be only,butbe well;
Butwits ambition longethto be best,
in
Forit desires blisseto dwell.2
endlesse

Heretheword'wit'hastheprestige of denotingtheaspectof manthat

setshimapartfromtheanimalkingdom.
Moreover, witmightbeplacedin oppositionto will,in orderto em-
phasize betweenreasonandpassion.Thesetwo words
the difference
couldbemadethesubject inwhichthesixteenth
ofthekindof antithesis
andseventeenth delighted:'Witwouldebeewise,andwill
centuries
Otherwriterscontentedthemselves withdepicting
wouldbewanton.'3
willasblind:
of theWil, whichof it
anddirecter
. . . thewittebeingtheguide,theeiethestirrer
selfe,beeingblinde,andwithoutknowledge, followeththatthe wit representeth,
propoundeth, andapprovethasgood.4

2 P.s3. numbered 3).

3 Breton,The Wil of Wit (I599), fol. 5v(wrongly
Nicholas
Wright,ThePassionsof the Minde in Generall
(I604), p. 57.
4 Thomas
 JUDITH D UNDAS 225

Clearly,whenwit representsreason,it is consideredto be theapexof

thesoul.
Buttherational soulhadotherfaculties besideswit;againwe havea
subdivision
intothreeparts.Thethreeventricles 'whereinthereason-
ablesouledothexerciseitsfaculties'
were:fancyorimagination, wit or
reason,
andmemory.Thepartcalledwitorreason hadthetaskof main-
tainingorderin thefancy:
Wit is thenainds
chiefIudge,whichdothComptroule
OffanciesCourttheiudgementsfalseandvaine. . .5
Evenwhenfancyisnotdescribed asfalse,itsverynaturemakesit anin-
feriorfaculty.Fromthemultipleworldof fancy,wit mustabstract the
Platonicuniversals:
Theagentis thatwhichiscalledthewit of man, orsubtlety,
acumen, sharpnessof inven-
tion,whenhe dothinventof himselfwithouta teacher,or learnsanew,whichab-
stracts
thoseintelligible
speciesfromthephantasy,
andtransfersthemto thepassive
understanding. . .6
Thatis Burton,stillusingtheword'wit'asit hadbeenusedforatleast
thetwohundred yearsbeforehim,to standforthehighestfunctionof
themind.Whenthewordis takenoverintoliterary criticism, it carries
withit connotations of reasonor intellectual
acuity;it is, in short,a
facultycapable ofjudgingandselecting fromthecontentsof thefancy.
Unfortunately forthoseof uswhowouldliketo beableto recordthe
historyof theword'wit'inunequivocal terms,a confusion betweenthe
functionsof wit andfancywasalmostinevitable wheneverthesubject
of discussionwasinvention. Toavoidtheequally intricate
historyof the
word'invention', I shallborrowMissTuve'sdefinition:'a modeof
bodyingforththeunbodied conceptionsof [thepoet's]mind'.7Inthis
activitybothwit andfancywouldbe involved,simplybecausethe
Elizabethans couldnot conceiveof thesefacultiesas operatinginde-
pendently in anykindof artisticendeavor.Although theexactrelation-
shipof witandfancybecameblurred whenthewordsweretakenfrom
psychology intoliterarycriticism,
I thinkthateveryoneinthesixteenth
andseventeenth centurieswouldhaveagreedthatit wasthefunctionof
thefancyor imagination to supplytherawmaterials fromwhichwit
wouldselectwhatwasappropriate fortheembodiment of a particular
5 SirjohnDavies,Nosceteipsum(I599), p. 52.
6 TheAnatomyof Melancholy(I62I), PartI, Sect.I, Mem.II,Subs.x.
7 A Readingof GeorgeHerbert(Chicago, I952), p. I 88.
 ALLEGORY AS A FORM OF WIT
226
conception. Thisis therelationship thatEdwardReynoldshasin mind
whenhe saysthattheimagination's 'assistance
to theVnderstanding,
principally in matterof Invention, is
readilyto supplyit withvarietieof
objectswhereonto worke'.8But thiscustomof
bothto wit andto fancynaturally referring invention
resulted in a progressive lossof dis-
tinctionbetweentheoperations denotedbythesewords.Yettheorigi-
nalsuperiority of witin thehierarchy of themindwasneverquitefor-
gotten,andaslateas I650 we findHobbesinsistingthat
judgment wit implies
andnotmerelyuncontrolled fancy.9 Hewasconcerned
thelossof distinction about
betweenthetwowords,because in hisopinionit
represented a declinein therationalorderingof poetry.
Still,in generalusageit seemedto makelittledifference
orfancyrepresented whetherwit
thesourceof invention. JohnDaviesof Hereford
inonecontextwillsaythatfromfancy'proceedes allmaruellous
tions,Whichdoeproduce Inuen-
allArtesandSciences',l°andin anothercon-
textwillreferto thedifficulty wit hasin framingonenewinvention.
Another exampleof thisconfusionis in Wats'translation
De augmentis,wherehe usesthe phrase'Wit
of Bacon's
andPhancy'to referto
scholastic inventiveness of mind;theschoolmen, hesays,'didoutof no
great quantity of Matter,butinfiniteagitation of theirWit andPhancy
.. . as of the spindle,spinneout untous those
laborious webbesof
Learning, whichareextantin theirBookes'.12 Itis certainly
ambiguities oneof the
of theword'wit'thatit coulddenotefaculties so
infunctionasreasonandimagination, different
butthisonceagainis a signthat
poetry, likealltheinventedworksof man,wasthoughtto
theclosecooperation resultfrom
of thejudgingintellectandthebounteous imagi-
nation. If in timethe distinction betweenthe two facultiesbecame
blurred, it is notnecessarilybecause criticswereforgetting
ment orimagination eitherjudg-
in theirviewof thecreative process.Onlywhen
tastebeganto turnagainst'stronglines'in favorof clearer
didit seemthatthewit of theElizabethan expression
andmetaphysical poetshad
sofarbecomeconfused withfancythatit reallywaslackingin judg-
ment. I amnotconcerned atthemomentwiththislaterattitude,
senting asit doesa radical repre-
shiftin taste,butwiththeperiodfromabout
8 EdwardReynolds,A Treatiseof thePassionsandFaculties
p.
I8.
of the Soule of Man (I640),
9 The Leviathan(I 65 I ), I, Viii.
Mirumin Modum(I602), Sig. A4V.
WittesPilgrimage(I605?), Sig. YIV.
12 Of theAdvancement andProficience of Learning(I640), I.iV.3 .
 JUDITH D UNDAS 227
I578 to I650, whenpoetrycouldbe referredindiSerently to wit or
fancywithsomeassurance, eitherexplicitor implicit,thatthepoethad
exercisedhisjudgmentin selectingfromthefancyappropriate matter
forthepurpose of hispoem.
Forexample, in theelegiesappendedto theI63 3 editionof Donne's
poems,'wit'isvirtuallysynonymous with'fancy'butwithoutanyim-
plicationthatDonnehadnot usedjudgment in hispoeticinvention:
The Epitaphsthou writst,haveso bereft
Our tongueof wit, thereis not phansieleft
Enoughto weepe thee . . .13
Inthisinstance
tributeisbeingpaidto Donne'spowerof invention;
yet
whenwe readin Carew'selegythatDonne's
strictlaweswill be
Too hardfor Libertinesin Poetrie
it isclearthatthemonarch of witwasheldto possess wit not onlyin the
senseof inventivefancybutalsoin thesenseof formalexcellence.
Ingeneral, whenever theword'wit'standsforthetotalidealof liter-
aryart,it mustimplyjudgment,in accordance bothwith ethicalpsy-
chologyandrhetorical principles.
When,on theotherhand,it is usedin
a morerestricted senseto indicateinnatecapacity(oftenreferred to as
'nature'), it mayindeedbecomeequivalent to fancyandperhaps require
separate mentionof judgment.14 In suchcontexts,judgmenttendsto
becomenarrowlyidentified withthe discipline of learning,and'wit'
justasnarrowly maystandforthefacultyof inventionwithoutbenefit
of the 'art,imitation,andexercise' whichSidneyandJonsonrecom-
mend.Thecontrasts madebetweenwitor fancyandartorjudgment in
thecommendatory verseswrittenfor Shakespeare andBenJonsonal-
readypointto theseparation of wit fromjudgmentthatwasto leadto
thelegislative definitions
of'wit'bytheneoclassical critics.Butthecom-
plexityof therelations amongwit,fancy,andjudgmentin Elizabethan
usageis,asArnoldSteinhasnoted,15 partof thefreedomenjoyedbythe
Elizabethan thinker.
13 EdwardHyde,appended to Donne'sPoems(I633), p. 377.
14 Thesubjoining ofjudgmentto wit occursforthesamereasonthatjudgmentis sub-
joinedto inventionin Cox'sArteor CraJteo: Rhethoryke(I 529?) . Whentheoriginalrhe-
toricalmeaningof 'invention'asthefindingof materials foranorationwasbeinglostin
theassociationof inventionwithimagination, it followedthatjudgmentwouldbe intro-
ducedas a separate operation one moresignthatthe imagination wasnot thoughtto
possessits own principleof order.
15 'OnElizabethan Wit', in Studiesin EnglishLiterature1500-1900, I:I (I96I), 75-9I.
228 ALLEGORY AS A FORM OF WIT
At thesametime,it is, I believe,safeto saythatwhatevermeaning
theparticular contextgivesto theword'wit' whetherwit andfancy
maintain therelationship
laiddownin facultypsychology orwhether,
through theircooperationintheprocess of invention,
thetermsbecome
assimilated andjudgmentappears no longertheessenceof wit butthe
antithesis-the Elizabethanviewof therequirements forliterary
excel-
lenceis substantially
thesame.On thewhole,themergingof'wit' and
'fancy'didnotimplya greater respectforuntutored geniusthanforthe
poetwith'aDedalssto guidehim'.EvenShakespeare, the archetypal
naturalgenius,wasnot allowedto suggesta literalinterpretation of
poetanascitur.BenJonsonpaystributeby includingreference bothto
Shakespeare's natureandhisart:
Yet mustI not giue Natureall: Thy Art,
My gentleShakespeare,mustenioy a part.
Forthoughthe Poetsmatter,Naturebe,
His Art doth giue the fashion....16

PerhapsI cansumupwhatthelossof distinction betweenwitandfancy

means:first,it revealstheElizabethan recognition thatimagination is
essential
to thepoet'sinvention;secondly,thesubjoining ofjudgment
to witwhen'wit'meansfancysimplyreaff1rms theElizabethan stresson
therationalorderingof poetry.Inprinciple, HobbesandtheElizabe-
thansagreeon therelationship of fancyandjudgment.Theirpointof
disagreement wouldbethenotionof literary excellenceassociated with
theword'wit'initsbroadest sense,notinitsmorenarrowidentification
withfancy.
But thiswholesemanticassimilation of'wit' and'fancy',deriving
fromtheircooperation in invention,is slightlytangentialto mypresent
purposeof usingtheethicalpsychology of theElizabethans to illustrate
onesensein whichallegorycouldbe considered a formof wit. If we
keepin mindthe Elizabethan distrustof uncontrolled imagination
(breeding chimeras,as Puttenham saysl7),thenit is clearhow useful
allegorywouldbeasensuring thedominance of reasonovertheimagi-
nation.To me The FaerieQueeneis a good exampleof the licensed
16Cf.Leonard Digges,'UponMasterWilliamShakespeare', prefixedto Shakespeare's
Poems(I640),sig. *3r:he speaksof Shakespeareas 'thepatterneof all wit, Artwithout
Artunparaleldasyet',whichevidentlymeansthatShakespeare by naturepossessed that
judgmentusuallyacquiredonlyby 'art,imitation,andexercise'.
[I s8g],ed. G.D.WillcockandA.Walker
17 ArteofEnglishPoesie (Cambridge, I936),
p. I9.
 JUDITH DUNDAS 229

imagination, givenfreedomto createfictions,but alwaysunderthe

supervision of thepoet'swit. Butif youpreferDante,listento hisde-
scription of hiswork:'Theformormannerof treatment is poetic,fic-
tive,descriptive,digressive,andfigurative; andfurther,it is definitive,
analytical,probative, refutative,andexemplicative.'18Bothpoetsare,
aboveall,addressing themind,andtheirconcernwiththeintelligibility
of theirworksis evidentin everylineof theirprefatory letters.
It maybe unfortunate thatElizabethan commentaries on thenature
of allegoryso oftenemphasize theideaof concealing meaningrather
thanrevealing. Forexample,SirJohnHarington pointsout that'the
menof greatest learningandhighestwit in theauncienttimesdidof
purposeconcealethesedeepemysteries of learning,and,as it were,
couerthemwiththevaileoffablesandverse'.19 Butthefrequent linking
of thewords'allegory' and'mystery' doesremindusthatthemenof
deepestunderstanding wereprecisely thoseto whomit was givento
revealtheirmeaningin darkways.WhenSpenser describes histeaching
as'clowdilyenwrapped in allegoricall
devices',
heis conforming to the
wholeideaof fictionas'theveryfittestconduitpipes'for theconvey-
anceof truth.Accordingto Chapman, 'AsLearning,hathdelighted
fromherCradle, to hideherselfefromthebaseandprofane. . . Sohath
shepleasedherselfewithno disguisemore;thenin misteries andalle-
goricallfictionsof ForBacon,too, 'therelay fromthevery
Poesie.'20

beginning amystery andanallegory'21 inthefablesof theancientpoets.

Allegoryis,fromthispointof view,alearned formof expression. Inan
agenotyetsurethatfictionisjustifiable aslearning,
theallegorical read-
ing of theancientmythsandthecreationof new allegories wasanas-
surance thatwithinthe rindwassomefruitof knowledge.Thatthe
darkness layin thenatureof thesubject andnotin thepoet'sdeliberate
obscuring of meaning is evidentfromthealmostdesperate attempts of
thesesamepoetsto elucidate theirallegories.
Dante,I think,putshis
fingerontheparadox of darkrevelation whenhesays:'Forweperceive
manythingsby theintellectfor whichlanguagehasno terms-afact
18 Epistleto Can Grandedella Scala, in DantisAlagheriiEpistolae,tr. Paget Toynbee
(Oxford, I920), p. 200.
19 'Brief Apology' in G. Gregory Smith, ElizabethanCriticalEssays (Oxford, I904),
II, 203.
20 'A Freeand OffencelesIustification. . .' in ThePoemsof GeorgeChapman,
ed. Phyllis
B. Bartlett (New York, I94I ), p. 327.
21 Prefaceto De sapientia
veterum(I609), in ThePhilosophical WorksofFrancisBacon,ed.
J. M. Robertson (New York, I905), p. 822.
230 ALLEGORY AS A FORM OF WIT
whichPlatoindicates plainlyenoughinhisbooksbyhisemployment of
metaphors; forhe perceived manythingsby thelightof theintellect
whichhiseveryday language wasinadequate to express.'22
Remember-
ing thetraditional definition of allegoryasa longor continued meta-
phor,onemaysafelyassumethatallegoryis a modeof expression for
whatcannototherwise beexpressed andthattherefore thedarkness and
thelightaretogetherat theheartof thepoet'sconception.
If so, someof themodernattitudes to allegoryareno morehelpful
thantheolderideathatthefictionwassimplya sugar-coating forthe
bitterpillof moralteaching. WhenCleanth Brooksrefersto allegoryas
'thefirstattemptwhichmanmakesto unitetheintellectandtheemo-
tionswhentheybeginto fallapart',23 I cannotseetherelevance to the
medieval orRenaissance viewof allegorical poetry.NeitherDantenor
Spenser saysanything aboutunitingtheintellect andtheemotions; both
saya gooddealaboutreaching theintellectthroughtheimaginationv
Ethicalpsychology hadexaltedwit or reasonoverfancyor imagina-
tion;allegoryconformsin principleto thisbackground of beliefby
makingfictiona vehicleof moraltruth.Isit therationalistic structure,
theschematic formimposedontheimaginative materials
thathasalien-
atedmodernpoetsandcritics? Yeatsfoundhimself'bored by allegory,
whichis made,as Blakesays,"by the daughters of memory,"and
coldly,withno wizardfrenzy.'24 Ofcoursethesubjection of theimagi-
nativefacultyto the rationaldoesnot appealto romanticpoetsor
critics,
butto theElizabethans thisis theveryreasonthatallegorycould
beascribed to wit andnotto unrestricted imagination.
Forthesixteenth century,theethicalvalueof allegoryanditsrhetori-
calvaluearecloselyrelated:it is stillthe appealto the intellectthat
causes allegoryto be regarded asa wittyconveyance. We find,how-
ever,instudying thehandbooks of rhetoricthatallegoryistreatedmore
asa riddleandlessasa mystery;it appears to be relatedto everything
comprehended underthe nameof device.In referring to ThelEaerie
Queene as'adarkeconceit',Spenser indicatestheparticularappeal which
such apoemwithitstwofoldmeaning wouldhaveto hisownday.For
thewit of allegorylaynot onlyin itsdidacticvaluebutalsoin thein-
genulty.

requlrec>tor1tSconstructlon.
. . P * .

Farfromsuggesting spontaneous creation,Elizabethanrhetoricalde-

22 Epistleto Can Grande,pp. 209-2I0.
23 Modern
PoetryandtheTradition
(ChapelHill, I939), p. I8I.
24 'EdmundSpenser',in TheCutting
of anAgate(New York, I922), p. 253.
 JUDITH DUNDAS 231

scriptions
of allegoryseemto emphasizedeliberate
contrivance. Thus
Abraham Fraunce comments ontropes,of whichallegoryis one,in this
fashion:
Theexcellencie
of tropesisthenmostapparant, wheneithermaniebefitlieincluded
in
oneword,or oneso colltinued in manie,asthatwithwhatthingit begin,withthe
sameit alsoend:andthenit is calledanAllegorieorInuersion.25
Evidently whatappeals to Elizabethan
tasteis theideaof sayingmuch
in a fewwords,gettingdoublemeaning; forexample, a metaphor'en-
richesourknowledge withtwo thingsat once,the Truth anda Simili-
tude.'26
Hencepartof thepleasure in readingin allegorywasthoughtto
liein thedifficulty
of decipheringthemeaningof a longandperpetual
metaphor. Asriddle,Puttenham praises
allfigurativespeech:
Asfiguresbetheinstruments of ornament in euerylanguage,
sobetheyalsoin a sorte
abusesorrather
trespasses inspeach,because theypassetheordinary
limitsof common
vtterance,
andbeoccupied of purposeto deceiue theeareandalsotheminde,drawing
it fromplainnesse
andsimplicitie to a certaindoublenesse,
wherebyourtalkeis the
moreguilefull
& abusing, forwhatelsis yourMetaphorbutaninuersion of senceby
transport;
yourallegorieby a duplicitie of meaning ordissimulation
vndercouertand
darkeintendments . . .27
Theseabusesof speech,Puttenham goeson to say,areso pleasant and
eff1cacious
that'theyarenotin truthto be accompted vicesbutforver-
tuesin thepoeticalscienceverycommendable'. Fromthefavorable at-
tentiongivento allegoryin rhetorical handbooks, we may assume
Spenser'sknowledgethathe wasnot merelysugar-coating hismoral
preceptsin presenting them'thusclowdilyenwrapped in allegorical
devices'butwasgivinga discerning audience thekindof artit admired.
Inorderto seewhatsortof considerations causedallegoryto be re-
gardedasa formalvirtueof style,we mustbeawareof therelation be-
tweenallegoryanddevicesandemblemsof allkinds,andaware,too,
thattheliteraryaudienceof Spenser'stimehadnolikingfora 'discourse
thatfalsnakedbeforethem'.28 All the critics'adviceconcerning the
writingof poetrysuggestsa tasteforsubtletyof conception, sometime
beforethemetaphysical poetsaroseto gratifythistaste.Gascoigne,for
example, wantsthepoet'sinventionto havein it aliquid salis:'Bythis
aliquidsalisI meanesomegood andfine deuise,shewingthe quicke
25 TheArcadianRhetorike(I588), ed.EthelSeaton(Oxford,I950), pp. 3-4.
26 ThomasBlount,The Academieof Eloquence(I654), 2nded.,I656, p. Z.
27 Arte,pp. I54-I55-
28 GeorgeChapman,
A DefenceoJHomer,in Smith,II, 305.
232 ALLEGORYAS A FORM OF WIT
capacitieof awriter'.29Theword'device'asit isusedhereandthrough-
outElizabethan literarycriticism withthewords'conceit',
is associated
'invention', 'wit'to marksubtletyof conception.
Originally theword'device'wasusedto designate heraldicandalle-
goricaltokens.Instatingtheirpurpose, Puttenham emphasizes thepres-
enceof a hiddenmeaning: '. . . [they] commonly containe but two or
threewordsof wittiesentence orsecrete conceit till they bevnfolded or
explaned by someinterpretation.'30 The sameemphasisappearsin
Whitney's definitionof anemblem:'somewittiedeuiseexpressed with
cunningwoorkemanship, somethinge obscure to be perceiued at the
first,whereby, whenwithfurther consideration it is vnderstood,it maie
thegreater delightethebehoulder'.31 Inotherwords,thevirtueof a de-
viceconsists in theingenuitywithwhichanideais unitedto a visible
pattern.
Inliterary criticism,too,theword'device'impliesintricacy of mean-
ing.Gascoigne warnsagainst handling a themewithout some depthof
devicein theinvention,by whichhe apparently meanssomekindof
doubleness of meaning. Hesumsuphisadviceby sayingthatif hewere
writinga poem,he woulduse 'thecouertestmeanethatI couldto
auoydetheuncomelycustomes of commonwriters'. Wasthistherea-
son,perhaps, whyallegorywasknownasthe'courtlyfigure'andwhy
Puttenham calledit 'thechiefringleader andcaptaine of allotherfig-
ures'? It appears thatthe'darkenes and duplicitie' of allegorymadethe
figureparticularly usefulin attaining depth of device.
ThusWebbepraisesTheShepheardes Calendar foritsuseof allegory:
Thereis alsomuchmattervtteredsomewhat theabusesof some
couertly,especially
whomhe wouldnotbe too playnewithall:in which,thoughit be notapparent to
meaning
eueryonewhathysspeciall was,yetso is
skilfully it as
handled, anyman may
takemuchdelightathyslearnedconueyance,andpickeoutmuchgoodsencein the
mostobscurestof it.32
Spenserwasindeednotedforthedepthof devicethathewasableto in-
troduceintohispoetry;Nashesingleshimoutforpreeminencein this
kindof invention:
of deepeconceitbe intruded
. . . shouldthechallenge to bringour
by anforreiner
englishwitsto thetutchstone I
of Arte, would Master
diuine
preferre Spencer,the

29 CertayneNotes of Instruction,in Smith,I, 47.

30 Arte,p. IO2.
31 A Choiceof Emblemes(I586), Epistle to theReader,sig.**4r.
32 A Discourse of English in
Poetrie, Smith, I, 264.
 JUDITH DUNDAS 233

miracle ofwit,tobandie lineforlineformylifeinthehonorof England,gainstSpaine,

Fra?lce,Italie, andalltheworlde.33
WhenSpenser setoutto writea longallegorical poem,hiscontem-
poraries must have feltthathe was displaying hisartaswellashismoral
values.Inallegory, notonlydoestheintellectpreside overtheimagina-
tionto ensureorder,butit alsoprovides subtletythroughdoubleness of
meaning. AsSirJohnHarington says,'Nowletanymaniudgeif it bea
matterof meaneartor wit to containein one historicall narration,
eithertrueorfained,somany,sodiuerse, andso deepeconceits.'34The
keyword'wit'shouldserveasa reminder thatallegorywasthoughtto
beprimarily theproductof thewakingandactiveintelligence, engaged
in constructing, out of the materials in the imagination, an intricate
workof art.Thelevelsof meaning in anallegoryhavethusanartistic as
wellasa didacticsignificance.
I shouldliketo returnto myoriginalquestion: whyarewewillingto
acceptthejudgmentof Donne'scontemporaries thathe wasa witty
poetbutnotthejudgment of Spenser's contemporaries thathetoowas
witty?Evidentlywe preferthewit of paradoxto thewit of allegory.
I donotbelievethatit is thedidacticism of allegorythatoffendspresent
taste;it seemsto me thatmostliterature is didacticin onewayor an-
other.I dothinkthatit is thecontinuance of a metaphor implyingthat
lifehassomeorder,anda suprasensible orderatthat,whichoffends. For
thetwentiethcentury,thisis not wit buta distortionof reality.As a
modeof expression usinga coherent systemof symbols,allegoryis too
daring,asserts too muchfor ourdoubtfulminds.Theconceit,on the
otherhand,is a momentary bringingtogetherof unlikes; insteadof as-
sertingaworldorder,it reflects thebreaking upof one.Butwearewill-
ing to acceptthewit of theconceitbecauseit is an uncommitted or
ironical seeingof resemblances; thediscordia concorsbelongsto theworld
we know,thefragmented world.Allegory,I amafraid,requires not
onlya totalandcomprehensive visionin thepoetbutalsoa societythat
understands a systemof symbols andaccepts thevaluesimpliedin them.
Because thisisnotthekindof worldwelivein,we neednotnecessarily
bescornful of allegory.I seeit asa potentially greatartform,requiring
asit doesaperfectcollaboration of witandfancy;orif thesetermshave
losttheirElizabethan significance, let ussayintellectandimagination.
StateUniversity
Montana JUDITH DUNDAS
33Preface Menaphon,in Smith,I,
to Greene's 3I8.
34BriefApology,in Smith,II,202.