Florimell and the Flowers and Honey of Natural Rhetoric

The three central books of The Faerie Queene present a poetic puzzle in the abrupt appearance and disappearance of Florimell and the adventures of her golden girdle. But when the events are considered as developing an allegory for the flowers (flores) and honey (mel) of rhetoric, the sequencing of the episode and many of its problems resolve. These natural images, highlighted in his character’s name, exemplify Spenser’s idea of a natural, decorous rhetoric. This essay details how Spenser’s Florimell embodies such a natural rhetoric, and her girdle, a rhetorical figure. The events, which touch on how rhetoric can be misused and misinterpreted, add to our understanding of the episode as a focal point of Spenser’s poem.