Exemplars of Error in the Works of Spenser and Sidney

The purpose of this thesis was to examine how the Elizabethan poets Edmund Spenser and Sir Philip Sidney explored the idea of emulation within the pages of The Faerie Queene and The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia. Specifically, how both poets employed the unorthodox characters of Malbecco and Amphialus within texts meant to pro vide moral instruction to the reader. This research will be accomplished by examining the philosophical underpinnings relating to ideas about emulation, conducting a thorough close reading of primary texts, and studying scholarly articles relating to Spenser, Sidney, the English Renaissance, and emulation. This thesis will endeavor to establish that the figures of Malbecco and Amphialus serve a vital role within their respective texts. Their role in Spenser and Sidney’s seminal works is to serve not as exemplars of emulation for the reader to imitate, but exemplars of error whose example the reader is meant to be wary of