Noting Hamilton's gloss on Talus in his edition, he cites Angus Fletcher's
*Prophetic Moment* (1971), which links Talus of "yron mould" (V.i.12.6)
with the giant made of gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay in
Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Daniel 2.32-3).
On the mixed-metal theme, I remember a theory that Talus represents gunfire
or cannonfire, which certainly has a threshing effect through a crowd. As
such, he WOULD resemble Orgoglio, in that Orgoglio is compared to the
"divelish yron Engin wrought/ In deepest Hell... ramd with bullet round,
ordaind to kill," i.e., a cannon/mortar (I.vii.13). Compare also with the
larger-than-life angels-cum-devils fighting with cannon in Heaven's revolt
in Milton's PL. Renaissance cannon had giants/monsters/grotesques cast
into their design, to heighten their aesthetic effect (as did armor of the
sort worn by Alfonse D'Este, Duke of Ferrara, a famous military man
portrayed in giant-like stature with hand on cannon; cf. recent Met exibit
on fanciful armor of the Renaissance). Some of them were also very large.
This in turn reminds one of the affectionate names for cannon in our own
era, such as "Big Bertha" of WWI fame, the biggest artillery piece of that
conflict (I believe; I'm fuzzy on my military history). Compare with the
"Little Boy" (?) Bomb of our too-ironic nuclear age.
This, in turn, ties into Prof. Kuin's hilarious "armonioous blasterz" on
the city walls, or Leicester's trumpets; trumpets on walls are not only
celebratory, but military, and remind us of another Spenser passage,
I.viii.3-4, when Timias blasts down the walls of Orgoglio's castle with his
golden trumpet, Jericho-style, thus helping Arthur give Orgoglio his due,
and quite likely an allegory for artillery warfare, possibly involving
Raleigh (aka Timias).
Finally, to return to Talus, compare the above with his blasting into
Munera's castle in V.ii.24, or the aquatic assault of Grantorto's territory
to rescue Irena (V.xii.4+), which Christopher Highley in his recent
monograph compares to the ship-aided assault on Smerwick Fort, or Dun an
Or, or Cap d'Oro (more gold), where artillery was also used to great effect
(I don't know whether or not it arrived by ship, but that would make a nice
connection to Talus wading ashore); among those involved in the assault was
Raleigh (according to Hooker in Holinshed), possibly Spenser, and Richard
Bingham, eventually Governor of Connaught, who (if I remember correctly)
arrived by ship and (as Highley notes) was dubbed "the Flail of Connaught,"
a ruthless political giant in his time. Did he bring the artillery?
--Tom Herron
>Talus has never seemed particularly 'giantesque' to me, though I'd be
>intrigued to know more about your student's findings. Particularly when
>compared to other Spenserian giants such as Orgoglio or Argante, Talus
>appears to be a quite different creation or idea. It is Talus's
>machine-like attributes that I have always found most strange and also
>compelling. In other words, it is this quality that seems most significant
>to the idea of Talus, and not his stature or any mark of lasciviousness
>(the latter of which clearly marks the other FQ giants mentioned above).
>
>my 2 cents...
>
>Heather Easterling
>
>***************************************************************************
>Heather C. Easterling
>English Department
>University of Washington
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