The Faerie Queene (1590–1596) is an allegorical epic poem by Edmund Spenser in honour of Elizabeth I. In six books, each knight of the court of Gloriana, the Faerie Queene, embodies a virtue and sets out on a quest. It is one of the longest poems in English.
The plan
In a letter to Walter Raleigh printed with the first books, Spenser explained that he planned twelve books, each devoted to one of the moral virtues, to 'fashion a gentleman or noble person in virtuous and gentle discipline'.
Only six were completed: Holiness (the Redcrosse Knight), Temperance (Guyon), Chastity (Britomart, a woman knight), Friendship, Justice and Courtesy. Fragments of a seventh, the Mutability Cantos, were published in 1609.
Book I
The first book follows the Redcrosse Knight, who represents holiness and England's patron St George, as he escorts the lady Una to free her parents from a dragon. He is deceived by the sorcerer Archimago and the false Duessa before defeating the dragon.
The adventures also carry religious and political meanings, opposing the true Church to its enemies and celebrating the Protestant England of Elizabeth.
Style
Spenser wrote in a deliberately archaic English, inspired by Chaucer, and invented a nine-line stanza, the Spenserian stanza, ending in a longer line.
The poem influenced Milton, and later Keats, Shelley and Byron, who used the Spenserian stanza in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage.
Anecdotes
A pension from the queen
Elizabeth I granted Spenser a pension of fifty pounds a year after he presented the first books of the poem. According to legend, her treasurer Lord Burghley resisted paying it.
Keats's first poem
Keats's first known poem, written in 1814, was an Imitation of Spenser, and reading The Faerie Queene is said to have awakened his vocation as a poet.
Frequently asked questions
How many books does The Faerie Queene have?
Six complete books, published in 1590 and 1596, out of twelve planned, plus the fragmentary Mutability Cantos.
Who is the Faerie Queene?
Gloriana, the queen of Faerie Land, an allegorical figure of Elizabeth I.
What is an allegory?
A story in which characters and events stand for abstract ideas, such as virtues, vices or religious truths.