The Faerie Queene

Edmund Spenser, who went from an impoverished upbringing to a celebrated English poet, is the author of The Faerie Queene. The epic, as the word implies, is long. The first three books came out in 1590, and the next three books arrived in 1596. The work is an allegory; each book symbolizes one of the moral virtues advocated by the Greek philosopher Aristotle. At the same time, the poem qualifies as a quest narrative and a romance. The characters go on tangled adventures and battle witches, monsters, giants, dragons, and downright bad people. The characters also seek true love.

Past epics, like those by Homer and Virgil, inform the poem, as does the poetry of Geoffrey Chaucer. Departing from the modern language of his era, Spenser uses an approximation of Middle English to link his poem to the past. Spenser sends the message that an upstanding person requires holiness, temperance, chastity, friendliness, a sense of justice, and courtesy. They also need Christianity, courage, perseverance, and an affinity for Queen Elizabeth. Spenser dedicated the book to Queen Elizabeth, the alluring ruler of England at the time, and he wanted to write at least 12 books but died before he could complete his grand vision.