Spenser's The Faerie Queene

Utilizing symbolism and the love of a queen, Spenser’s The Faerie Queene became this author’s most definitive work not for content as much as style.

The Faerie Queene is not about fairies, specifically.

The Faerie Queene is an epic poem that was written by Englishman Edmund Spenser. This work was first published in 1590 and was printed in three books. Later, in 1596, the poem was again published but this time in a collected works of 6 books. Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene is more known for its unique style being the first to ever use what has become known as the “Spenserian Stanza”.

Spenser’s The Faerie Queene is an epic poem that was written as an allegory to praise Queen Elizabeth I. The poem is vastly symbolic and follows the lives of several knights. The poem itself is meant to examine human virtues and uses these knights as a way to convey them. Due to the link to Queen Elizabeth the poem found political favor with her and became a tremendous success and Spenser’s defining work. Queen Elizabeth I enjoyed the poem so much that she awarded Edmund Spenser with a 50 pound a year pension for life. Spenser’s The Faerie Queene, a favorite among critics, was also the subject of quite a few analysis.

In 1589 Edmund Spenser wrote a letter to Sir Walter Raleigh that contained the beginnings of the Faerie Queene. In this letter he ran down the poem and described that allegorical presentation of virtues by using the much loved Arthurian knights. He presented the knights as living in the mythical “Faerieland”. This letter was used as a preface to the poem and published with many of the editions. There were 24 books planned with 12 of those being based on an individual knight and a virtue that the specific knight exemplified in private. The remaining 12 books were rumored to be about King Arthur himself displaying 12 virtues publicly.

Aristotle was named as the source for the virtues that were seen in The Faerie Queene but the influence of Thomas Aquinas is also present. Unfortunately the work was never completed as Spenser had died and so it is impossible to speculate how the full collection would have looked. Spenser hinted at the final product in his letter to Raleigh but between the time of that letter and the earliest publication of The Faerie Queene in 1590 it had already changed.

When the poem was published in 1596 the books looked like this:

• Book I: Holiness
• Book II: Temperance
• Book III: Chastity
• Book IV: Friendship
• Book V: Justice
• Book VI: Courtesy

These six virtues represent the initial idea by Spenser but in his Raleigh letter he mentioned that King Arthur is the representation of “magnificence”. Aristotle, among others of the time, viewed that the virtue of magnificence represented perfection in all virtues. It was also stated that the Faerie Queene represents “glory”. Queen Elizabeth I was the basis for the Faerie Queene and her name was Gloriana and so the connection was easily made.

Queen Elizabeth I was a member of the Tudor era of which the Faerie Queene celebrated without fail as in the tradition of Aeneid’s writings of Rome during the time of Augustus Caesar. The poem itself can be considered propaganda for the ruler of the country by plainly stating that Queen Elizabeth I, and the Tudor line, is directly connected to Arthurian lore.

The poem is as much allegorical as it is allusive to the point that any Elizabethan of high station could see themselves in any number of the characters presented in The Faerie Queene. The characters presented were loosely constructed so that they could be easily identified by the readers. The Faerie Queene herself is a direct characterization of Queen Elizabeth I. In books III and IV of the poem Belphoebe represents “womanly married love” but in Book I, as Lucifera (maiden queen), brightly-lit the Court of Pride to mask the dungeon full of prisoners. This serves to show duality in people and the ability to do good as well as evil.

Spenser was very familiar with literary history and showed it in The Faerie Queene. Though based on the Arthurian legend the language of the poem, as well as the style and spirit, is more representational of Italian literary style. The Faerie Queene serves to define itself by utilizing the internal and eternal struggle and conflict that lies in all of us: good versus evil.

The Book of Justice, the fifth book in the series, was Spenser’s most direct of the books. In this book he expands on political theory and discusses real world issues. He attempts to attack the policy toward Ireland as well as recreating the trial of Mary, Queen of Scots.

There are many works of fiction that follow religion as a way to tell a story and direct others to do good things. Spencer’s The Faerie Queene just may be the first to do it so brilliantly. The Golden Compass along with other literary favorites like The Chronicles of Narnia as well as Lord of the Rings, specifically The Hobbit, can all be seen as having roots in politics and religion.

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