Editing The Faerie Queene (section)

==Themes==

===Allegory of virtue===
[[File:Johann Heinrich Füssli 058.jpg|right|thumb|''Prince Arthur and the Faerie Queen'' by [[Henry Fuseli]], {{circa|1788}}.]]
A letter written by Spenser to [[Walter Raleigh|Sir Walter Raleigh]] in 1590{{sfn|Roche|1984|p=1070|ps=: "The date of the letter—23 January 1589—is actually 1590, since England did not adopt the Gregorian calendar until 1752 and the dating of the new year began on 25 March, Lady Day"}} contains a preface for ''The Faerie Queene'', in which Spenser describes the allegorical presentation of virtues through [[King Arthur|Arthurian]] knights in the mythical "Faerieland". Presented as a preface to the epic in most published editions, this letter outlines plans for twenty-four books: twelve based each on a different knight who exemplified one of twelve "private virtues", and a possible twelve more centred on King Arthur displaying twelve "public virtues".  Spenser names [[Aristotle]] as his source for these virtues, though the influences of [[Thomas Aquinas]] and the traditions of medieval allegory can be observed as well.{{sfn|Tuve|1966}}  It is impossible to predict how the work would have looked had Spenser lived to complete it, since the reliability of the predictions made in his letter to Raleigh is not absolute, as numerous divergences from that scheme emerged as early as 1590 in the first ''Faerie Queene'' publication.

In addition to the six virtues [[Sacred|Holiness]], [[Temperance (virtue)|Temperance]], [[Chastity]], [[Friendship]], [[Justice]], and [[Courtesy]], the Letter to Raleigh suggests that Arthur represents the virtue of [[Magnanimity|Magnificence]], which ("according to Aristotle and the rest") is "the perfection of all the rest, and containeth in it them all"; and that the Faerie Queene herself represents Glory (hence her name, Gloriana).  The unfinished seventh book (the Cantos of Mutability) appears to have represented the virtue of "constancy".

===Religion===
[[File:Briton Rivière - Una and the Lion.jpg|thumb|250px|''Una and the Lion'' by [[Briton Rivière]] (1840–1920).]]
''The Faerie Queene'' was written during the Reformation, a time of religious and political controversy. After taking the throne following the death of her half-sister Mary, Elizabeth changed the official religion of the nation to Protestantism.{{sfn|Greenblatt|2006|p=687}} The plot of book one is similar to ''[[Foxe's Book of Martyrs]]'', which was about the persecution of the Protestants and how Catholic rule was unjust.{{sfn|McCabe|2010|p=41}} Spenser includes the controversy of Elizabethan church reform within the epic. Gloriana has godly English knights destroy Catholic continental power in Books I and V.{{sfn|Heale|1999|p=8}} Spenser also endows many of his villains with "the worst of what Protestants considered a superstitious Catholic reliance on deceptive images".{{sfn|McCabe|2010|p=39}}

===Politics===
The poem celebrates, memorializes, and critiques the [[House of Tudor]] (of which Elizabeth was a part), much as [[Virgil]]'s ''[[Aeneid]]'' celebrates [[Augustus]]'s Rome. The ''Aeneid'' states that Augustus descended from the noble sons of [[Troy]]; similarly, ''The Faerie Queene'' suggests that the Tudor lineage can be connected to King Arthur. The poem is deeply [[allegory|allegorical]] and [[allusion|allusive]]; many prominent Elizabethans could have found themselves partially represented by one or more of Spenser's figures. Elizabeth herself is the most prominent example. She appears in the guise of Gloriana, the [[Fairy Queen#In literature and media|Faerie Queen]], but also in Books III and IV as the virgin [[Belphoebe]], daughter of Chrysogonee and twin to Amoret, the embodiment of womanly married love. Perhaps also, more critically, Elizabeth is seen in Book I as Lucifera, the "maiden queen" whose brightly lit Court of Pride masks a [[dungeon]] full of prisoners.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McKay |first=Belinda |date=1975-01-01 |title=The female rulers in The Faerie Queene |url=https://www.academia.edu/25121596}}</ref>

The poem also displays Spenser's thorough familiarity with literary history. The world of ''The Faerie Queene'' is based on English [[Matter of Britain|Arthurian legend]], but much of the language, spirit, and style of the piece draw more on Italian epic, particularly [[Ludovico Ariosto]]'s ''[[Orlando Furioso]]'' and [[Torquato Tasso]]'s ''[[Jerusalem Delivered]]''.{{Sfn|Abrams|2000|p=623}}
Book V of ''The Faerie Queene'', the Book of Justice, is Spenser's most direct discussion of political theory. In it, Spenser attempts to tackle the problem of policy toward Ireland and recreates the trial of [[Mary, Queen of Scots]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=McCabe|first=Richard|date=Spring 1987|title=The Masks of Duessa: Spenser, Mary Queen of Scots, and James VI|journal=English Literary Renaissance|volume=17|issue=2|pages=224–242|doi=10.1111/j.1475-6757.1987.tb00934.x|s2cid=130980896}}</ref>

=== Archetypes ===
In ''The Faerie Queene'', Edmund Spenser employs archetypal patterns to reinforce the actuality of his narrative. Spenser integrates these patterns to focus the meaning of the past on the present, emphasizing the significance of Elizabeth's reign by converting myth into event rather than the other way around. This approach blurs the lines between archetypal and historical elements within the poem. For instance, the British Chronicle, which Arthur reads in the House of Alma, serves as a poetical equivalent for factual history despite its partially imaginary nature. This kind of poetical history is distinct from myth, as it consists of unique events recorded in chronological order. This distinction is evident in the political allegory of Books I and V, where the reality of interpreted events becomes more apparent when the events are closer to the time of the poem's composition.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gottfried |first=Rudolf B. |title=Our New Poet: Archetypal Criticism and 'The Faerie Queene' |journal=PMLA |volume=83 |issue=5 |pages=1362–1377 |year=1968 |publisher=Modern Language Association |jstor=1261309 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/1261309}}</ref>

Throughout ''The Faerie Queene'', Spenser's use of archetypal patterns includes numerous mythological equivalents that enhance the narrative's depth and complexity. For example, the characters Florimell and Marinell are related to the myths of Proserpine and Adonis, respectively. Florimell, much like Eurydice, represents the pursuit of the unattainable, highlighting themes of purity and chastity. Marinell's link to Adonis underscores the fragility and vulnerability inherent in beauty and desire.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gottfried |first=Rudolf B. |title=Our New Poet: Archetypal Criticism and 'The Faerie Queene' |journal=PMLA |volume=83 |issue=5 |page=1374 |year=1968 |publisher=Modern Language Association |jstor=1261309 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/1261309}}</ref>

Similarly, the characters Una and Redcross can be seen as archetypal representations of divine grace and the Christian Church in England. Una, equated with Dante's Beatrice, embodies the archetype of divine wisdom and truth, guiding Redcross on his spiritual journey. This alignment with Beatrice also emphasizes Una's role as a symbol of divine grace leading to salvation. Redcross, representing the archetypal Christian Everyman, embarks on a quest that mirrors the soul's journey toward holiness. His ultimate victory over the dragon symbolizes the archetypal triumph of good over evil and the attainment of spiritual purity.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gottfried |first=Rudolf B. |title=Our New Poet: Archetypal Criticism and 'The Faerie Queene' |journal=PMLA |volume=83 |issue=5 |page=1365 |year=1968 |publisher=Modern Language Association |jstor=1261309 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/1261309}}</ref>

===Symbolism and allusion===
Throughout ''The Faerie Queene'', Spenser creates "a network of allusions to events, issues, and particular persons in England and Ireland" including Mary, Queen of Scots, the Spanish Armada, the English Reformation, and even the Queen herself.{{sfn|Greenblatt|2012|p=775}} It is also known that James VI of Scotland read the poem, and was very insulted by Duessa – a very negative depiction of his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots.{{sfn|McCabe|2010|p=48}} ''The Faerie Queene'' was then banned in Scotland. This led to a significant decrease in Elizabeth's support for the poem.{{sfn|McCabe|2010|p=48}} Within the text, both the Faerie Queene and Belphoebe serve as two of the many personifications of Queen Elizabeth, some of which are "far from complimentary".{{sfn|Greenblatt|2012|p=775}}

Though it praises her in some ways, ''The Faerie Queene'' questions Elizabeth's ability to rule so effectively because of her gender, and also inscribes the "shortcomings" of her rule.{{sfn|Heale|1999|p=11}} There is a character named Britomart who represents married chastity. This character is told that her destiny is to be an "immortal womb" – to have children.{{sfn|Heale|1999|p=11}} Here, Spenser is referring to Elizabeth's unmarried state and is touching on anxieties of the 1590s about what would happen after her death since the kingdom had no heir.{{sfn|Heale|1999|p=11}}

''The Faerie Queene's'' original audience would have been able to identify many of the poem's characters by analyzing the symbols and attributes that spot Spenser's text. For example, readers would immediately know that "a woman who wears scarlet clothes and resides along the Tiber River represents the Roman Catholic Church".{{sfn|Greenblatt|2012|p=775}} However, marginal notes jotted in early copies of ''The Faerie Queene'' suggest that Spenser's contemporaries were unable to come to a consensus about the precise historical referents of the poem's "myriad figures".{{sfn|Greenblatt|2012|p=775}} In fact, Sir Walter Raleigh's wife identified many of the poem's female characters as "allegorical representations of herself".{{sfn|Greenblatt|2012|p=775}}
Other symbols prevalent in ''The Faerie Queene'' are the numerous animal characters present in the poem. They take the role of "visual figures in the allegory and in illustrative similes and metaphors".{{sfn|Marotti|1965|p=69}} Specific examples include the swine present in Lucifera's castle who embodied gluttony,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=South |first=Malcolm H. |date=1967 |title=A Note on Spenser and Sir Thomas Browne |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3724105 |journal=The Modern Language Review |volume=62 |issue=1 |pages=14–16 |doi=10.2307/3724105 |jstor=3724105 |issn=0026-7937}}</ref> and Duessa, the deceitful crocodile who may represent Mary, Queen of Scots, in a negative light.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Quitslund |first=Beth |date=July 2, 2010 |title=Elizabethan Epideixis and the Spenserian Art of State Idolatry |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/108487700115116 |journal=The European Legacy |language=en |volume=5 |issue=1 |page=40 |doi=10.1080/108487700115116 |issn=1084-8770 |via=Taylor & Francis Online}}</ref>

The House of Busirane episode in Book III in ''The Faerie Queene'' is partially based on an early modern English folktale called "Mr. Fox's Mottos". In the tale, a young woman named Lady Mary has been enticed by Mr. Fox, who resembles Bluebeard in his manner of killing his wives. She defeats Mr. Fox and tells about his deeds. Notably, Spenser quotes the story as Britomart makes her way through the House, with warning mottos above each doorway "Be bold, be bold, but not too bold".{{sfn|Micros|2008}}