Editing The Faerie Queene (section)

===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}}