Faerie Queen Allusions

In sixteenth century Britain, authors and poets would often use their beloved Queen Elizabeth, famously known as “The Virgin Queen,” as the primary inspiration behind their works. Because Queen Elizabeth lacked an heir, her Catholic cousin Queen Mary of Scots continuously threatened her reign and with it, the stability of the Protestant Church of England. Edmund Spenser, a devout Protestant and Elizabethan, weaves allusions to this tumultuous relationship throughout his epic poem The Faerie Queene. In this epic, Spenser’s intention to denounce Rome, the Catholic Church, and Queen Elizabeth’s rival, Mary Queen of Scots, operates as the primary stimulant of the epic poem’s tactical plot; the evil characters, especially those associated with deviant